The Idiot The Idiot The Idiot (pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform ) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal "The Russian Messenger" in 1868–9. The title is an ironic reference to the central character of the novel, Prince (Knyaz) Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, a young man whose goodness, open-hearted simplicity and guilelessness lead many of the more worldly characters he encounters to mistakenly assume that he lacks intelligence and insight. In the character of Prince Myshkin, Dostoevsky set himself the task of depicting "the positively good and beautiful man." The novel examines the
Myshkin (town) district significance of Myshkin. As a municipal division, the town of district significance of Myshkin is incorporated within Myshkinsky Municipal District as Myshkin Urban Settlement. The town attracts a significant number of tourists usually arriving by river cruise ships. Myshkin retains architectural features characteristic for the 19th century Russia. It also features a number of museums. One of them is the unique Mouse Museum (the name of the town is derived from the word "" ("mysh") meaning "mouse" in Russian). There are also a Museum of Valenki ("valenki" being a type of Russian felt boots), an ethnographic museum, an art