Among the literature devoted to the tsarist penal servitude of the second half of the 19th century, mainly documentary, essays, ethnographic, special (Chekhov, Maksimov, J. Kennan, Mirolyubov, Yadrintsev, Doroshevich, Lobas, Foinitsky, etc.), not a single book gave rise to such lively controversy as "In the World of Misfits." In literary terms, it was almost unanimously recognized as an outstanding work of art, worthy to stand next to Dostoevsky's Notes from the House of the Dead. Yakubovich himself, modestly assessing his work, admitted that his plan was formed under the influence of Dostoevsky’s remarkable creation.