Today, few people can doubt the status of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821-1881) as one of the greatest geniuses of Russian and world literature. However, this was not always the case. Even half a century ago, Soviet literary criticism diligently refuted the worldwide significance of Dostoevsky’s work, classifying him among the “reactionary” authors who “did not understand” much and did not consider the true meaning and direction of social evolution. Nevertheless, “expelled” from Soviet Russia, Dostoevsky triumphantly marched around the world from the 20s of the 20th century. It was actively translated into many languages of the world, published in huge editions, and books were written about it. In Dostoevsky, representatives of existentialism found their direct predecessor and predictor - the most influential philosophical system of the 20th century, the main themes of which were the meaning and limits of human freedom as a self-conscious being. As for “devils,” Dostoevsky’s “demons” seized power not only in Russia—Germany did not escape this plot. During the years of the Nazi dictatorship, it represented the darkest embodiment of the fantasies of Rodion Raskolnikov, Ivan Karamazov and the Grand Inquisitor, showing the terrible consequences of replacing Christianity with the idol of nationalism. They started talking about Dostoevsky as a prophet, forgetting that much can be deduced from his works and, in any case, the writer himself, who never completely outlived his youthful romanticism, preferred to believe in the “best”, and warned about everything else only as possible options. Dostoevsky’s work represents one of the busiest crossroads of world culture. Mikhail Bakhtin, who first spoke about the “multi-vocality” of the writer’s works, called his novels “novels of ideas.” Moreover, independent ideas that enter into equal relationships with each other. These ideas gave rise to several significant philosophical systems and continue to fascinate writers, artists, musicians, and directors. Based on Dostoevsky’s books, many films have been made in different countries and a lot of performances have been staged, which does not prevent the next generations of directors from taking on more and more new interpretations of his works. The entire twentieth century passed under the sign of the writer’s ever-increasing worldwide fame. But interest in him not only does not weaken, but, on the contrary, is intensifying. The classic of Russian literature of the 19th century remains one of the most read writers in the whole world in the 21st century: modern readers continue to discover new facets of his genius.