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 A.M.GORKY INSTITUTE OF WORLD LITERATURE
OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Povarskaya 25A, bld. 1, 121069 Moscow, Russia
fedor@dostmirkult.ru

ISSN 2619-0311 (Print)
ISSN 2712-8512 (Online)

"My Vile, Albeit Sweet, Racing Business...": Fyodor F. Dostoevsky as Horse Breeder in Simferopol (1895-1908)

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  • Author: Svetlana V. Kapustina
  • Information about the author:

    PhD in Philology, Associate Professor at the Department of Russian Language and Speech Culture of the Faculty of Russian Language and Literature, Crimean Federal V.I. Vernadsky University, Academician Vernadsky Avenue, 4, 295007 Simferopol, Republic of Crimea, Russia.

    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0608-5258

    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • For citation:

    Kapustina, S.V. "'My Vile, Albeit Sweet, Racing Business...: Fyodor F. Dostoevsky as Horse Breeder in Simferopol (1895-1908)." Dostoevsky and World Culture. Philological journal, no. 2 (34), 2026, pp. 269-290. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2026-2-269-290
  • Received: 09 Feb. 2026
  • Approved after reviewing: 27 March 2026
  • Published: 25 June 2026
  • Issue: 2026 no. 2 (34)
  • Department: BIOGRAPHY
  • Pages: 269–290
  • DOI: Visit Website
  • EDN:

    https://elibrary.ru/STGEGS
  • UDK: 821.161.1.0
  • BBK: 83.3(2Рос=Рус)
  • Publication Type: Research Article
  • Keywords: Fyodor Fyodorovich Dostoevsky, Anna Grigoryevna Dostoevskaya, Lyubov Fyodorovna Dostoevskaya, Maria Nikolaevna Dostoevskaya (Tokareva), Ekaterina Petrovna Dostoevskaya (Tsugalovskaya), Falz-Fein, stud farm, horse breeder, horse racing, Simferopol, Crimea, biography
  • Abstract: Scholars generally describe Fyodor Fyodorovich Dostoevsky's professional activity simply as horse breeding. However, this occupation, which became a defining feature of his biography, requires a more detailed examination, as it influenced Fyodor Fyodorovich's choice of residence, shaped his social circle, and prompted him to make fateful decisions. The period from 1895 to 1908, which can be conventionally called the Simferopol years, was particularly significant for Dostoevsky's professional development. In the Crimean capital, the descendant of the famous novelist founded a stable and became a full member of the Taurida Racing Society. The reports of this organization, preserved in the collections of the A.Kh. Steven Tavrika Library of the Central Museum of Taurida, allow us to reconstruct not only the racing statistics but also the details of Fyodor Dostoevsky's life in Simferopol. Only six report books are currently available, three of which (for 1897, 1898, and 1899) chronologically correspond to his stay on the peninsula. A comparison of these archival documents with the epistolary legacy of the Dostoevsky family creates a factual basis for verifying and concretizing Fyodor Fyodorovich's biography and identifying important features of his spiritual portrait. His circle of Simferopol acquaintances is further clarified by the names of members of the Taurida Racing Society - Maria and Sergey Skadovsky, Pavel Shchaslivtsev, and Boris Gimmelfarb. Previously identified friendly contacts with Pyotr and Elizaveta Lazarev, Stepan and Maria Rud are supplemented by new information. The article traces the range of Dostoevsky's Crimean victories and defeats and explains the reasons for his contradictory attitude toward the "vile, albeit sweet, racing business."

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