Dostoevsky and World Culture Dostoevsky and World Culture 2619-0311 2712-8512 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2026-2-269-290 Research Article Articles "My Vile, Albeit Sweet, Racing Business...": Fyodor F. Dostoevsky as Horse Breeder in Simferopol (1895-1908) Kapustina Svetlana V. fedor@dostmirkult.ru 25 06 2026 1 2 269 290 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 Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 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."