How did Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s mock execution take place at Semyonovsky Square?

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One of the greatest Russian writers — Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Dostoyevsky, shown in 1876, was introduced to a new generation of readers in 2024–25 when “White Nights” surged in popularity thanks to TikTok and Instagram users.

On December 22, 1849, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and other members of the Petrashevsky Circle were led to Semyonovsky Square, where they were informed of a death sentence by firing squad. The ceremony proceeded with the offering of last rites, and three prisoners were positioned to be shot first.

At the final moment, the soldiers lowered their guns as a messenger arrived to announce that the tsar had commuted their sentences. This mock execution was a deliberate part of the punishment, leaving one prisoner permanently insane and profoundly impacting Dostoyevsky, who spent those minutes in the absolute conviction of his impending death.1

This traumatic experience deeply influenced his later work, as seen in the detailed descriptions of the psychological state of men facing execution in novels like The Idiot. It also fostered his lifelong appreciation for the value of life, individual freedom, and personal responsibility.1