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Why is The Possessed also called The Demons or The Devils?
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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.
The novel The Possessed was originally published in Russian in 1872 under the title Besy. The alternative English titles, The Devils and The Demons, are translations of this original Russian word.
The title reflects Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s conviction that revolutionary ideologies had "possessed" the soul of Russia, much like demons in a biblical sense. He believed that these radical influences were destructive forces that, if not exorcised through a return to Orthodox Christianity and nationalism, would lead the country to ruin.1