This classic Russian novel features Rodya Raskolnikov, who kills two old women because he believes that he is beyond the bounds of good and evil. What's the title, and who wrote it?

The tormented protagonist Rodion Raskolnikov is the creation of Russian author Feodor Dostoevsky for his 1866 masterpiece, "Crime and Punishment." The novel delves into the psyche of Raskolnikov, a poor ex-student in St. Petersburg who formulates a theory that extraordinary individuals are above the moral laws that govern ordinary people. To test this idea, he commits a brutal double murder, but instead of feeling empowered, he is wracked by guilt, paranoia, and alienation, demonstrating that his "punishment" is not a legal sentence but a psychological and spiritual one.

Dostoevsky's own harrowing experiences deeply informed the novel's themes of suffering and redemption. As a young man, he was arrested for political activity and subjected to a mock execution before being exiled to a Siberian labor camp for four years. This ordeal gave him profound insight into the criminal mind and the nature of human morality, which he masterfully explores through Raskolnikov's internal conflict and his complex relationship with the compassionate Sonya Marmeladova.

Considered a foundational text of psychological realism, the novel's intense exploration of free will, nihilism, and faith has made it one of the most influential works in world literature. Its powerful narrative and complex characters have also led to numerous adaptations for film and television across the globe, cementing its place not just on the bookshelf but also in cinematic history.