Dostoevsky and Pisemsky: the calligraphic inscription “Nevedomov” in the draft notes for the novel “Demons”

The article is devoted to the analysis of the calligraphic inscription “Nevedomov” in the drafts for the Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel “Demons” and contains new facts of the creative history of this work related to the artistic reception of the work of Alexey Pisemsky and, in particular, the novel “People of the Forties” (1869). In addition to textual issues the paper examines the Dostoevsky’s attitude to the works of Pisemsky, the literary images of both authors in the context of the theme of the Forties, key aspects of the study of this topic in literary criticism. A comparative analysis of the motive and figurative structure of the novels “Demons” and “People of the Forties” is proposed, which makes it possible to identify the specifics of the artistic narrative in both works and the peculiarities of the creative perception of the problems of the Pisemsky’s novel during the period of Dostoevsky’s work on “Demons.”