Fatima Riza-Zadeh (Sayyah), a researcher of Dostoevsky

The article is devoted to the study of the biography and Dostoevsky studies works of the Soviet-Iranian researcher F. Riza-Zade, also known as F. Sayyah. A number of archival materials reflecting the professional and friendly relations of F. Riza-Zade in 1929-1930s have been introduced into scientific circulation. A review of the Moscow articles “Dostoevsky and Modern French Literature (On the Influence of Dostoevsky)” and “Dostoevsky in Western Criticism”, as well as the preface to the Persian translation of Dostoevsky’s story “White Nights”, published in Tehran, has been carried out. It is noted that the researcher’s works laid the foundations of Soviet and Iranian comparative studies: Dostoevsky’s work was interpreted in the broad context of French literature, German philosophical and aesthetic tradition, Iranian cultural symbols of good and evil. The key methodological principles of F. Riza-Zade are analyzed: the focus on sociological criticism of the Pereverzev school, cultural and aesthetic approach to the analysis of genre problems, tendency to self-sufficiency in literary research and refusal from philosophical speculation. The conclusion is made about the importance of the works of F. Riza-Zade in the study and popularization of Dostoevsky’s work and in the implementation of Russian-Iranian cultural ties.