“The crime and punishment” by F.M. Dostoevsky in Germany: history of translations, the role of publishing houses and first “complete works of Dostoevsky”. Article one

In the series of articles we aim to present the history of all well-known translations of Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment (1866) in German, which played a special role in the perception of the heritage not only in Germany, but in Europe as a whole. The article comprehensively analyzes the reasons for the multiplicity of translation interpretations of the novel Crime and Punishment in German and system-izes information about translators. The role of publishing houses is considered in detail. The first article of the series presents a complete review of the currently known translations of the novel by F. M. Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment into German, made in 1882-1908. The translations are chronologically tabulated. The article analyzes the role of the first translator of the novel Crime and Punishment and the publisher W. Genkel in the development of European Dostoevistics. All research material allowed explaining the reasons for the appearance of new translations of the novel in Germany (G. Moser (1887), p. Stychinsky (1891), W. Thal (1903), W. Jensen (1907), A. Kotulsky (1907), M. Feofanoff (1908)). The translations of the novel Crime and Punishment prepared by W. Genkel (1882), G. Moser (1887), and M. Feofanoff (1908) became facts of German culture. The multiplicity of translations and the details of appearance of the novel Crime and Punishment (1880-1910) described in the article indicates the specifics of Dostoevsky’s work reception in Germany and the special role in this of the first novel of the “Great Pentateuch”.