“Nero (artist)” in F. M. Dostoevsky's workbook of 1864-1867

The article examines the problem of attribution of an essay from F. M. Dostoevsky's workbook of 1864-1867 (Russian State Archive of Literature and Art. Fund 212.1.5. p. 10), titled “The Usurer”. The novelty of the study is in that Nero (the artist), a character who emerged from the writer's knowledge and concept of Emperor Nero, for the first time becomes the subject of detailed analysis. Based on the evidence from the classical and early Christian writers, as well as on scientific and literary works written during Dostoevsky's lifetime, the author makes an argument for Nero's figure to be considered a junction of at least three elements. He is not merely Nero-the-artist, but also Nero-the-persecutor of Christians and Nero-the Antichrist. This image reveals a rami-fied network of extensive ties with the preparatory materials for an early draft of “The Idiot”. Thus, it augments the aggregate of B. N. Tikhomirov's arguments regarding other records, characters, motifs and prototypes in this essay. It also support his theory regarding “The Usurer”, which states that it is not the author's independent and unexecuted idea, but, rather, should be examined in the framework of the creative history of “The Idiot”, specifically, its initial stage.