First reference to Dostoevsky's name in print media

The article provides an answer to the question of when the literary name of Dostoevsky was mentioned in the Russian press for the first time: from this point of view the following questions are considered: the circumstances of the publications of his translation of Balzac’s novel entitled Eugénie Grandet (1844), the development of his acquaintance with Belinsky in the summer of 1845, the announcements about the issue of almanac Scoffer (Zuboskal) and novel Poor Folk (1846). A comparative analysis of the memoir sources that describe conditions of the first writer’s meeting with V.G. Belinsky (Dostoevsky’s A Writer s Diary for 1877, P.V. Annenkov’s recollections, biographical reminiscences in an incomplete work by N.A. Nekrasov) is presented. V.G. Belinsky in his review of Peter Shtaver’s verses, expressed his assertions regarding the aims of poetry and the poet’s role. The critic’s statements reiterate his words addressed to Dostoevsky with regard to his first novel. However, Dostoevsky’s name and the title of his novel are not mentioned in the review. The literary name of Dostoevsky was referred to in the press for the first time in December 1845. Nevertheless, this reference was concerned not with his novel Poor Folk, but with his novella The Double.