On Tuesday, November 11, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., an event titled “Dostoyevsky’s Inner World: From Poor Folk to The Brothers Karamazov” was held in the Socrates Hall of Üsküdar University’s South Campus. The guest speaker was Asst. Prof. Dr. Sabri Gürses from Üsküdar University’s Department of Translation and Interpreting.
The program explored the life of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky, one of the great writers of classical Russian literature and world literature, through his works. Delivered as a slide-supported lecture, the talk covered the author’s youth, the world that shaped him, the setting in which he produced his writings, and the impact he created both in his own time and afterward.
Since the speaker has translated Dostoyevsky’s works for many years, he also shared his experiences and reflections on the translation process. Dostoyevsky’s multifaceted world was presented in a way that invited listeners into the writer’s distinctive inner landscape. Topics included his rise to fame with Poor Folk, his early disappointments, his rivalry with Turgenev, his exile in Siberia, his efforts to re-establish himself in literary circles after returning, the famous Pushkin Speech, and his death before he could complete The Brothers Karamazov.
It was also emphasized, especially in this context, that translation students should get to know in depth the authors they choose to work on.
