Translated by Eva Martin. The Idiot is a novel written by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky and first published in 1868. Dostoevsky's motives for writing The Idiot stem from his desire to depict the positively good man. This man is naturally likened to Christ in many ways. Dostoevsky uses Myshkin's introduction to the Petersburg society as a way to contrast the nature of Russian society at the time and the isolation and innocence of this good man. - Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.