Dos·to·yev·sky or Dos·to·ev·ski (dŏs'tə-yěf'skē, -toi-, dŭs-) Russian writer whose works combine religious mysticism with profound psychological insight. His four great novels are Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1868-1869), The Possessed (1871), and The Brothers Karamazov (1879-1880). Dos'to·yev'ski·an adj.