“The Kumanin heritage case” in life and works of F. M. Dostoevsky

The article reviews the so called “Kumanin heritage case” which left a significant mark in biography and works of F. M. Dostoevsky. The “great importance” of the help that the writer had been receiving from wealthy Moscow relatives Kumanins throughout almost all his life is disclosed on the basis of nonficional materials. But monetary and estate heritage turned out to be “unlucky” for him, as V. M. Karepina pointed it out. As it resulted from Dostoevsky’s correspondence with his brothers and sisters, the archival materials, documents presented in a number of historical and biographical researches as well as from the court records with regard to that case, he became a victim of circumstances and intrigues. This viewpoint that is confirmed, in particular, by the story of his debt to the Ivanovs. Their relations failed to stand against the Kumanin “case” and led to a tragic outcome — death of the writer. In conclusion the article specifies the issues for further studying of the “ the Kumanin heritage case” from the moral and legal points of view and in terms of its reflection in writer’s works, in which the motif of the “fateful heritage” has an important narrative and ideological meaning.