Crime and Punishment is a novel written by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in 1866. It was written by Dostoevsky after he returned from ten years of exile in Siberia, where he was sent for being critical of Tsarist Russia. The novel is often cited as being one of the most influential ever published, and one of the biggest achievements in world literature.

The story follows Rodion Raskolnikov, an ex-student, currently living in poverty in 19th century St. Petersburg. In debt, and with no money left to pay off what he owes, Raskolnikov divises a plan to murder and rob a local pawn broker. He justifies his actions by arguing that the pawn broker is a leach on society, and that her money would be better off in his hands. The story follows the mental decline of Raskolnikov as he deals with the heavy toll of his actions as well as the impact it has on the people around him.