The Dostoevsky family and the village of Dostoevo in the records of the National Historical Archives of Belarus

11 November 2011 marks 190 years since the birth of the great Russian writer Fedor Dostoevsky, whose family has Belarusian roots and traces its lineage from the late 15th century. In 1506, his ancestors received a charter for the village of Dostoevo, Ivanovo district, Brest region. From this time on this village was named after the Dostoevsky family. The forebearer of the family is Danila Ivanovich Irtishchevich. In the written sources the village of Dostoevo was first mentioned in the 15th century.

Among the other prominent members of the Dostoevsky family are Pyotr, marshal of Pinsk (1598-1599), Yarosh, deputy head of Ovruch (1604), Pyotr, judge of Pinsk (1627-1632), Benedikt, deputy cupbearer of Pinsk (1635), Andrey, banneret of Volyn (1649) and others.

The National Historical Archives of Belarus holds a number of records relating to the Dostoevsky family and the village of Dostoevo dating from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. These include the Minsk Assembly of Noble Deputies File on the noble origin of the Dostoevskys (f. 319, op. 2, d. 941), minutes of the Minsk Assembly of Noble Deputies of 13 August 1800 on the confirmation of the noble status of the Dostoevsky family, coat of arms “Radvan” (f. 319, op. 1, d. 26), records on the history of the Dostoevsky family dating from the period 1506–1785 (f. 936, op. 1, d. 27), the 1819 description of the Uniate Church in Dostoevo, Pinsk district, Minsk province (f. 136, op. 1, d. 41258), the 1847 inventory of the estate of Dostoevo, Pinsk district, Minsk province (f. 142, op. 1, d. 1276), the 1862 Charter of the estate of Dostoevo of landlord Orda (f. 1595, op. 2, d. 2139), files concerning the purchase by peasants of land on the estate of Dostoevo from landlord Orda (f. 242, op. 2, d. 720, f. 1595, op. 2, d. 2139) etc.