What is the surname of the protagonist in 'Crime and Punishment'?

The surname of the protagonist in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s *Crime and Punishment* is Raskolnikov. His full name is Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, a poor former student whose theory about extraordinary individuals leads him to commit murder.

First published in 1866, the novel follows Raskolnikov through the psychological and moral consequences of his crime in Saint Petersburg. He argues that some exceptional people may be permitted to violate ordinary laws if their actions supposedly benefit humanity. His experience quickly exposes the gap between an abstract intellectual theory and the terror, guilt, isolation, and self-deception that follow real violence.

The name is meaningful as well as distinctive. It is related to the Russian word *raskol*, meaning a split or schism, and reflects the protagonist’s divided mind and fractured relationship with society. A frequent mistake is answering “Rodion,” which is his first name, or “Romanovich,” which is his patronymic. “Raskolnikov” is the family name, while his sister Avdotya uses the feminine form Raskolnikova.