Despite the fact that Dostoevsky's understanding of the artistic world has been going on for 160 years, this work cannot be considered close to completion. In the proposed book, the problem of Dostoevsky's worldview is analyzed in connection with the principles of his poetics, which have a certain culturological nature. Consideration of such elements as "laughter", "joy", "fun" allowed to reveal their connection (in many cases difficult) with the system of Christian perceptions and an important role in the world of the writer's works. The study of the Christian context made it possible to clarify the meaning of a number of artistic facts (for example, the meaning of the characterization of an "idiot" in a novel of the same name), to establish the correlation of characters with different cultural traditions (Christianity, ancient paganism, neo-paganism), to reveal a group of characters directly related to the expression of Dostoevsky's ideological and aesthetic views ("controversial sages"). The book is addressed to specialists in Russian literature, students, philologists, and anyone who is interested in Dostoevsky's work.