Born: 30 August 1846, Russia
Died: 9 June 1918
Country most active: Russia, International
Also known as: Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina, Анна Григорьевна Достоевская
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women creator Allison Tyra’s book Uncredited: Women’s Overlooked, Misattributed, and Stolen Work.
Anna Dostoevskaya saved her husband from ruin. When they met, Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a gambling addict who risked losing all rights to his work if he didn’t meet a publisher’s deadline. Stenographer Anna was hired to help him get the promised novel written, which they accomplished in less than a month. After marrying a few months later, Anna took charge of the finances, got her new husband out of debt, and curbed his gambling problem, while also helping him avoid future risky contracts. She was also the one to establish their own publishing company so that the family would receive far more profits from her husband’s writing. Like many wives of famous men, she also helped ensure his legacy, collecting and preserving his manuscripts, photographs and other documents as well as publishing two memoirs of her own about their life together.