Crime & Punishment: Places

Key

residences

streets and squares

state institutions

commercial institutions

places of entertainment

general areas

waterways

miscellaneous

This map addresses the question of the different types of place that appear in Crime and Punishment.

Residences (marked black) are of paramount importance. Most of the novel’s most significant scenes take place in the characters’ lodgings – not only Raskolnikov’s coffin-like room, but also Sonia’s room, Marmeladov’s flat and the lodgings taken by Raskolnikov’s mother and sister.

Three types of institution are represented in the novel:
1) Government institutions (marked dark blue), including both centrally situated institutions from palaces to police stations, and those usually located peripherally, such as prisons and hospitals;
2) Commercial institutions, i.e. shops and arcades (marked purple). These are notably clustered around Nevskii Prospekt, and are therefore separated from the main action of the novel;
3) Places of entertainment, such as taverns, restaurants and pleasure gardens (marked pink). Those in the centre are mainly associated with Raskolnikov’s encounters with other characters; further afield, many of these watering holes are associated with Svidrigailov.

Petersburg’s topography as it appears in the novel is divided into thoroughfares (marked red), waterways (white) and references to areas (green). The concentration of red markers around the canal and the Haymarket indicate the narrow confines of most of the novel.