Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (; Russian: Фёдор Миха́йлович Достое́вский, IPA: [ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ dəstɐˈjɛfskʲɪj] ( listen); 11 November 1821 – 9 February 1881), sometimes transliterated Dostoyevsky, was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist and philosopher. Dostoevsky's literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia, and engage with a variety of realistic philosophical and religious themes. He began writing in his 20s, and his first novel, Poor Folk, was published in 1846 when he was 25.