《罪与罚》描写穷大学生拉斯柯尔尼科夫受无政府主义思想毒害，认为自己是个超人，可以为所欲为。为生计所迫，他杀死放高利贷的房东老太婆和她的无辜的妹妹，制造了一起震惊全俄的凶杀案。经历了一场内心痛苦的忏悔后，他最终在基督徒索尼雅姑娘的规劝下，投案自首，被判流放西伯利亚。作品着重刻画主人公犯罪后的心理变化，揭示俄国下层人民的艰难生活。(Crime and Punishment describes that the poor college student, Raskolnikov is adversely affected by the ideas of anarchism, and he thinks that he is a superman and he can do anything he wants. Forced by living, he kills the old landlord woman who lends money for usury and her innocent sister, making a murder case shocking the whole Russia. After a painful confession, he goes to the police and confess admonished by a Christian girl, Sonia and he is finally exiled to Siberia. The works focuses on the psychological changes after the crime of the hero, revealing the hard life of Russian lower-class people.)