LOCAL

Sixty meters beneath the street where he grew up, a new tribute to the author of ‘Crime and Punishment' and ‘The Brothers Karamazov' is taking shape. Although Fyodor Dostoevsky is more closely associated with St Petersburg - the city where he spent much of his working life and set his most famous novel - the great writer was born in Moscow and spent his childhood in a cramped apartment attached to Mariinksy Hospital where his father worked as a doctor.

Now that quiet corner of northern Moscow, which houses a discreet museum to the literary giant at 2 Ulitsa Dostoevskogo, is about to get a new metro station named after the writer. It's due to open later this year; the tunnels are almost complete and creating the station is scheduled for May. And, like the Pushkinskaya and Chekhovskaya stations before it, Dostoevskaya station will take its inspiration from his works.

The design will be mostly in black and white, with marbled walls and granite columns. Decoration will include scenes from his most famous stories and a portrait of the man himself.

The station plans, including its depth below street level, were drawn up to avoid disturbing the foundations of the historic buildings above. At a depth of 60m the station is among the deepest on the network.

By Andy Potts