A prophet in his own land?

The newly opened Dostoyevskaya station on the Moscow metro has caused some controversy. It is decorated with large black and gray images evoking disturbing scenes of murder and suicide from Dostoyevsky's novels. Critics are worried that it could become a "suicide Mecca," but the artist who did the murals is unrepentant. In his defense, he told journalists: "What did you want? Scenes of dancing? Dostoevsky does not have them." Indeed, it's all Dostoyevsky's fault - he should have written more cheerful stuff. On the other hand, 19th-century Russia knew neither Prosac nor positive psychology. Then, how can we blame any Russian writer for being excessively gloomy?