MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/. A monument to world-famous Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky will be unveiled on July 7 near the walls of the Optina Pustyn Monastery in the Kaluga Region, Abbot of the Monastery and the Patriarch’s Vicar, Bishop of Mozhaisk Iosif (Korolyov) told TASS on Wednesday.

One hundred and forty five years ago, on July 7, 1878, Dostoevsky visited the Optina Monastery for the first time, where his meeting with St. Ambrose of Optima concluded the long-term spiritual and creative pursuits of the writer.

"The decision [to erect the monument] was made considering the role Fyodor Mikhailovich had in the Russian Church, what influence he exerted," the Bishop said. "The visit to the Optina Monastery influenced the further worldview of our famous writer. In particular, he wrote The Karamazov Brothers novel shortly after that. The Monastery put forward the initiative of installing the monument, having requested the blessing from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill," he added.

The Patriarch supported the proposal and gave his blessing to put up the monument to Dostoevsky near the walls of the Monastery, since "his role is great for the Russian nation at large, for Russian literature, and also for the Church," the Bishop added.

The monument’s opening will be an element in the program of Dostoevsky Days in Optina Monastery on July 7-8, the abbot added.