The novel "Demons" (1871-1872) is one of the most important in the creative heritage of F. M. Dostoevsky. The impetus for its creation was the first political murder in the history of the revolutionary movement in Russia, committed by a group of revolutionary terrorists led by Sergei Nechaev. The depth of philosophical and religious issues, the severity of the formulation of social and moral issues led to the heated debate that has been going on around this work since its publication. The complex genre nature, the essence of the author's pathos "Demons" is traditionally defined in terms of "novel-tragedy" and "novel-warning." The publication is accompanied by extensive comments. The introductory article "Rehearsal of the Russian apocalypse" helps to better understand the author's artistic concept of the novel.