The Devils is a critique of revolutionary ideology, embedded in a fascinating story on terrorist intrigues. As such it has proved to be of extraordinary social relevance and political topicality. The novel has been called prophetic because of its realistic description of later communist ideological thinking and acting, not only in Russia. Of course, Dostoevsky did not foresee the course of political events, but he saw the intrinsic consequences of utopian-totalitarian thinking when most people did not. Being a writer, he did not formulate his critique as a prophet or moralist, but combined his ethical message with humorous descriptions of party meetings, personality cult and intellectual pseudo progressiveness. In retrospect, the ideological themes of the novel are still captivating, while their manifestation in the communist mentality has become something of the past.

However, The Devils is more than just a critique on a political ideology, the human tragedy of the novel lies as much in the individual as in the political field. The themes of this novel are not only utilitarian partyethics and terrorist activity, but also the eternal themes of good and evil, the relationship between the existence of God and ethics, human freedom, conscience and guilt. These religious-philosophical themes are the underlying themes of the ideological ones. Now that the political topicality of the novel has disappeared, the other themes, which make the book transcend its temporal limits, emerge all the better. These themes are present as a metaphysical background of the thoughts and actions of the main characters.