One of the things that struck me upon rereading Crime and Punishement recently was how forcefully and persuasively Dostoyevsky argues for both sides of issues. Whereas with lesser authors one can easily tell which side of an issue they are on, with Dostoyevsky it's not so easy (though you can infer from the mere fact that Dostoyevsky chose to write about them at all that he cares deeply about them).

The most unsympathetic of his characters are also portrayed quite sympathetically and compassionately. The reader really understands how they can do the reprehensible things they do, can understand what brought them to this end, and even sympathize with them. They are the polar opposites of the flat, two dimensional cardboard cutouts that pass for characters in most other books.