Which novel by a Russian author was first published in the literary journal "The Russian Messenger" and was used by  American educational web series Thug Notes, which had their pilot episode centered on it?
Thug Notes Thug Notes is an American educational web series that summarizes and analyzes various literary works in a comedic manner. "Thug Notes" first aired on June 3, 2013, on YouTube, with the pilot episode centered on "Crime and Punishment". The host of the series is Sparky Sweets, Ph.D., portrayed by actor and comedian Greg Edwards.
Uncle Styopa Uncle Styopa (Russian: Дядя Стёпа ; ] ), also known as Dyadya Stepa, is a series of poems written by Russian children's poet Sergey Mikhalkov. They were written in trochaic tetrameter. The poems featured a brave and noble "militsioner" (a policeman) who was unusual due to his extreme height. The name of the protagonist of the series was Stepan Stepanov (Russian: Степан Степанов ), or Styopa, which is a diminutive of the Russian given name Stepan. He performed various acts of good will, such as rescuing people, preventing train crashes, helping firefighters, stopping a school bully or working as a police officer for the Soviet Militsiya. Styopa is a wise, brave, generous, noble, fun-loving character. He fights against injustice and serves as an inspiration to the pioneers.