The purpose of the article is to study the concept of evil presented in the early works of V.V. Rozanov in its connection with the subsequent ideological evolution of the thinker. The article discusses the question of how Rozanov’s ideas on the origin and significance of evil are connected with his concept of the expediency of all things, which plays a defining role in his early writings. The article demonstrates the peculiarity of Rozanov’s views on human nature in comparison with the classical philosophical tradition. The author also discusses philosophical foundations of Rozanov’s doctrine of necessity of evil for the actualization of good. Besides that the article analyzes Rozanov’s argument against F.M. Dostoevsky on the issue of moral justification of human suffering. The author argues that it was difference in the treatment of the significance of evil that led to Rozanov’s disengagement from Dostoevsky’s ideological heritage. The article substantiates the conclusion about the essential connection between Rozanov’s doctrine of the nature of good and evil and the emerging ideas of the “new religious consciousness”.