Welcome to the collective, LauraK. If you have not had a chance yet, check out the Fluther Guidelines, which gives some tips on asking questions.
This is an ancient phrase, first used by a Roman satirist. One reason it is ubiquitous is our cultures today is that Roman playwrights were part of standard Classical education in Europe (explaining the Dostoevsky reference and so many others).
I like the Merriam-Webster explanation, which is succinct and very clear:
” From Merriam-Webster Online:
: Main Entry: bread and circuses
: Function: noun plural
: Etymology: translation of Latin panis et circenses
: Date: 1914
: : a palliative offered especially to avert potential discontent
Bread and circuses – It means distracting people with food and entertainment (bread and circuses/popcorn and movies) so they won’t notice the things that are really wrong. It’s kind of like distracting a baby with a bottle and a rattle. The expression comes from an ancient Roman saying. “A pallative offered especially to avert potential discontent. Public spectacles or entertainments distract the public from important issues and may alleviate discontent in the short run, but neither provides fundamental solutions. The term comes from the work of the Roman satirist Juvenal (ca. A.D. 60–140), who wrote: Duas tantum res anxius optat/Panem et circenses.(The people) long eagerly for two things/Bread and circuses.” From “Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Allusions” by Elizabeth Webber and Mike Feinsilber (Merriam-Webster, Springfield, Mass., 1999).”