The events in "The Fatalist" definitely promote the idea that a man has a certain time he is destined to die, though not necessarily that all his actions are predestined. However, the man Pechorin saw to be about to die did, in fact, die. On the other hand, Pechorin, who, being the main character, was of course not destined to die, survived unscathed. I was about to agree with marina about this being an attempt to justify pechorin's actions, but in the Foreword, Lermontov seems to view Pechorin as representive of a problem in current society. Perhaps, then, it is only an attempt to show Pechorin justify his actions.