Gogol

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (1809–1852) was a Ukrainian-born Russian writer who became a key figure in 19th-century Russian literature. Born in Sorochyntsi, in the Poltava Governorate (now Ukraine), he wrote in Russian and drew on Ukrainian folklore and life. He settled in Saint Petersburg, where his satirical critique of bureaucracy and social manners gained prominence.

Gogol’s range includes folkloric tales, dramatic satire, and psychological realism. His early collection Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka (1831–1832) established his talent. Major works include the satirical play The Government Inspector (Revizor, 1836), the short story The Overcoat (Shinel, 1842), and the historical Taras Bulba (1835). The Diary of a Madman (1835) and the novel Dead Souls (several parts published 1842) are among his best-known works; Dead Souls' second part was destroyed by Gogol himself the same year, leaving it unfinished. His writing combined grotesque humor with compassionate social critique and explored themes of identity, power, and spiritual doubt.

Gogol’s influence on later Russian literature is considerable; his blending of realism, satire, and the uncanny had a lasting impact on writers such as Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. He died in Moscow in 1852 after a period of spiritual crisis and religious fervor; his reputation grew after his death, and his works remain core to the study of 19th-century literature and the development of the Russian realist tradition.