Did Nikolai Gogol have paranormal abilities? Mystic Gogol. Was a great writer buried alive? Mysticism in life and works

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Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (1809 - 1852) - a classic of Russian literature, writer, playwright, essayist, critic. The most important works of Gogol are: the collection "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka", dedicated to the customs and traditions of the Ukrainian people, as well as the greatest poem "Dead Souls".

Among the biographies of great writers, the biography of Gogol stands in a separate row. After reading this article, you will understand why this is so.

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol is a universally recognized literary classic. He masterfully worked in a variety of genres. Both contemporaries and writers of subsequent generations spoke positively about his works.

Talk about his biography has not subsided to this day, because from among the intelligentsia of the 19th century he is one of the most mystical and enigmatic figures.

Childhood and youth

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was born on March 20, 1809 in the town of Sorochintsy (Poltava province, Mirgorod district) into a family of local poor Little Russian nobles who owned the village of Vasilyevka, Vasily Afanasyevich and Maria Ivanovna Gogol-Yanovsky.

The belonging of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol to the Little Russian people from childhood had a significant impact on his worldview and writing activity. The psychological characteristics of the Little Russian people were reflected in the content of his early works and in the artistic style of his speech.

Childhood years were spent in the estate of parents Vasilievka, Mirgorod district, not far from the village of Dikanka. An hour's drive from Vasilyevka along the Oposhnyansky tract was the Poltava field - the site of the famous battle. From his grandmother Tatyana Semyonovna, who taught the boy to draw and even embroider with a garus, Gogol listened to Ukrainian folk songs on winter evenings. Grandmother told her grandson historical legends and legends about the heroic pages of history, about the Zaporizhzhya Cossack freemen.

The Gogol family stood out for its stable cultural demands. Gogol's father, Vasily Afanasyevich, was a talented storyteller and theater lover. He became close friends with a distant relative, former Minister of Justice D. P. Troshchinsky, who lived in retirement in the village of Kibintsy, not far from Vasilyevka. A rich nobleman arranged a home theater in his estate, where Vasily Afanasyevich became a director and actor. He composed his own comedies for this theater in Ukrainian, the plots of which he borrowed from folk tales. V. V. Kapnist, a venerable playwright, author of the famous Yabeda, took part in the preparation of the performances. On the stage in Kibintsy, his plays were performed, as well as "Undergrowth" by Fonvizin, "Podshchip" by Krylov. Vasily Afanasyevich was friendly with Kapnist, sometimes visiting with his whole family in Obukhovka. In July 1813, little Gogol saw G. R. Derzhavin here, visiting a friend of his youth. Gogol inherited his gift for writing and acting talent from his father.

Mother, Maria Ivanovna, was a religious, nervous and impressionable woman. Having lost two children who died in infancy, she fearfully waited for the third. The couple prayed in the Dikan church in front of the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas. Having given the newborn the name of a saint revered by the people, the parents surrounded the boy with special caress and attention. From childhood, Gogol remembered his mother's stories about the last times, about the death of the world and the Last Judgment, about the hellish torments of sinners. They were accompanied by instructions on the need to maintain spiritual purity for the sake of future salvation. The boy was especially impressed by the story of the ladder that angels lower from heaven, offering their hand to the soul of the deceased. On this ladder are seven measurements; the last, the seventh, raises the immortal soul of man to the seventh heaven, to heavenly abodes, which are accessible to few. The souls of the righteous go there - people who spent their earthly life "in all piety and purity." The image of the stairs will then pass through all Gogol's reflections on the fate and calling of man to spiritual perfection.

From his mother, Gogol inherited a subtle mental organization, a penchant for contemplation and God-fearing religiosity. Kapnist's daughter recalled: "I knew Gogol as a boy, always serious and so thoughtful that his mother was extremely worried." The boy's imagination was also influenced by the pagan beliefs of the people in brownies, witches, watermen and mermaids. Discordant and motley, sometimes comically cheerful, and sometimes leading to fear and awe, the mysterious world of folk demonology from childhood was absorbed by the impressionable Gogol's soul.

In 1821, after a two-year study at the Poltava district school, the parents assigned the boy to the newly opened high school of higher sciences, Prince Bezborodko, in Nizhyn, Chernihiv province. It was often called a lyceum: like the Tsarskoye Selo lyceum, the gymnasium course in it was combined with university subjects, and the classes were taught by professors. Gogol studied for seven years in Nizhyn, coming to his parents only for the holidays.

At first, the teaching was slow: insufficient home preparation had an effect. The children of wealthy parents, classmates of Gogol, entered the gymnasium with knowledge of Latin, French and German. Gogol envied them, felt slighted, shied away from classmates, and in letters home he begged to be taken away from the gymnasium. The sons of wealthy parents, among whom was N.V. Kukolnik, did not spare his pride, ridiculed his weaknesses. On his own experience, Gogol experienced the drama of the "little" man, learned the bitter price of the words of the poor official Bashmachkin, the hero of his "Overcoat", addressed to the scoffers: "Leave me! Why do you offend me?" Sickly, frail, suspicious, the boy was humiliated not only by his peers, but also by insensitive teachers. Rare patience, the ability to silently endure insults gave Gogol the first nickname received from high school students - "Dead Thought."

But soon Gogol discovered an outstanding talent in drawing, far ahead of the successes of his offenders, and then enviable literary abilities. Like-minded people appeared, with whom he began to publish a handwritten journal, placing his articles, stories, poems in it. Among them - the historical story "The Brothers Tverdislavichi", a satirical essay "Something about Nizhyn, or the law is not written for fools", in which he ridiculed the customs of the local inhabitants.

The beginning of the literary path

Gogol early became interested in literature, especially poetry. Pushkin was his favorite poet, and he copied his "Gypsies", "Poltava", chapters of "Eugene Onegin" into his notebooks. Gogol's first literary experiments also date back to this time.

Already in 1825, he collaborated in the manuscript journal of the gymnasium, composing poetry. Theater was another hobby of Gogol the high school student. He took an active part in staging school plays, played comic roles, and painted scenery.

Gogol early awakened dissatisfaction with the musty and dull life of the Nezhin "existents", a dream of serving noble and lofty goals. The thought of the future, of "serving humanity," captured Gogol even then. These youthful - enthusiastic aspirations, this thirst for socially useful activity, a sharp denial of philistine complacency found their expression in his first poetic work, the poem "Hanz Kühelgarten", which has come down to us.

Dreams and plans for future activities attracted Gogol to the capital, to distant and alluring Petersburg. Here he thought to find an application for his abilities, to give his strength for the good of society. At the end of the gymnasium, in December 1828, Gogol leaves for St. Petersburg.

Petersburg unkindly met an enthusiastic young man who came from distant Ukraine, from a quiet provincial wilderness. On all sides, Gogol suffers setbacks. The bureaucratic and bureaucratic world reacted with indifferent indifference to the young provincial: there was no service, the capital life for a young man who had very modest means turned out to be very difficult. Gogol was also bitterly disappointed in the literary field. His hopes for the poem "Hanz Kühelgarten", brought from Nizhyn, did not come true. Published in 1829 (under the pseudonym V. Alov), the poem was not successful.

An attempt to enter the stage also ended in failure: Gogol's genuine rhyolistic talent as an actor turned out to be alien to the then theater directorate.

Only at the end of 1829 did Gogol manage to get a job as a minor official in the department of state economy and public buildings. However, Gogol did not stay long in this position and already in April 1830 he entered the department of appanages as a scribe.

Gogol learned during these years of deprivation and need experienced in St. Petersburg by the majority of service, unsecured people. For a whole year Gogol served as an official in the department. However, the bureaucratic service did not attract him much. At the same time, he attended the Academy of Arts, painting there. His literary pursuits resumed. But now Gogol no longer writes dreamy-romantic poems like "Hanz Küchelgarten", but turns to Ukrainian life and folklore, which he knows well, starting work on a book of stories, which he entitled "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka".

In 1831, the long-awaited acquaintance with Pushkin took place, which soon turned into a close friendly closeness of both writers. Gogol found in Pushkin an older comrade, a literary director.

Gogol and theater

In 1837, he appeared in Sovremennik with an article entitled Petersburg Notes of 1836, which was largely devoted to dramaturgy and theatre. Gogol's judgments broke the established canons and affirmed the need for a new artistic method for the Russian stage - realism. Gogol criticized two popular genres that in those years took over "the theaters of the whole world": melodrama and vaudeville.

Gogol sharply condemns the main vice of this genre:

Lies in the most shameless way our melodrama

The melodrama does not reflect the life of society and does not produce the proper impact on it, arousing in the viewer not participation, but some kind of “anxious state”. Does not correspond to the tasks of the theater and vaudeville, "this light, colorless toy", in which laughter "is generated by light impressions, a quick wit, a pun."

The theater, according to Gogol, should teach, educate the audience:

From the theater we made a toy like those trinkets with which they lure children, forgetting that this is such a pulpit from which a live lesson is read at once to a whole crowd

In the draft version of the article, Gogol calls the theater a "great school". But the condition for this is the fidelity of the reflection of life. “Really, it’s time to know already,” writes Gogol, that there is only one true depiction of characters, not in generalized outlines, but in their nationally poured out form, striking us with liveliness, so that we say: “Yes, this seems to be a familiar person,” - only such an image brings significant benefit. Here and in other places, Gogol defends the principles of the realistic theater and attaches great social and educational significance to such a theater alone.

For God's sake, give us Russian characters, give us ourselves, our rogues, our eccentrics! on their stage, to the laughter of everyone!

Gogol reveals the importance of laughter as the strongest weapon in the fight against social vices. “Laughter, Gogol continues, is a great thing: it does not take away either life or property, but before him is guilty, like a tied hare ...” In the theater, “with the solemn brilliance of lighting, with the thunder of music, with unanimous laughter, an acquaintance is shown hiding vice". Man is afraid of laughter, Gogol repeatedly repeats, and refrains from that "from which no force would have kept him." But not every laughter has such power, but only "that electric, life-giving laughter" that has a deep ideological basis.

In December 1828, Gogol said goodbye to his native Ukrainian places and took his way north: to alien and tempting, distant and desirable Petersburg. Even before his departure, Gogol wrote: “Since the very past, from the very years of almost misunderstanding, I have been burning with unquenchable zeal to make my life necessary for the good of the state. I went over in my mind all the states, all the positions in the state and settled on one. On justice. “I saw that here only I can be a benefactor, here I will only be useful to mankind.”

So. Gogol arrived in Petersburg. The very first weeks of his stay in the capital brought Gogol the bitterness of disappointment. He failed to fulfill his dream. Unlike Piskarev, the hero of the story "Nevsky Prospekt", Gogol does not perceive the collapse of his dreams so tragically. Having changed many other activities, he still finds his calling in life. Gogol's vocation is to be a writer. “... I wanted,” wrote Gogol, “in my essay to expose mainly those higher properties of Russian nature that are not yet fairly valued by everyone, and mainly those low ones that have not yet been ridiculed and amazed by everyone enough. I wanted to collect here some striking psychological phenomena, to place those observations that I have been making secretly over a person for a long time. Soon the poem was finished, which Gogol decided to make public. It was published in May 1829 under the title "Hanz Küchelgarten". Critical reviews soon appeared in the press. They were strongly negative. Gogol took his failure very painfully. He leaves Petersburg, but soon returns again.

Gogol was seized by a new dream: the theatre. But he did not pass the exam. His realistic manner of playing was clearly contrary to the tastes of the examiners. And here again failure. Gogol almost fell into despair.

A short time later, Gogol receives a new position in one of the departments of the Ministry of the Interior. After 3 months, he could not stand it here and wrote a letter of resignation. He moved to another department, where he then worked as a scribe. Gogol continued to look closely at the life and life of his fellow officials. These observations then formed the basis of the stories "The Nose", "The Overcoat". After serving for another year, Gogol leaves the departmental service forever.

Meanwhile, his interest in art not only did not fade away, but every day more and more overwhelmed him. The bitterness with "Hanz Kuchelgarten" was forgotten, and Gogol continued to write.

His new collections and works are coming out soon. 1831 - 1832 Gogol writes the collection "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka", 1835 - the collection "Mirgorod", in the same year begins to create "Dead Souls" and "The Government Inspector", in 1836 - the story "The Nose" was published and the premiere of the comedy " Inspector" in the theaters of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Only later, after his death, some of the stories depicting Petersburg "in all its glory", with officials, with bribe-takers, were combined into "Petersburg Tales". These are such stories as: "The Overcoat", "The Nose", "Nevsky Prospekt", "Notes of a Madman". The St. Petersburg stories reflect both high and by no means the best properties of the Russian character, the way of life and customs of different strata of St. Petersburg society - officials, military men, artisans. Literary critic A. V. Lunacharsky wrote: “The vile faces of everyday life teased and called for a slap.” The story “Nevsky Prospekt” with its Pirogov, Hoffmann and Schiller, with ladies, generals and department officials, wandering along Nevsky Prospekt “from two to three in the afternoon ...” became such a slap in the face.

In St. Petersburg, Gogol had a difficult life, full of disappointments. He couldn't find his calling. And finally found. The vocation of N.V. Gogol is to be a writer depicting the vices of the human soul and the nature of Little Russia.

Gogol died at the age of 43. The doctors who treated him in recent years were completely at a loss about his illness. A version of depression was put forward.

It began with the fact that at the beginning of 1852 the sister of one of Gogol's close friends, Ekaterina Khomyakova, died, whom the writer respected to the depths of his soul. Her death provoked a severe depression, resulting in religious ecstasy. Gogol began to fast. His daily diet consisted of 1-2 tablespoons of cabbage pickle and oatmeal, occasionally prunes. Given that Nikolai Vasilyevich's body was weakened after an illness - in 1839 he had malarial encephalitis, and in 1842 he suffered from cholera and miraculously survived - starvation was mortally dangerous for him.

On the night of February 24, he burned the second volume of Dead Souls. After 4 days, Gogol was visited by a young doctor, Alexei Terentiev. He described the state of the writer as follows:

He watched as a man for whom all tasks were solved, all feeling was silenced, all words were in vain ... His whole body became extremely thin, his eyes became dull and sunken, his face was completely haggard, his cheeks were sunken, his voice weakened ...

Doctors invited to the dying Gogol found severe gastrointestinal disorders in him. They talked about "gut catarrh", which turned into "typhus", about an unfavorable course of gastroenteritis. And, finally, about "indigestion", complicated by "inflammation".

As a result, the doctors diagnosed him with meningitis and prescribed bloodletting, hot baths and douches, which are deadly in this state.

The writer's pitiful withered body was immersed in a bath, his head was poured with cold water. They put leeches on him, and with a weak hand he convulsively tried to brush away the clusters of black worms that were clinging to his nostrils. But how could one think of a worse torture for a person who had felt disgust all his life in front of everything creeping and slimy? “Remove the leeches, lift the leeches from your mouth,” Gogol groaned and pleaded. In vain. He was not allowed to do so.

A few days later the writer was gone.

Gogol's ashes were buried at noon on February 24, 1852 by parish priest Alexei Sokolov and deacon John Pushkin. And after 79 years, he was secretly, thievishly removed from the grave: the Danilov Monastery was being transformed into a colony for juvenile delinquents, in connection with which its necropolis was subject to liquidation. It was decided to transfer only a few of the most dear to the Russian heart burials to the old cemetery of the Novodevichy Convent. Among these lucky ones, along with Yazykov, Aksakovs and Khomyakovs, was Gogol ...

On May 31, 1931, twenty to thirty people gathered at Gogol's grave, among whom were: historian M. Baranovskaya, writers Vs. Ivanov, V. Lugovskoy, Yu. Olesha, M. Svetlov, V. Lidin and others. It was Lidin who became almost the only source of information about the reburial of Gogol. With his light hand, terrible legends about Gogol began to walk around Moscow.

The coffin was not found right away, - he told the students of the Literary Institute, - for some reason it turned out not to be where they were digging, but somewhat at a distance, to the side. And when they pulled it out of the ground - flooded with lime, seemingly strong, from oak planks - and opened it, bewilderment was added to the heart trembling of those present. In the coffin lay a skeleton with a skull turned to one side. No one has found an explanation for this. Someone superstitious, probably, then thought: “Well, after all, the publican - during his lifetime, as if not alive, and after death not dead, this strange great man.”

Lidin's stories stirred up old rumors that Gogol was afraid of being buried alive in a state of lethargic sleep and, seven years before his death, bequeathed:

Do not bury my body until there are clear signs of decomposition. I mention this because even during the illness itself, moments of vital numbness came over me, my heart and pulse stopped beating.

What the exhumers saw in 1931 seemed to indicate that Gogol's testament had not been fulfilled, that he was buried in a lethargic state, he woke up in a coffin and experienced nightmarish minutes of a new death...

In fairness, it must be said that Lidin's version did not inspire confidence. Sculptor N. Ramazanov, who took off Gogol's death mask, recalled: "I did not suddenly decide to take off the mask, but the prepared coffin ... finally, the incessantly arriving crowd who wanted to say goodbye to the dear deceased forced me and my old man, who pointed out the traces of destruction, to hurry ... "Found my own an explanation for the rotation of the skull: the side boards at the coffin were the first to rot, the lid falls under the weight of the soil, presses on the dead man’s head, and it turns to its side on the so-called “Atlantean vertebra”.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (1809 - 1852) was born in Ukraine, in the village of Sorochintsy in the Poltava region. His father was from the landowners of the Bogdan Khmelnitsky family. In total, 12 children were brought up in the family.

Childhood and youth

Neighbors and friends constantly gathered at the Gogol family estate: the father of the future writer was known as a great admirer of the theater. It is known that he even tried to write his own plays. So Nikolai inherited his talent for creativity from his father's side. While studying at the Nizhyn Gymnasium, he became famous for the fact that he loved to write bright and funny epigrams for his classmates and teachers.

Since the teaching staff of the educational institution was not distinguished by high professionalism, the gymnasium students had to devote a lot of time to self-education: they wrote out almanacs, prepared theatrical performances, and published their own handwritten journal. At that time, Gogol had not yet thought about a writing career. He dreamed of entering the civil service, which was then considered prestigious.

Petersburg period

Moving to St. Petersburg in 1828 and the much-desired civil service did not bring moral satisfaction to Nikolai Gogol. It turned out that the work in the office is boring.

At the same time, Gogol's first printed poem, Hans Küchelgarten, appeared. But the writer is also disappointed in her. And so much so that he personally takes the published materials from the store and burns them.

Life in St. Petersburg has a depressing effect on the writer: an uninteresting job, a dull climate, material problems ... He increasingly thinks about returning to his picturesque native village in Ukraine. It was the memories of the homeland that were embodied in a well-transmitted national flavor in one of the most famous works of the writer, Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka. This masterpiece was warmly received by critics. And after Zhukovsky and Pushkin left positive reviews about Evenings, the doors to the world of true luminaries of writing art opened for Gogol.

Inspired by the success of his first successful work, Gogol, after a short time, wrote Notes of a Madman, Taras Bulba, The Nose, and Old World Landowners. They further reveal the talent of the writer. After all, no one before in his works so accurately and vividly touched upon the psychology of "small" people. No wonder the well-known critic of that time Belinsky spoke so enthusiastically about Gogol's talent. Everything could be found in his works: humor, tragedy, humanity, poetism. But with all this, the writer continued to be not completely satisfied with himself and his work. He believed that his civic position was expressed too passively.

Having failed in public service, Nikolai Gogol decides to try his hand at teaching history at St. Petersburg University. But even here another fiasco awaited him. Therefore, he makes another decision: to devote himself entirely to creativity. But not as a contemplative writer, but as an active participant, a judge of heroes. In 1836, the bright satire "Inspector General" comes out from the author's pen. The society accepted this work ambiguously. Perhaps because Gogol was able to very sensitively "hurt a nerve", showing all the imperfections of the then society. Once again, the writer, disappointed in his abilities, decides to leave Russia.

Roman holiday

From St. Petersburg, Nikolai Gogol emigrates to Italy. A quiet life in Rome has a beneficial effect on the writer. It was here that he began to write a large-scale work - "Dead Souls". Once again, society did not accept a real masterpiece. Gogol was accused of slandering his homeland, because the society could not take a blow to the serfdom. Even the critic Belinsky took up arms against the writer.

Rejection by society did not have the best effect on the health of the writer. He made an attempt and wrote the second volume of Dead Souls, but he personally burned the manuscript.

The writer died in Moscow in February 1852. The official cause of death was "nervous fever".

• Gogol was fond of knitting and sewing. He made the famous neckerchiefs for himself.
• The writer had a habit of walking the streets only on the left side, which constantly interfered with passers-by.
• Nikolai Gogol was very fond of sweets. In his pockets you could always find sweets or a piece of sugar.
• The writer's favorite drink was goat's milk brewed with rum.
• The whole life of the writer was associated with mysticism and legends about his life, which gave rise to the most incredible, sometimes ridiculous rumors.

This article will discuss the life of Gogol. This writer created many immortal works that rightfully occupy a worthy place in the annals of world literature. Many rumors and legends are associated with his name, some of which Nikolai Vasilievich spread about himself. He was a great inventor and hoaxer, which, of course, was reflected in his work.

Parents

Gogol Nikolai Vasilievich, whose biography is discussed in this article, was born in 1809, on March 20, in the settlement of Velikie Sorochintsy in the Poltava province. On the paternal side, the family of the future writer included church ministers, but the boy's grandfather, Afanasy Demyanovich, left his spiritual career and began working in the hetman's office. It was he who subsequently added to the surname Yanovsky received at birth another, more famous - Gogol. So the ancestor of Nikolai Vasilyevich sought to emphasize his kinship with Colonel Ostap Gogol, well-known in Ukrainian history, who lived in the 17th century.

The father of the future writer - Gogol-Yanovsky Vasily Afanasyevich - was an exalted and dreamy man. This can be judged from the history of his marriage to the daughter of a local landowner, Kosyarovskaya Maria Ivanovna. As a thirteen-year-old teenager, Vasily Afanasyevich saw in a dream the Mother of God, pointing out to him a little unfamiliar girl as a future wife. After some time, the boy recognized the heroine of his dream in the seven-month-old daughter of the Kosyarovsky neighbors. From an early age, he anxiously looked after his chosen one and married Maria Ivanovna, as soon as she was 14 years old. Gogol's family lived in great love and harmony. The biography of the writer began in 1809, when the couple finally had their first child, Nikolai. Parents were kind to the baby, tried their best to protect him from any troubles and upheavals.

Childhood

Gogol's biography, a summary of which will be useful for everyone to know, began in truly greenhouse conditions. Dad and mom adored the baby and did not refuse him anything. In addition to him, the family had eleven more children, but most of them died in middle age. However, Nikolai, of course, enjoyed the greatest love.

The writer spent his childhood years in Vasilievka, the parental estate. The town of Kibintsy was considered the cultural center of this region. It was the fiefdom of D.T. Troshchinsky, a former minister and a distant relative of the Yanovsky-Gogols. He held the post of district marshal (that is, he was the district marshal of the nobility), and Vasily Afanasyevich was listed as his secretary. Theatrical performances were often held in Kibitsy, in which the father of the future writer took an active part. Nikolai often attended rehearsals, was very proud of it, and at home, inspired by the work of the pope, he wrote good poetry. However, Gogol's first literary experiments have not been preserved. And as a child, he drew well and even organized an exhibition of his paintings in his parental estate.

Education

Together with his younger brother Ivan in 1818 he was sent to the Poltava district school and Nikolai Gogol. The biography of a home boy, accustomed to greenhouse conditions, went according to a completely different scenario. His cozy childhood was rapidly coming to an end. At the school, he was taught a very strict discipline, but Nikolai did not show much zeal for the sciences. The very first holidays ended in a terrible tragedy - brother Ivan died of an unknown illness. After his death, all the hopes of the parents were placed on Nikolai. He needed to get a better education, for which he was sent to study at the Nizhyn Classical Gymnasium. The conditions here were very harsh: children were raised daily at 5.30 am, and classes lasted from 9.00 to 17.00. In the remaining time, the students were supposed to study their lessons and pray diligently.

However, the future writer managed to get used to the local order. Soon he made friends, well-known and respected people in the future: Nestor Kukolnik, Nikolai Prokopovich, Konstantin Bazili, Alexander Danilevsky. All of them, having matured, became famous writers. And this is not surprising! While still high school students, they founded several handwritten magazines: "Meteor of Literature", "Dawn of the North", "Star" and others. In addition, teenagers were passionately fond of the theater. Moreover, Gogol's creative biography could well have been different - many predicted for him the fate of a famous actor. However, the young man dreamed of public service and, after graduating from high school, resolutely went to St. Petersburg to make a career.

Official

Together with his friend from the gymnasium Danilevsky in 1828, Gogol went to the capital. Petersburg met young people unfriendly, they were constantly in need of money and unsuccessfully tried to find a decent job. At this time, Nikolai Vasilyevich was trying to earn a living through literary experiments. However, his first poem "Hanz Kühelgarten" was not successful. In 1829, the writer began to serve in the department of state economy and public buildings of the Ministry of the Interior, then worked for almost a year in the department of appanages under the supervision of the famous poet V.I. Panaev. Staying in the offices of various departments helped Nikolai Vasilyevich to collect the richest material for future works. However, the public service forever disappointed the writer. Fortunately, he was soon in for a truly dizzying success in the literary field.

Fame

In 1831 Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka were published. "Here is real gaiety, sincere, unconstrained ..." - Pushkin said about this work. Now the personality and biography of Gogol have become interesting to the most famous people in Russia. His talent was readily recognized by all. Nikolai Vasilyevich was beside himself with joy and constantly wrote letters to his mother and sisters asking them to send him more material about Little Russian folk customs.

In 1836, the famous "Petersburg story" of the writer - "The Nose" - was published. In this extremely daring work for its time, worship of rank is ridiculed in its smallest and sometimes disgusting manifestations. At the same time, Gogol created the work "Taras Bulba". The biography and work of the writer are inextricably linked with his dear homeland - Ukraine. In "Taras Bulba" Nikolai Vasilyevich tells about the heroic past of his country, about how the representatives of the people (Cossacks) fearlessly defended their independence from the Polish invaders.

"Inspector"

How much trouble this play gave the author! Being a brilliant writer and playwright who far anticipated his time, Nikolai Vasilievich was never able to convey to his contemporaries the meaning of his immortal work. The plot of The Inspector General was presented to Gogol by Pushkin. Inspired by the great poet, the author wrote it in just a few months. In the autumn of 1835, the first drafts appeared, and in 1836, on January 18, the first hearing of the play took place at the evening at Zhukovsky's. On April 19, the premiere of The Government Inspector took place on the stage of the Alexandria Theatre. Nicholas the First himself came to it together with the heir. They say that after watching the emperor said: “Well, a play! Everyone got it, but I - more than anyone! However, Nikolai Vasilievich was not laughing. He, a convinced monarchist, was accused of revolutionary sentiments, undermining the foundations of society, and God knows what else. But he was simply trying to ridicule the abuse of local officials, his goal was morality, and not politics at all. The upset writer left the country and went on a long trip abroad.

Abroad

An interesting biography of Gogol abroad deserves special attention. In total, the writer spent twelve years on "saving" journeys. In 1936, Nikolai Vasilievich did not limit himself to anything: at the beginning of the summer he settled in Germany, spent the autumn in Switzerland, and came to Paris for the winter. During this time, he made great progress in writing the novel Dead Souls. The plot of the work was suggested to the author by the same Pushkin. He highly appreciated the first chapters of the novel, recognizing that Russia, in essence, is a very sad country.

In February 1837, Gogol, whose biography is interesting and instructive, moved to Rome. Here he learned about the death of Alexander Sergeevich. In desperation, Nikolai Vasilyevich decided that "Dead Souls" was the poet's "sacred testament", which must necessarily see the light of day. Zhukovsky arrived in Rome in 1838. Gogol enjoyed walking along the streets of the city with the poet, painting local landscapes with him.

Return to Russia

In 1839, in September, the writer returned to Moscow. Now Gogol's creative biography is devoted to the publication of "Dead Souls". The summary of the work is already known to many friends of Nikolai Vasilyevich. He read individual chapters of the novel at the Aksakovs' house, at Prokopovich's and Zhukovsky's. His closest circle of friends became his listeners. All of them were delighted with the creation of Gogol. In 1842, in May, the first publication of "Dead Souls" was published. At first, the reviews about the work were mostly positive, then the ill-wishers of Nikolai Vasilyevich seized the initiative. They accused the writer of slander, caricature, farce. A truly devastating article was written by N. A. Polevoy. However, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol did not take part in all this controversy. The biography of the writer continued abroad again.

Affairs of the Heart

Gogol never married. Very little is known about his serious relationships with women. His longtime and devoted friend was Alexandra Osipovna Smirnova. When she came to Rome, Nikolai Vasilyevich became her guide in the ancient city. In addition, a very lively correspondence was conducted between friends. However, the woman was married, so the relationship between her and the writer was only platonic. Gogol's biography is adorned with another heartfelt passion. A brief history of his personal relationships with women says: one day the writer nevertheless decided to marry. He became interested in the young Countess Anna Villegorskaya and proposed to her in the late 1940s. The girl's parents were against this marriage, and the writer was refused. Nikolai Vasilievich was greatly depressed by this story, and since then he has not tried to arrange his personal life.

Work on the second volume

Before leaving, the author of "Dead Souls" decided to publish the first collection of his own works. He, as always, needed money. However, he himself did not want to deal with this troublesome business and entrusted this matter to his friend - Prokopovich. In the summer of 1842, the writer was in Germany, and in the fall he moved to Rome. Here he worked on the second volume of Dead Souls. Almost the entire creative biography of Gogol is devoted to writing this novel. The most important thing he wanted to do at that moment was to show the image of an ideal Russian citizen: smart, strong and principled. However, the work is progressing with great difficulty, and at the beginning of 1845 the writer had the first signs of a large-scale mental crisis.

Last years

The writer continued to write his novel, but was increasingly distracted by other things. For example, he composed The Examiner's Denouement, which radically changed the entire previous interpretation of the play. Then, in 1847, "Selected passages from correspondence with friends" were printed in St. Petersburg. In this book, Nikolai Vasilievich tried to explain why the second volume of "Dead Souls" had not yet been written, and expressed doubts about the educational role of fiction.

A whole storm of public indignation fell upon the writer. "Selected Places ..." is the most controversial moment that marked Gogol's creative biography. A brief history of the creation of this work suggests that it was written in a moment of spiritual confusion of the writer, his desire to move away from his former positions and start a new life.

Manuscript burning

In general, the writer burned his writings more than once. This, one might say, was his bad habit. In 1829, he did this with his poem Hans Küchelgarten, and in 1840 with the Little Russian tragedy Shaved Mustache, which Zhukovsky could not impress. At the beginning of 1845, the writer's health deteriorated sharply, he constantly consulted with various medical celebrities and went to water resorts for treatment. He visited Dresden, Berlin, Halle, but could not improve his health. The religious exaltation of the writer gradually increased. He often communicated with his confessor, Father Matthew. He believed that literary creativity distracts from inner life and demanded from the writer that he renounce his divine gift. As a result, on February 11, 1852, Gogol's biography was marked by a fateful event. The most important creation of his life - the second volume of "Dead Souls" - was ruthlessly burned by him.

Death

In April 1848 Gogol returned to Russia. He spent most of his time in Moscow, sometimes he came to St. Petersburg and to his homeland, to Ukraine. The writer read individual chapters from the second volume of "Dead Souls" to his friends, again bathed in the rays of universal love and worship. Nikolai Vasilyevich came to the production of "The Inspector General" at the Maly Theater and is satisfied with the performance. In January 1852, it became known that the novel was "completely finished." However, Gogol's biography was soon marked by a new spiritual crisis. The main business of his life - literary creativity - seemed to him useless. He burned the second volume of "Dead Souls" and a few days later (February 21, 1852) died in Moscow. He was buried in the cemetery of the St. Danilov Monastery, and in 1931 he was transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery.

Posthumous will

Such is the biography of Gogol. Interesting facts from his life are largely related to his posthumous will. It is well known that he asked not to erect a monument over his grave and not to bury him for several weeks, since sometimes the writer fell into a kind of lethargic sleep. Both wishes of the writer were violated. Gogol was buried a few days after his death, and in 1957 a marble bust of the work of Nikolai Tomsky was installed at the burial site of Nikolai Vasilyevich.

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol is a classic of world literature, the author of immortal works filled with an exciting atmosphere of the presence of otherworldly forces (“Viy”, “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”), striking with a peculiar vision of the world around and fantasy (“Petersburg Tales”), causing a sad smile ( "Dead Souls", "Inspector General"), captivating with the depth and colorfulness of the epic story ("Taras Bulba").

His person is surrounded by a halo of secrets and mysticism. He noted: “I am considered a riddle for everyone ...”. But no matter how unsolved the life and creative path of the writer may seem, only one thing is indisputable - an invaluable contribution to the development of Russian literature.

Childhood

The future writer, whose greatness is not subject to time, was born on April 1, 1809 in the Poltava region, in the family of the landowner Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yanovsky. His ancestors were hereditary priests, belonged to an old Cossack family. Grandfather Afanasy Yanovsky, who spoke five languages, himself achieved the gift of a family noble status. My father served at the post office, was engaged in dramaturgy, was familiar with the poets Kotlyarevsky, Gnedich, Kapnist, was the secretary and director of the home theater of ex-senator Dmitry Troshchinsky, his relative, descendant of Ivan Mazepa and Pavel Polubotko.

Mother Maria Ivanovna (nee Kosyarovskaya) lived in the Troshchinskys' house until she was married at the age of 14 to 28-year-old Vasily Afanasyevich. Together with her husband, she participated in performances in the house of her uncle, a senator, and was known as a beauty and a talented person. The future writer became the third child of the couple's twelve children and the oldest of six survivors. He received his name in honor of the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas, which was in the church of the village of Dikanka, located fifty kilometers from their town.

A number of biographers have noted that:

Interest in art in the future classic was largely determined by the activities of the head of the family;

Religiosity, creative imagination, and mysticism were influenced by a deeply pious, impressionable, and superstitious mother;

Early acquaintance with samples of Ukrainian folklore, songs, legends, carols, customs affected the themes of the works.

In 1818, the parents sent their 9-year-old son to the Poltava district school. In 1821, with the assistance of Troshchinsky, who loved his mother like his own daughter, and him like a grandson, he became a student at the Nizhyn Gymnasium of Higher Sciences (now the Gogol State University), where he showed his creative talent, playing in performances and trying the pen. Among classmates, he was known as a tireless joker, he did not think about writing as a matter of his life, dreaming of doing something significant for the benefit of the whole country. In 1825 his father died. This was a big blow to the young man and his entire family.

In the city on the Neva

After graduating from high school at the age of 19, the young genius from Ukraine moved to the capital of the Russian Empire, making big plans for the future. However, in a foreign city, many problems awaited him - lack of funds, unsuccessful attempts in search of a worthy occupation.

The literary debut - the publication in 1829 of the work "Hanz Kühelgarten" under the pseudonym V. Akulov - brought a lot of critical reviews and new disappointments. In a depressed mood, having weak nerves from birth, he bought up its circulation and burned it, after which he left for Germany for a month.

By the end of the year, he nevertheless managed to get a job in the civil service in one of the departments of the Ministry of the Interior, where he subsequently collected valuable material for his St. Petersburg stories.

In 1830, Gogol published a number of successful literary works (“Woman”, “Thoughts on Teaching Geography”, “Teacher”) and soon became one of the elite word artists (Delvig, Pushkin, Pletnev, Zhukovsky), began teaching at an educational institution for orphans of officers of the "Patriotic Institute" to give private lessons. In the period 1831-1832. appeared "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka", which received recognition thanks to humor and a masterful arrangement of the mystical Ukrainian epic.

In 1834, he moved to the department of history at St. Petersburg University. On the wave of success, he created and published the essay “Mirgorod”, which included the historical story “Taras Bulba” and the mystical “Viy”, the book “Arabesques”, where he outlined his views on art, wrote the comedy “The Government Inspector”, the idea of ​​which was suggested to him by Pushkin.

Emperor Nicholas I attended the premiere of The Inspector General in 1836 at the Alexandrinsky Theatre, presenting the author with a diamond ring as a compliment. Pushkin, Vyazemsky, Zhukovsky were in complete admiration for the satirical work, but unlike most critics. In connection with their negative reviews, the writer became depressed and decided to change the situation by going on a trip to Western Europe.

Development of creative activity

The Great Russian writer spent more than ten years abroad - he lived in different countries and cities, in particular, in Vevey, Geneva (Switzerland), Berlin, Baden-Baden, Dresden, Frankfurt (Germany), Paris (France), Rome , Naples (Italy).

The news of the death of Alexander Pushkin in 1837 brought him into a state of deepest grief. He took his begun work on "Dead Souls" as a "sacred testament" (the idea of ​​the poem was given to him by the poet).

In March, he arrived in Rome, where he met Princess Zinaida Volkonskaya. In her house, Gogol organized public readings of The Inspector General in support of Ukrainian painters who worked in Italy. In 1839, he suffered a serious illness - malarial encephalitis - and miraculously survived, a year later he went to his homeland for a short time, read excerpts from Dead Souls to his friends. Enthusiasm and approval were universal.

In 1841, he again visited Russia, where he busied himself with the publication of the poem and his "Works" in 4 volumes. From the summer of 1842 abroad, he continued to work on the 2nd volume of the story, conceived as a three-volume work.

By 1845, the writer's strength was undermined by intense literary activity. He had deep syncope with numbness of the body and slowing of the pulse rate. He consulted with doctors, followed their recommendations, but there was no improvement in his condition. High demands on himself, dissatisfaction with the level of creative achievements and a critical public reaction to "Selected passages from correspondence with friends" exacerbated the artistic crisis and the author's health problems.

Winter 1847-1848. he spent in Naples, studying historical works, Russian periodicals. In an effort for spiritual renewal, he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, after which he finally returned home from abroad - he lived with relatives and friends in Little Russia, in Moscow, in Northern Palmyra.

Personal life of Nikolai Gogol

An outstanding writer did not create a family. He has been in love several times. In 1850, he proposed to Countess Anna Villegorskaya, but was refused due to inequality of social status.

He loved sweets, cooking and treating friends to Ukrainian dumplings and dumplings, he was embarrassed by his big nose, he was very attached to the pug Josie, presented by Pushkin, he liked to knit and sew.

There were rumors about his homosexual inclinations, as well as that he was allegedly an agent of the tsarist secret police.

In the last years of his life, he wrote his compositions standing up, and slept only while sitting.

Death

After visiting the Holy Land, the writer's condition improved. In 1849-1850. in Moscow, he enthusiastically engaged in writing the last pages of Dead Souls. In the autumn he visited Odessa, spent the spring of 1851 in his native land, and returned to Belokamennaya in the summer.

However, having finished work on the 2nd volume of the poem in January 1852, he felt overworked. He was tormented by doubts about success, health problems, a premonition of an imminent death. In February, he fell ill and burned all the last manuscripts on the night of the 11th to the 12th. On the morning of February 21, the outstanding master of the pen was gone.

Nikolay Gogol. Mystery of death

The exact cause of Gogol's death is still a matter of debate. The version of a lethargic dream and being buried alive was refuted after the dying cast of the writer's face. It is widely believed that Nikolai Vasilyevich suffered from a mental disorder (the psychiatrist V.F. Chizh became the founder of the theory) and, therefore, could not serve himself in everyday life and died of exhaustion. A version was also put forward that the writer was poisoned by a medicine for a gastric disorder with a high content of mercury.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (surname at birth Yanovsky, since 1821 - Gogol-Yanovsky). Born March 20 (April 1), 1809 in Sorochintsy, Poltava province - died February 21 (March 4), 1852 in Moscow. Russian prose writer, playwright, poet, critic, publicist, recognized as one of the classics of Russian literature. He came from an old noble family Gogol-Yanovsky.

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was born on March 20 (April 1), 1809 in Sorochintsy near the Psel River, on the border of Poltava and Mirgorod districts (Poltava province). Nicholas was named in honor of the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas.

According to family tradition, he came from an old Cossack family and was supposedly a descendant of Ostap Gogol, the hetman of the Right-Bank Army of the Zaporozhian Commonwealth. Some of his ancestors also molested the nobility, and even Gogol's grandfather, Afanasy Demyanovich Gogol-Yanovsky (1738-1805), wrote in an official paper that "his ancestors, with the surname Gogol, of the Polish nation", although most biographers tend to believe that he yet he was a "Little Russian".

A number of researchers, whose opinion was formulated by V.V. Veresaev, believe that the descent from Ostap Gogol could be falsified by Afanasy Demyanovich in order to obtain the nobility, since the priestly pedigree was an insurmountable obstacle to acquiring a noble title.

Great-great-grandfather Jan (Ivan) Yakovlevich, a graduate of the Kyiv Theological Academy, “having gone to the Russian side”, settled in the Poltava region, and the nickname “Yanovsky” came from him. (According to another version, they were Yanovskaya, as they lived in the area of ​​Yanov). Having received a letter of nobility in 1792, Afanasy Demyanovich changed his surname "Yanovsky" to "Gogol-Yanovsky". Gogol himself, being baptized "Yanovsky", apparently did not know about the real origin of the surname and subsequently discarded it, saying that the Poles invented it.

Gogol's father, Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yanovsky (1777-1825), died when his son was 15 years old. It is believed that the stage activity of his father, who was a wonderful storyteller and wrote plays for the home theater, determined the interests of the future writer - Gogol showed an early interest in the theater.

Gogol's mother, Maria Ivanovna (1791-1868), born. Kosyarovskaya, was married off at the age of fourteen in 1805. According to contemporaries, she was exceptionally pretty. The groom was twice her age.

In addition to Nicholas, the family had eleven more children. There were six boys and six girls in total. The first two boys were born dead. Gogol was the third child. The fourth son was Ivan (1810-1819), who died early. Then a daughter, Maria (1811-1844), was born. All middle children also died in infancy. The last daughters born were Anna (1821-1893), Elizabeth (1823-1864) and Olga (1825-1907).

Life in the village before school and after, during the holidays, went on in the fullest atmosphere of the Little Russian life, both pan and peasant. Subsequently, these impressions formed the basis of Gogol's Little Russian stories, served as the reason for his historical and ethnographic interests; later, from St. Petersburg, Gogol constantly turned to his mother when he needed new everyday details for his stories. The influence of the mother is attributed to the inclinations of religiosity and mysticism, which by the end of his life took possession of Gogol's entire being.

At the age of ten, Gogol was taken to Poltava to one of the local teachers to prepare for the gymnasium; then he entered the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences in Nizhyn (from May 1821 to June 1828). Gogol was not a diligent student, but he had an excellent memory, he prepared for exams in a few days and moved from class to class; he was very weak in languages ​​and made progress only in drawing and Russian literature.

The high school of higher sciences itself, in the first years of its existence, was not very well organized, apparently, was partly to blame for the poor teaching; for example, history was taught by cramming, the literature teacher Nikolsky extolled the importance of Russian literature of the 18th century and did not approve of the contemporary poetry of Pushkin and Zhukovsky, which, however, only increased the interest of high school students in romantic literature. The lessons of moral education were supplemented by a rod. Got it and Gogol.

The shortcomings of the school were made up for by self-education in a circle of comrades, where there were people who shared literary interests with Gogol (Gerasim Vysotsky, who apparently had a considerable influence on him then; Alexander Danilevsky, who remained his friend for life, like Nikolai Prokopovich; Nestor Kukolnik, with whom, however, Gogol never got along).

The comrades subscribed to magazines; started their own handwritten journal, where Gogol wrote a lot in verse. At that time, he wrote elegiac poems, tragedies, a historical poem and a story, as well as a satire "Something about Nizhyn, or the law is not written for fools." With literary interests, a love for the theater also developed, where Gogol, already distinguished by unusual comedy, was the most zealous participant (from the second year of his stay in Nizhyn). Gogol's youthful experiences developed in the style of romantic rhetoric - not in the taste of Pushkin, whom Gogol already admired then, but rather in the taste of Bestuzhev-Marlinsky.

The death of his father was a heavy blow to the entire family. Worries about affairs also fall on Gogol; he gives advice, reassures his mother, must think about the future organization of his own affairs. The mother idolizes her son Nikolai, considers him a genius, she gives him the last of her meager means to ensure his life in Nizhyn, and later in St. Petersburg. Nikolai also paid her all his life with ardent filial love, but there was no complete understanding and trusting relationship between them. Later, he will give up his share in the common family inheritance in favor of the sisters in order to devote himself entirely to literature.

By the end of his stay at the gymnasium, he dreams of a wide social activity, which, however, he does not see at all in the literary field; no doubt under the influence of everything around him, he thinks to come forward and benefit society in a service for which he was in fact incapable. Thus plans for the future were unclear; but Gogol was sure that a wide field lay ahead of him; he is already talking about the indications of providence and cannot be satisfied with what simple townsfolk are content with, as he puts it, as most of his Nizhyn comrades were.

In December 1828 Gogol moved to St. Petersburg. Here, for the first time, a cruel disappointment awaited him: modest means turned out to be quite insignificant in a big city, and brilliant hopes were not realized as soon as he expected. His letters home from that time are a mixture of this disappointment and a hazy hope for a better future. In reserve he had a lot of character and practical enterprise: he tried to enter the stage, become an official, surrender to literature.

He was not accepted as an actor; the service was so empty of content that he became weary of it; the more attracted his literary field. In Petersburg, for the first time, he kept to the society of fellow countrymen, which consisted partly of former comrades. He found that Little Russia arouses keen interest in St. Petersburg society; experienced failures turned his poetic dreams to his native land, and from here arose the first plans for a work that was supposed to give an outcome to the need for artistic creativity, as well as bring practical benefits: these were the plans for Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka.

But before that, under the pseudonym of V. Alov, he published the romantic idyll “Hanz Küchelgarten” (1829), which was written back in Nizhyn (he himself marked it in 1827) and the hero of which was given those ideal dreams and aspirations that he had been fulfilled in recent years. years of Nizhyn life. Soon after the book was published, he himself destroyed its circulation, when criticism was unfavorable to his work.

In a restless search for life's work, Gogol at that time went abroad, by sea to Lübeck, but a month later returned again to St. Petersburg (September 1829) - and then explained his act by the fact that God showed him the way to a foreign land, or referred to hopeless love . In reality, he fled from himself, from the discord of his lofty and arrogant dreams with practical life. "He was drawn to some fantastic land of happiness and reasonable productive labor," says his biographer; America seemed to him to be such a country. In fact, instead of America, he ended up in the service of the III Division thanks to the patronage of Faddey Bulgarin. However, his stay there was short-lived. Ahead of him was a service in the department of appanages (April 1830), where he remained until 1832.

In 1830, the first literary acquaintances were made: Orest Somov, Baron Delvig, Pyotr Pletnev. In 1831, there was a rapprochement with the circle of Zhukovsky and Pushkin, which had a decisive influence on his future fate and on his literary activity.

The failure of the Hanz Küchelgarten was a tangible indication of the need for another literary path; but even earlier, from the first months of 1829, Gogol besieged his mother with requests to send him information about Little Russian customs, traditions, costumes, as well as to send “notes kept by the ancestors of some ancient family, ancient manuscripts”, etc. All this was material for future stories from Little Russian life and legends, which became the beginning of his literary fame. He already took some part in the publications of that time: at the beginning of 1830, Svinin’s “Notes of the Fatherland” published (with editorial changes) “Evening on the eve of Ivan Kupala”; at the same time (1829) "Sorochinsky Fair" and "May Night" were started or written.

Gogol published other works then in the publications of Baron Delvig "Literary Gazette" and "Northern Flowers", where a chapter from the historical novel "Hetman" was placed. Perhaps Delvig recommended him to Zhukovsky, who received Gogol with great cordiality: apparently, the mutual sympathy of people who were kindred in love for art, in religiosity, prone to mysticism, affected from the first time - after they became very close.

Zhukovsky handed over the young man to Pletnev with a request to attach him, and indeed, in February 1831, Pletnev recommended Gogol to the post of teacher at the Patriotic Institute, where he himself was an inspector. Having got to know Gogol better, Pletnev was waiting for an opportunity to “bring him under the blessing of Pushkin”: this happened in May of that year. Gogol's entry into this circle, which soon appreciated the great nascent talent in him, had a huge impact on Gogol's fate. Before him opened, finally, the prospect of broad activities, which he dreamed of - but in the field not official, but literary.

In material terms, Gogol could be helped by the fact that, in addition to a place at the institute, Pletnev gave him the opportunity to conduct private classes with the Longinovs, Balabins, Vasilchikovs; but the main thing was the moral influence that this new environment had on Gogol. In 1834 he was appointed to the post of adjunct in the department of history at St. Petersburg University. He entered the circle of people who stood at the head of Russian fiction: his long-standing poetic aspirations could develop in all breadth, an instinctive understanding of art could become a deep consciousness; Pushkin's personality made an extraordinary impression on him and forever remained an object of worship for him. Service to art became for him a high and strict moral duty, the requirements of which he tried to fulfill sacredly.

Hence, by the way, his slow manner of work, the long definition and development of the plan and all the details. The company of people with a broad literary education was generally useful for a young man with meager knowledge taken out of school: his observation becomes deeper, and with each new work his creative level reaches new heights.

At Zhukovsky's, Gogol met a select circle, partly literary, partly aristocratic; in the latter, he soon began a relationship that played a significant role in his future life, for example, with the Vielgorskys; at the Balabins he met the brilliant lady-in-waiting Alexandra Rosetti (later Smirnova). The horizon of his life observations expanded, long-standing aspirations gained ground, and Gogol's high concept of his destiny became the ultimate conceit: on the one hand, his mood became sublimely idealistic, on the other, the prerequisites for religious quests arose, which marked the last years of his life.

This time was the most active era of his work. After small works, partly named above, his first major literary work, which laid the foundation for his fame, was "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka". The stories published by the beekeeper Rudy Pank, published in St. Petersburg in 1831 and 1832, in two parts (the first included Sorochinskaya Fair, Evening on the eve of Ivan Kupala, May Night, or the Drowned Woman, The Lost Letter; in the second - "The Night Before Christmas", "A Terrible Revenge, an Old True Story", "Ivan Fedorovich Shponka and His Aunt", "The Enchanted Place").

These stories, depicting pictures of Ukrainian life in an unprecedented way, shining with cheerfulness and subtle humor, made a great impression on. The next collections were first "Arabesques", then "Mirgorod", both published in 1835 and compiled partly from articles published in 1830-1834, and partly from new works published for the first time. That's when Gogol's literary glory became indisputable.

He grew up in the eyes of both his inner circle and the younger literary generation in general. In the meantime, events were taking place in Gogol's personal life that influenced in various ways the internal warehouse of his thoughts and fantasies and his external affairs. In 1832, he was at home for the first time after completing a course in Nizhyn. The path lay through Moscow, where he met people who later became his more or less close friends: Mikhail Pogodin, Mikhail Maksimovich, Mikhail Shchepkin, Sergei Aksakov.

At first, staying at home surrounded him with impressions of his beloved environment, memories of the past, but then with severe disappointments. Household affairs were upset; Gogol himself was no longer the enthusiastic young man he left his homeland: life experience taught him to look deeper into reality and see its often sad, even tragic basis behind its outer shell. Soon his "Evenings" began to seem to him a superficial youthful experience, the fruit of that "youth during which no questions come to mind."

Ukrainian life even at that time provided material for his imagination, but the mood was different: in the stories of Mirgorod this sad note constantly sounds, reaching high pathos. Returning to St. Petersburg, Gogol worked hard on his works: this was generally the most active time of his creative activity; he continued, at the same time, to build life plans.

From the end of 1833, he was carried away by an idea as unrealizable as his previous plans for service were unrealizable: it seemed to him that he could act in the academic field. At that time, the opening of Kyiv University was being prepared, and he dreamed of taking the department of history there, which he taught to girls at the Patriot Institute. Maksimovich was invited to Kyiv; Gogol dreamed of starting studies in Kyiv with him, he wanted to invite Pogodin there as well; in Kyiv, Russian Athens appeared to his imagination, where he himself thought of writing something unprecedented in world history.

However, it turned out that the chair of history was given to another person; but soon, thanks to the influence of his high literary friends, he was offered the same department at St. Petersburg University. He really took this pulpit; several times he managed to give a spectacular lecture, but then the task proved beyond his strength, and he himself abandoned the professorship in 1835. In 1834 he wrote several articles on the history of the Western and Eastern Middle Ages.

In 1832, his work was somewhat suspended due to domestic and personal troubles. But already in 1833 he again worked hard, and the result of these years were the two collections mentioned. First, “Arabesques” (two parts, St. Petersburg, 1835) were published, where several articles of popular scientific content on history and art were published (“Sculpture, Painting and Music”; “A Few Words about Pushkin”; “On Architecture”; “ On the Teaching of World History"; "A Look at the Compilation of Little Russia"; "On Little Russian Songs", etc.), but at the same time also new stories "Portrait", "Nevsky Prospekt" and "Notes of a Madman".

Then in the same year “Mirgorod. Tales that serve as a continuation of Evenings on a farm near Dikanka ”(two parts, St. Petersburg, 1835). A number of works were placed here, in which new striking features of Gogol's talent were revealed. In the first part of "Mirgorod" appeared "Old World Landowners" and "Taras Bulba"; in the second - "Viy" and "The Tale of how Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich."

Subsequently (1842) "Taras Bulba" was completely revised by Gogol. Being a professional historian, Gogol used factual materials to build the plot and develop the characteristic characters of the novel. The events that formed the basis of the novel are the peasant-Cossack uprisings of 1637-1638, led by Gunya and Ostryanin. Apparently, the writer used the diaries of a Polish eyewitness to these events - military chaplain Simon Okolsky.

By the beginning of the thirties, the plans of some other works of Gogol, such as the famous "Overcoat", "Carriage", perhaps "Portrait" in its reworked version, date back; these works appeared in Pushkin's Sovremennik (1836) and Pletnev (1842) and in the first collected works (1842); a later sojourn in Italy includes "Rome" in Pogodin's "Moskvityanin" (1842).

By 1834, the first concept of the "Inspector General" is attributed. The surviving manuscripts of Gogol indicate that he worked extremely carefully on his works: from what has survived from these manuscripts, it is clear how the work in its finished form known to us grew gradually from the original sketch, becoming more and more complicated with details and finally reaching that amazing artistic fullness and vitality, with which we know them at the end of a process that sometimes dragged on for years.

The main plot of The Inspector General, as well as the plot of Dead Souls, was communicated to Gogol by Pushkin. The entire creation, from the plan to the last details, was the fruit of Gogol's own creativity: an anecdote that could be told in a few lines turned into a rich work of art.

The "Auditor" caused an endless work of determining the plan and execution details; there are a number of sketches, in whole and in parts, and the first printed form of the comedy appeared in 1836. The old passion for the theater took possession of Gogol to an extraordinary degree: the comedy never left his head; he was tormented by the thought of being face to face with society; he took care with the greatest care that the play be performed in accordance with his own idea of ​​character and action; the production met various obstacles, including censorship, and finally could be realized only at the behest of Emperor Nicholas.

The Inspector General had an extraordinary effect: the Russian stage had never seen anything like it; the reality of Russian life was conveyed with such force and truth that although, as Gogol himself said, it was only about six provincial officials who turned out to be rogues, the whole society rebelled against him, which felt that it was about a whole principle, about a whole order life, in which it itself abides.

But, on the other hand, the comedy was greeted with the greatest enthusiasm by those elements of society who were aware of the existence of these shortcomings and the need to overcome them, and especially by the young literary generation, who saw here once again, as in the previous works of their beloved writer, a whole revelation, a new, emerging period of Russian art and Russian society. Thus, The Inspector General split public opinion. If for the conservative-bureaucratic part of society the play seemed like a demarche, then for the seeking and free-thinking admirers of Gogol it was a definite manifesto.

Gogol himself was interested, first of all, in the literary aspect; in public terms, he was completely on the point of view of his friends in the Pushkin circle, he only wanted more honesty and truth in the given order of things, and therefore he was especially struck by the discordant noise of misunderstanding that arose around his play. Subsequently, in the "Theatrical tour after the presentation of a new comedy", on the one hand, he conveyed the impression that the "Inspector General" made in various sectors of society, and on the other hand, he expressed his own thoughts about the great significance of theater and artistic truth.

The first dramatic plans appeared to Gogol even earlier than The Inspector General. In 1833 he was absorbed by the comedy "Vladimir of the 3rd degree"; she was not finished by him, but her material served for several dramatic episodes, such as "Morning of a Businessman", "Litigation", "Lakey's" and "Fragment". The first of these plays appeared in Pushkin's Sovremennik (1836), the rest in his first collected works (1842).

In the same meeting appeared for the first time "Marriage", the outlines of which date back to the same year 1833, and "Players", conceived in the mid-1830s. Tired of the creative tension of recent years and the moral anxieties that The Inspector General cost him, Gogol decided to take a break from work, having gone on a trip abroad.

In June 1836, Nikolai Vasilyevich went abroad, where he stayed intermittently for about ten years. At first, life abroad seemed to strengthen and reassure him, gave him the opportunity to complete his greatest work - Dead Souls, but became the embryo of deeply fatal phenomena. The experience of working with this book, the contradictory reaction of contemporaries to it, just as in the case of The Inspector General, convinced him of the enormous influence and ambiguous power of his talent over the minds of his contemporaries. This idea gradually began to take shape in the idea of ​​his prophetic destiny, and, accordingly, about the use of his prophetic gift by the power of his talent for the benefit of society, and not to its detriment.

Abroad, he lived in Germany, Switzerland, spent the winter with A. Danilevsky in Paris, where he met and especially became close to Smirnova and where he was caught by the news of Pushkin's death, which struck him terribly.

In March 1837, he was in Rome, which he fell extremely fond of and became for him, as it were, a second home. European political and social life has always remained alien and completely unfamiliar to Gogol; he was attracted by nature and works of art, and Rome at that time represented precisely these interests. Gogol studied antiquities, art galleries, visited the workshops of artists, admired the life of the people and liked to show Rome, "treat" them to visiting Russian acquaintances and friends.

But in Rome he worked hard: the main subject of this work was "Dead Souls", conceived back in St. Petersburg in 1835; here, in Rome, he finished The Overcoat, wrote the story Anunziata, later remade into Rome, wrote a tragedy from the life of the Cossacks, which, however, he destroyed after several alterations.

In the autumn of 1839, together with Pogodin, he went to Russia, to Moscow, where he was met by the Aksakovs, who were enthusiastic about the writer's talent. Then he went to Petersburg, where he had to take the sisters from the institute; then he returned to Moscow again; in St. Petersburg and Moscow, he read the completed chapters of Dead Souls to his closest friends.

Having arranged his affairs, Gogol again went abroad, to his beloved Rome; he promised his friends to return in a year and bring the finished first volume of Dead Souls. By the summer of 1841, the first volume was ready. In September of this year, Gogol went to Russia to print his book.

He again had to go through severe anxieties, which he once experienced when staging The Inspector General on stage. The book was first submitted to the Moscow censorship, which was going to completely ban it; then the book was given to the censorship of St. Petersburg and, thanks to the participation of influential friends of Gogol, was, with some exceptions, allowed. She was published in Moscow (“The Adventures of Chichikov or Dead Souls, a poem by N. Gogol”, M., 1842).

In June Gogol went abroad again. This last stay abroad was the final turning point in Gogol's state of mind. He lived first in Rome, then in Germany, in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, then in Nice, then in Paris, then in Ostend, often in the circle of his closest friends - Zhukovsky, Smirnova, Vielgorsky, Tolstoy, and in him religious - the prophetic direction mentioned above.

A high idea of ​​​​his talent and the duty that lay on him led him to the conviction that he was doing something providential: in order to expose human vices and look at life broadly, one must strive for inner perfection, which is given only by divine thinking. Several times he had to endure serious illnesses, which further increased his religious mood; in his circle he found a favorable ground for the development of religious exaltation - he adopted a prophetic tone, self-confidently instructed his friends, and finally came to the conclusion that what he had done so far was unworthy of the lofty goal to which he considered himself called. If before he said that the first volume of his poem is nothing more than a porch to the palace that is being built in it, then at that time he was ready to reject everything he wrote as sinful and unworthy of his high mission.

Nikolai Gogol from childhood did not differ in good health. The death in adolescence of his younger brother Ivan, the untimely death of his father left an imprint on his state of mind. Work on the continuation of "Dead Souls" did not stick, and the writer experienced painful doubts that he would be able to bring the planned work to the end.

In the summer of 1845, he was overtaken by a painful mental crisis. He writes a will, burns the manuscript of the second volume of Dead Souls.

To commemorate the deliverance from death, Gogol decides to enter a monastery and become a monk, but monasticism did not take place. But his mind presented the new content of the book, enlightened and purified; it seemed to him that he understood how to write in order to "direct the whole society towards the beautiful." He decides to serve God in the field of literature. A new work began, and in the meantime another thought occupied him: he rather wanted to tell society what he considered useful to him, and he decides to collect in one book everything he had written in recent years to friends in the spirit of his new mood and instructed to publish this Pletnev's book. These were "Selected passages from correspondence with friends" (St. Petersburg, 1847).

Most of the letters that make up this book date from 1845 and 1846, the time when Gogol's religious mood reached its highest development. The 1840s is the time of the formation and demarcation of two different ideologies in the contemporary Russian educated society. Gogol remained a stranger to this demarcation, despite the fact that each of the two warring parties - the Westernizers and the Slavophiles, laid claim to Gogol's legal rights. The book made a heavy impression on both of them, since Gogol thought in completely different categories. Even his Aksakov friends turned their backs on him.

Gogol with his tone of prophecy and edification, his preaching of humility, which, however, showed his own conceit; condemnation of previous works, the complete approval of the existing social order, clearly dissonant with those ideologists who relied only on the social reorganization of society. Gogol, without rejecting the expediency of social restructuring, saw the main goal in spiritual self-improvement. Therefore, for many years, the works of the Fathers of the Church became the subject of his study. But, without joining either the Westernizers or the Slavophiles, Gogol stopped halfway, without fully joining the spiritual literature - Seraphim of Sarov, Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), and others.

The impression of the book on Gogol's literary admirers, who wished to see in him only the leader of the "natural school", was depressing. The highest degree of indignation aroused by the "Selected Places" was expressed in a famous letter from Salzbrunn.

Gogol painfully experienced the failure of his book. Only A. O. Smirnova and P. A. Pletnev were able to support him at that moment, but those were only private epistolary opinions. He explained the attacks on her in part both by his own mistake, by exaggerating the didactic tone, and by the fact that the censors did not miss several important letters in the book; but he could explain the attacks of former literary adherents only by the calculations of parties and vanities. The public meaning of this controversy was alien to him.

In a similar sense, he then wrote the "Preface to the second edition of Dead Souls"; "Decoupling of the Inspector", where he wanted to give a free artistic creation the character of a moralizing allegory, and "Forewarning", where it was announced that the fourth and fifth editions of the "Inspector" would be sold in favor of the poor ... The failure of the book had an overwhelming effect on Gogol. He had to confess that a mistake had been made; even friends, like S. T. Aksakov, told him that the mistake was gross and pitiful; he himself confessed to Zhukovsky: “I swung in my book with such Khlestakov that I don’t have the spirit to look into it.”

In his letters from 1847 there is no longer the former haughty tone of preaching and edification; he saw that it is possible to describe Russian life only in the midst of it and by studying it. Religious feeling remained his refuge: he decided that he could not continue his work without fulfilling his long-standing intention to bow to the Holy Sepulcher. At the end of 1847 he moved to Naples and at the beginning of 1848 sailed to Palestine, from where he finally returned to Russia via Constantinople and Odessa.

The stay in Jerusalem did not produce the effect he expected. “Never before have I been so little satisfied with the state of my heart as in Jerusalem and after Jerusalem,” he says. “It was as if I was at the Holy Sepulcher in order to feel there on the spot how much coldness of the heart is in me, how much selfishness and pride.”

He continued to work on the second volume of "Dead Souls" and read excerpts from it from the Aksakovs, but it continued the same painful struggle between the artist and the Christian that had been going on in him since the early forties. As was his wont, he redid what he had written many times, probably succumbing to one or another mood. Meanwhile, his health was getting weaker and weaker; in January 1852, he was struck by the death of A. S. Khomyakov's wife, Ekaterina Mikhailovna, who was the sister of his friend N. M. Yazykov; he was seized by the fear of death; he gave up literary studies, began to fast at Shrove Tuesday; One day, when he was spending the night in prayer, he heard voices saying that he would soon die.

From the end of January 1852, the Rzhev archpriest Matthew Konstantinovsky, whom Gogol met in 1849, and before that he had known by correspondence, visited the house of Count Alexander Tolstoy. Between them there were complex, sometimes harsh conversations, the main content of which was Gogol's insufficient humility and piety, for example, the demand of Fr. Matthew: "Renounce Pushkin." Gogol invited him to read the white version of the second part of "Dead Souls" for review, in order to listen to his opinion, but was refused by the priest. Gogol insisted on his point until he took the notebooks with the manuscript to read. Archpriest Matthew became the only lifetime reader of the manuscript of the 2nd part. Returning it to the author, he spoke out against the publication of a number of chapters, "even asked to destroy" them (earlier, he also gave a negative review to "Selected places ...", calling the book "harmful").

The death of Khomyakova, the condemnation of Konstantinovsky, and, perhaps, other reasons convinced Gogol to abandon creativity and start fasting a week before Lent. On February 5, he sees off Konstantinovsky and from that day on he has hardly eaten anything. On February 10, he handed over to Count A. Tolstoy a briefcase with manuscripts for transfer to Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, but the count refused this order so as not to aggravate Gogol in gloomy thoughts.

Gogol stops leaving the house. At 3 o'clock in the morning from Monday to Tuesday 11-12 (23-24) February 1852, that is, on Great Compline on Monday of the first week of Great Lent, Gogol woke Semyon's servant, ordered him to open the oven valves and bring a briefcase from the closet. Taking a bunch of notebooks out of it, Gogol put them in the fireplace and burned them. The next morning, he told Count Tolstoy that he wanted to burn only some things that had been prepared in advance for that, but he burned everything under the influence of an evil spirit. Gogol, despite the exhortations of his friends, continued to strictly observe the fast; On February 18, he went to bed and stopped eating altogether. All this time, friends and doctors are trying to help the writer, but he refuses help, internally preparing for death.

On February 20, a medical consultation (Professor A.E. Evenius, Professor S.I. Klimenkov, Doctor K.I. Sokologorsky, Doctor A.T. Tarasenkov, Professor I.V. Varvinsky, Professor A.A. Alfonsky, Professor A. I. Over) decides on compulsory treatment of Gogol, which resulted in final exhaustion and loss of strength, in the evening he fell into unconsciousness, and died on the morning of February 21 on Thursday.

The inventory of Gogol's property showed that after him there were personal belongings worth 43 rubles 88 kopecks. The items included in the inventory were complete cast-offs and spoke of the writer's complete indifference to his appearance in the last months of his life. At the same time, S.P. Shevyryov had more than two thousand rubles in his hands, donated by Gogol for charitable purposes to needy students of Moscow University. Gogol did not consider this money his own, and Shevyryov did not return it to the writer's heirs.

At the initiative of Moscow State University Professor Timofey Granovsky, the funeral was held as a public one; contrary to the initial wishes of Gogol's friends, at the insistence of his superiors, the writer was buried in the university church of the martyr Tatiana. The funeral took place on Sunday afternoon February 24 (March 7), 1852 at the cemetery of the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. A bronze cross was installed on the grave, which stood on a black tombstone (“Golgotha”), and the inscription was carved on it: “I will laugh at my bitter word” (quote from the book of the prophet Jeremiah, 20, 8). According to legend, I. S. Aksakov himself chose the stone for Gogol's grave somewhere in the Crimea (cutters called it "Black Sea granite").

In 1930, the Danilov Monastery was finally closed, the necropolis was soon liquidated. On May 31, 1931, Gogol's grave was opened and his remains were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery. Golgotha ​​was also transferred there.

The official report of the examination, drawn up by the NKVD and now stored in the RGALI (f. 139, No. 61), disputes the unreliable and mutually exclusive recollections of the participant and witness of the exhumation of the writer Vladimir Lidin. According to one of his memoirs (“Transferring the ashes of N.V. Gogol”), written fifteen years after the event and published posthumously in 1991 in the Russian Archive, the writer’s skull was missing from Gogol’s grave. According to his other memoirs, transmitted in the form of oral stories to students of the Literary Institute when Lidin was a professor at this institute in the 1970s, Gogol's skull was turned on its side. This, in particular, is evidenced by a former student V. G. Lidina, and later a senior researcher at the State Literary Museum Yu. V. Alekhin. Both of these versions are apocryphal in nature, and they gave rise to many legends, including the burial of Gogol in a state of lethargic sleep and the abduction of Gogol's skull for the collection of the famous Moscow collector of theatrical antiquities A. A. Bakhrushin. Of the same contradictory nature are numerous memories of the desecration of Gogol's grave by Soviet writers (and Lidin himself) during the exhumation of Gogol's burial, published by the media according to V. G. Lidin.

In 1952, instead of Calvary, a new monument was erected on the grave in the form of a pedestal with a bust of Gogol by the sculptor Tomsky, on which is inscribed: "To the great Russian artist, words to Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol from the government of the Soviet Union."

Golgotha, as unnecessary, was for some time in the workshops of the Novodevichy cemetery, where E. S. Bulgakova, who was looking for a suitable tombstone for the grave of her late husband, discovered it with an already scraped inscription. Elena Sergeevna bought the tombstone, after which it was installed over the grave of Mikhail Afanasyevich. Thus, the writer's dream came true: "Teacher, cover me with your cast-iron overcoat."

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the writer's birth, at the initiative of the members of the organizing committee of the anniversary, the grave was given almost its original appearance: a bronze cross on a black stone.