Nikolai Gogol - Recently Updated Pages

Final Years and Death

GogolGroup — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:55:18 CDT

Suzanne Massie notes in her book Land of the FirebirdthatGogol was always confused at the reception he received, not understanding the impression of his work as he stayed away from abstract debates and social ideals. In 1847 he had his Selected Passages from My Correspondence with Friends published, composed mainly of fictional correspondence written by himself. He vigorously defended the Tsar and serfdom and angered the many liberals who idolized him and his works, most notably Belinsky.

Finally having returned from his long stint abroad, Gogol spent his last years living between Odessa and Moscow. As he grew even more religious, he fell under the influence of a fanatical priest, Father Konstantinovsky, who convinced him that writing, and even his friend Pushkin, was sinful and evil. Late one night in February 1852, a hysterical Gogol burned the completed second part of Dead Souls, an action he later attributed to a practical joke played on him by the Devil. This tragic event would later serve as the inspiration to one of Ilya Repin's famous realist paintings (seen left).

Gogol's state of mind and body continued to worsen over the next several days as a result of a private hunger strike intended to counter the Devil. The author soon met a sad and pitiful end at the age of forty-two when his body finally gave out from a combination of his refusal to eat and poor medical treatment, which had only accelerated the decline. Although it may seem that Gogol died young, forty-two was nonetheless a respectable age considering the time and Gogol's life lasted longer than two other crucial Russian literary figures of that time, Lermontov and Pushkin, who died at twenty-seven and thirty-seven respectively. Nevertheless, Gogol left a profound mark upon Russian literature and culture and will forever be remembered as the Father of Modern Russian Realism.

Russian Literary Influence

ARLMidd — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:00:55 CDT

Gogol’s works are considered the link between previous romantic literature, also known as sentimental literature, and subsequent realistic works.[i] Vissarion Belinksy referred to pieces in this change of style as belonging to the “natural school,” in which Russian life is accurately reflected in writing, and the plot revolves around normal, everyday happenings as opposed to special occurrences such as in Pushkin’s stories, for example.[ii]

Belinsky believed Gogol to be a “social satirist” - certainly a controversial or opinionated title. Belinsky had mixed views about Gogol, even though it seems pretty clear that the famous literary critics overall greatly respected the Ukrainian author. In response to the first part of Dead Souls, Belinksy said:

“Suddenly, amid this triumph of pettiness, mediocrity, non-existence, lack of talent, amid these empty cups and bubbles, amid these childish schemes, infantile thoughts, false feelings, Pharisaical patriotism, pretended nationalism - suddenly there has appeared, like a blinding flash of lightning in the midst of a depressing and destructive drought, a creation purely Russian, national, drawn from the sources of the national life, so true, so patriotic, mercilessly tearing the veil from reality and breathing a passionate, constant and throbbing love for the fruitful kernel of the life of Russia; a creation indisputably artistic in conception and execution, in the characters of the actors and the details of Russian existence, and at the same time profound in thought, social, universal and historical.”[iii]

However, after Gogol’s publication of his work, Selected Passages from a Correspondence with Friends, published in 1846, just four years after Part One of Dead Souls, Belinksy said, “Proclaimer of the Knout, Aider and Abetter of Obscurantism and the Fury of Darkness, Panegyrist of Tartar Customs, what are you doing?”[iv]

Clearly the critic had mixed reviews and mixed hopes. However, many famous Russian literary figures were unafraid to defend Gogol, and one of the greatest models of this kind is Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky’s epistolary work, Poor Folk, has a direct reference to Gogol and his renowned short story, “The Overcoat.” One of the characters, Barbara Alexievna, writes to Makar Alexievitch and recommends the tale, and a few letters later, Makar replies by critizing it, saying:

"Our lots in life are apportioned by the Almighty according to our human deserts...All the world is built upon the system that each one of us shall have to yield precedence to some other one, as well as to enjoy a certain power of abusing his fellows...How, therefore, could you bring yourself to send me that book, my beloved? It is a badly conceived work, Barbara, and also unreal, for the reason that in creation such a Tchinovnik does not exist. No, again I protest against it, little Barbara; again I protest."[v]

Here’s a funny little anecdote. After the publication of Dostoevsky’s Poor Folk, the famous poet Nikolay Nekrasov approached Belinsky with the work and announced, “A new Gogol has appeared!” - to which Belinsky responded, “With you, Gogols spring up like mushrooms!”[vi]

Clearly the two well-known writers had high regards for Gogol, using him as the ultimate comparison. Despite having one of his characters criticize Gogol, Dostoevsky also idolized the Ukrainian writer. He actually wrote a letter to a friend challenging Belinsky’s claims about Gogol, saying:

“His approach to Gogol’s characters was absurdly superficial and condescending...He was in raptures just because Gogol exposed...He failed to see that ‘Kolyaska’ is a tale, an artistically created whole, not merely a funny story.”[vii]

Dostoevsky’s view that Gogol was not solely funny leads to another interpretation of the author. Russian Formalists or Symbolists perceived Gogol as more “grotesque” and serious than did others. Either way, the man had expansive influence on Russian literary figures. Others include Anton Chekov, who said, “In contrast, how direct and powerful Gogol is. What an artist! His ‘Kolyaska’ alone is worth two hundred thousand rubles. It is perfect, an absolute delight. He is truly one of our great writers.”[viii] The Encyclopedia of Ukraine says that “Gogol's influence was felt in the early writings of Ivan Turgenev, F. Dostoevsky, V. Sollogub, and by the Russian Symbolists F. Sologub, A. Remizov, and A. Bely.”[ix] Russian literature was never the same after Gogol’s career.

Notes:

[i]Manning, Clarence A. "Nicholas Gogol."The Slavonic Review4.12 (1926): 586.

[ii] Encyclopedia Britannica. "Gogol: Influence and reputation."

[iii] Manning, 582.

[iv] Manning, 585.

[v] Dostoevsky, Fyodor.Poor Folk. Trans. by C. J. Hogarth. Doylestown: Wildside Press, 87 - 91.

[vi] Encyclopedia Britannica. "Dostoevsky: Early works."

[vii] Garrard, John G. "Some Thoughts on Gogol's 'Kolyaska'."PMLA 90.5 (1975): 848.

[viii] Garrard, 849.

[ix] Encyclopedia of Ukraine.

Nikolai Gogol Home

GogolGroup — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:42:44 CDT

Welcome to the home page of the Middlebury College 19th Century Russian Literature Nikolai Gogol Group! Here you will find information concerning the author's life and works as well as his influence on posterity and accompanying multimedia.

Russian Musical Influence

ARLMidd — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:41:12 CDT

In 1928, at the age of 22, Dmitrii Shostakovich (1906 - 1975) wrote an opera based on Gogol’s short story, “The Nose.”[i] Originally produced in the Leningrad Maly Opera Theater in the first month of 1930[ii], Nos is a great example of the pervading influence that Gogol had on artists of other mediums. In his article, “Correspondence of Literary Text and Musical Phraseology in Shostakovich’s The Nose and Gogol’s Fantastic Tale,” Alexander N. Tumanov writes:

“Gogol’s subject matter was a natural choice for Shostakovich, who was strongly attracted by modernistic devices, whose talent gravitated toward satire and the burlesque and, as has already been emphasized, whose ties with the nineteenth century’s musical legacy led him to Mussorgsky. Gogol’s satire, while providing ample opportunity for new musical idioms, could have been used at the same time for a social interpretation of the past in the Russian classical tradition.”[iii]

Interestingly, Shostakovich garnered his interest in writing Nos from the famous director Vsevolod Meyerhold, whose 1926 production of The Inspector General won him acclaim.[iv] This is extremely significant because one can see how Gogol’s works interweave literature, theater, and music.

It is also crucial to observe how both Gogol and Shostakovich bridge two different styles with their works. As Clarence A. Manning writes, “It is in [Gogol’s] works that we watch the transition from the romantic to the realistic school of literature; and we can see clearly how it was the influence of Gogol that turned the trend of national development into new channels which his successors were able to enlarge and clear.”[v] And Shostakovich, familiar with the Ukrainian author’s writing, echoes him by incorporating two different styles of music: one can hear both Russian modernism and Russian nationalism in his musical compositions.[vi] The fact that both Gogol and Shostakovich blended two distinct sub-genres within their art displays a wide comprehension of artistic technique and literary/musical history and progression. It is no wonder that both figures are still icons within their respective fields.

Here is a clip from a production of Nos. As the movie notes at the beginning, the woman singing is Alexandra Durseneva, a contralto and mezzo soprano. She played the parts of both Podtochina and the Old Countess.

Unfortunately, many critics condemned the

opera, dissatisfied with the negative perspective of Russian life that it provided.[vii] After sixteen performances, it was shut down and was not revived until Shostakovich himself coordinated a new opening in the Moscow Chamber Opera Theatre in 1974.[viii] It had been almost 44 years since anyone had seen or heard Nos.

Another example of Gogol’s musical influence stems from the work of Modest Mussorgsky (1839 – 1881), who is mentioned earlier. An earlier Russian composer, Mussorgsky wrote the music to Marriage and Sorochinsky Fair, both “Gogolian operas.”[ix] Click here to hear the instrumental “Gopak” from Sorochinsky Fair. How does Mussorgsky’s music compare and contrast to Shostakovich’s music?

You can read a preview of Laurel E. Fay’s biography, Shostakovich: A Life, here.

This is a helpful and informative study guide that Opera Boston compiled for Shostakovich’s Nos. It includes biographical details for both the composer and Gogol.

[i] Tumanov, Alexander N.“Correspondence of Literary Text and Musical Phraseology in Shostakovich’s Opera The Nose and Gogol’s Fantastic Tale.” Russian Review 52.3 (1993): 397, 401.

[ii] Tumanov, 397, 401.

[iii] Tumanov, 400.

[iv]Fay, Laurel E.Shostakovich: A Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 44 - 45.

[v] Manning, Clarence A. "Nicholas Gogol."The Slavonic Review 4.12 (1926):586.

[vi] Tumanov, 398.

[vii]McNamara, Clare.“Study Guide to The Nose.” Opera Boston. 2008 – 2009. Date last accessed: 5 May 2009. < http://www.operaboston.org/pdfs/operas/nosestudyguide.pdf>. (page 8)

[viii]McNamara, 8.

[ix] Tumanov, 398

The Magnum Opus: Dead Souls

GogolGroup — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:25:24 CDT

Gogol's Dead Souls, his first and only novel, is perhaps more important in a biographical and historical context than in simply a literary one. While the content of Dead Souls has its own resonance, according to Nabokov (the prime source of analysis on Gogol), and is pertinent to the development of Russian literature, the production of Dead Souls, with its intentions, aspirations, struggles, defeats and fiery end, has as much to be mined as the novel itself.

Gogol revered Pushkin in all senses of the word, and his admiration was such that he asked him for literary ideas. That Pushkin gave Gogol the idea for Dead Souls is not just a myth. It is fact. This link between two extremely important Russian writers of that age is indicative of a general sentiment towards the present state of their culture - one that strives both to articulate its illnesses as well as revive itself. What also occurred was Pushkin's response at having read a early draft of the first chapter, when he infamously exclaimed, "God, how sad our Russia is!". Gogol was dismayed by Pushkin's apparent lack of understanding, that somehow he had missed the point - that his characters were only caricatures. What Gogol may not have realized is that in itself is still tragic in its own right.

Critics now deem Dead Souls to be a 'mock -epic', but its during its conception Gogol's intention was to create the actual Russian Don Quixote, a Gogolian Odyssey. Ironically, it turned out to be Gogolian Hell - for himself, not only his attempts to mimick Dante's trilogy. Along with this vision, Gogol also considered Dead Souls to be an epic poem, or a novel in verse, as a title on the original cover indicates. Gogol also envisioned the trilogy to be the a part of the redemption of Russian society, transformative by example of the eventual redemption of Chichikov. And even with all this, Gogol saw the completion, or the victory, that this novel would bring as the solidifying fact verifying his creative genius. His overwhelming investment in this novel and the project it was to be was so closely linked with his creative self-conception that as it failed, he himself physically failed. Click here to read the biography.

A very brief summary of Dead Souls is as follows: The hero (anti-hero, Satan's cherub [as Nabokov likens him]) named Chichikov has developed a mysterious, genius, deriding and potentially blasphemous scheme: to buy up the dead 'souls' of peasants, using a government loophole in the tracking of serfs. When he has bought enough 'souls', he will take out a loan against them and quietly disappear into the countryside. And yes, all the implications that the phrase "dead souls" entails is present in the novel, so much so that at its original publication, the censors demanded the title be changed to "The Adventures of Chichikov".

While the overwhelming bleakness and ruefully subjective attitude all compound the cynicism for which Dead Souls is known, the real power of the novel is the opportunity for reformation, for light. The force most responsible for providing an answer to vacuum the text creates is humor. It provides the necessary distance from reality (as well does Gogol's insistence that Dead Souls is a poem) in a jolt, asking us to understand why laughter occurs. This method is both effective and heartbreaking and is a foil for the dismal nature of the novel.

Many critics have argued for the novel's importance in a social context. Its role as a critique of 19th century Russian society, as well as for critics looking back to the historical context of the time, is crucial. It is known as any and all of these labels: satirical, picaresque, mock-epic, novel-in-verse, and realistic. Interest in Dead Souls and its influence reignited during the modernist period, and many writers and artists, both Russian and otherwise, have found inspiration in Gogol and his works. Flannery O'Connor, the American Southern Gothic writer from the mid 20th century, looked to Gogol for the satirical depiction of a countryside filled with depraved caricatures of people, and through their grotesqueries, have the opportunity for redemption.

Gogol's burning of his later attempts to finish his epic trilogy apparently are not a great loss. Gogol could not continue with his re-envisioning of his 'negative types', and struggled to write a satisfactory 2nd or 3rd novel. His burning of most of his manuscript days before his death is infamous and as aptly metaphorical as it seems, and begs the question: who is not a 'dead soul' in this history?

I shall laugh my bitter laugh

Epitaph on Gogol's tombstone

Other Links:
Dead Souls: First Chapter in Russian
Download text in English

Works Cited:
Further Reading and Bibliography
The Rise of Russian Literature by Richard Freeborn
Generic Biography
We All Love Wikipedia.

A Play and a Novel

GogolGroup — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:22:56 CDT

Gogol’s play was a success by any standard but resulted in a lot of political commotion, outraging conservatives and delighting the liberals. Accordingly, he fled Russia in 1836 to go abroad and mainly lived in Rome. During this time he completed the first part of Dead Souls, which was published in Moscow in 1842, the same year as "The Overcoat", but almost as if expected, he left before the reviews were published. Here it is important to note that Gogol was constantly in debt and relied heavily on his friends. For example he had Zhukovsky, the tutor to the heir Alexander II, convince the young tsarevitch to lend Gogol a hefty sum to return to Italy. The religious mysticism that was instilled in him by his mother ultimately led him to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem during this time as well. All the while he continued work on Deal Souls which he envisioned as a three-part book, with a hell, purgatory, and heaven. However, Gogol struggled greatly in writing the novel further, as he found it difficult to introduce positive types.

On an interesting note, the original cover of the novel shown left was of Gogol's design. After reviewing the work, the censors deemed the title inappropriate, contesting the idea that a soul could be dead. Accordingly, Gogol submitted and changed the title to "The Adventures of Chichikov." However, out of spite Gogol used a tiny font for the new official title (the text on top) while centering his title on the cover with a large font. Also of interest is the emphasis placed upon the word "Epic Poem" which possesses the central spot and largest font on the jacket, as Gogol saw his work as a novel in verse.

First Successes

GogolGroup — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:21:03 CDT

It was Pushkin’s glowing review that really ensured and bolstered the success of Gogol’s first triumph. Drawing from his Ukrainian past, Gogol wrote a band of stories entitled Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka which appeared that same year in 1831 and was followed up by a second volume the next year. Similar bands of stories, such as Arabesques and Migrorod would appear several years later in 1835, but with less acclaim.

During this time, between 1831 and 1835 Gogol also taught history at the Patriotic Institute to young ladies of the noble classes to provide himself with supplemental income. Then in 1834 with the help of friends including Pushkin, he secured a small post teaching medieval history at the University of Saint Petersburg, a job for which he was utterly unprepared and unqualified and ended a short time later.

In 1836, the same year he published his famous short story, ‘The Nose,’ Gogol turned to Pushkin for an idea upon which to write a novel. Pushkin supplied him with the basis for his future opus magnum, Dead Souls. However, after finding the craft of writing a novel a little more challenging and time-consuming than originally thought, Gogol again turned to Pushkin for an idea upon which to write a play, with the hopes of a quicker writing profit and maybe even some profit in the end. The play was finished shortly thereafter in January of 1836 and was called “The Government Inspector”. Pictured above is Gogol reading his freshly completed drama to a group of highly entertained friends, Pushkin among them.

Early Years

GogolGroup — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:18:14 CDT

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was born in the town Sorochyntsi (indicated left) in the Migrorod district of the Ukraine, then part of the vast Russian Empire, in the year 1809 and would later become the father of modern Realism in Russia and along with Pushkin especially, one of the chief literary figures of his day. His parents were of the petty landed gentry, and his father often worked odd jobs, such as serving a post in a post office, to support his family. Like his son, the elder Gogol also wrote, and composed several plays in the Ukrainian language.

Nikolai’s mother was a good and faithful wife to her husband although she was very young to marry and to bear Nikolai, at which point in time she could not have been older than 15. She was very attached to her son all throughout his life and shared many personal qualities with him. Of perhaps the most importance, it would be Gogol’s mother that imparted upon him the strange and deep piousness that would haunt him all the way up until his death.

At age 12, Gogol left his hometown to study in Nezhin at the Grammar School of Higher Learning. The sick and meekly boy was not popular with his schoolmates, who gave him such nicknames as the ‘mysterious dwarf.’ They did, however, fear young Nikolai’s caustic tongue and the fact that he was well able to pick out and emphasize all their faults, something that foreshadowed his later talents in writing.

Life and Major Works of Nikolai Gogol

GogolGroup — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:16:33 CDT

Vladimir Nabokov (shown right) opens his biography of Nikolai Gogol by portraying the writer's strange and tragic death. After falling gravely ill as a result of a private hunger strike in an attempt to counter the devil, Gogol took to bed and was subjected to poor and rough treatment, much of which involved blood-letting with the use of leeches. Nabokov emphasizes the horrible and pathetic irony of the scene:"The belly is the belle of his stories, the nose is their beau. His stomach had been his 'noblest inner organ'--now it was practically gone and devils were dangling from his nostrils." However, such a death could only be fitting to whom in Nabokov's words was "the strangest prose-poet Russia ever produced," and a very appropriate introduction to the life and works of such a curious man. In the next couple of sub-pages, however, you will find a drier and more objective account of the author's life and works.

The Influence of Nikolai Gogol

GogolGroup — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:54:19 CDT

Nikolai Gogol was not just responsible for marvelously unique and poignant literature. He was also responsible for overwhelming influence upon other famous Russian artists.

Gogol’s Russian Literary Influence

Gogol’s Russian Musical Influence

Short Stories

GogolGroup — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:24:42 CDT

While Gogol wrote a plethora of short stories (not all survived his matches) his two most famous pieces are "The Nose" and "The Overcoat". As seen in both of these short stories and throughout his others, Gogol is a master of realism yet at the same time of portraying fantastical, irrational events as perfectly believable, like a normal part of everyday life. Gogol's short stories are also often characterized by good versus evil, as David Magarshack writes in his introduction to his English translation of "The Overcoat".

The Overcoat (1842)

GogolGroup — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:16:38 CDT

Brief Summary

Akaky Akakievich is a copyist working in St. Petersburg. While he lives for his job and works diligently, he and his threadbare overcoat are often made fun of by his fellow employees. Akaky Akakievich tries to have his already patched overcoat fixed again, yet the tailor Petrovich says this is impossible and they agree that Akaky Akakievich must buy a new coat. Cutting down on his expenses, using saved money, and his bonus, Akaky Akakievich is finally able to purchase a new overcoat, and a nice one at that. His co-workers throw a party in honor of his new overcoat, yet coming home later than usual, Akaky Akakievich is mugged and stripped of his new overcoat. He goes to a 'Very Important Person' who does not help but only yells at him, causing Akaky Akakievich to enter into emotional trauma, and shortly afterwards, he dies. Word spreads around St. Petersburg of a ghost who strips people of their overcoats, and while the police almost catch the ghost once, he escapes. Finally the VIP is confronted by the ghost, who is indeed the ghost of Akaky Akakievich, and the ghost takes the VIP's overcoat and quite satisfied it for he is never seen again.

Things of Interest

David Magarshack writes in his introduction to "The Overcoat" that the idea for the overcoat came from a friend's suggestion at a tea party in St. Petersburg. Gogol's friend knew a poor civil servant with a passion for hunting yet did not own a shotgun. This poor civil servant stinted himself for years in order to save enough money and finally bought a gleaming new shotgun. However on his first hunt with the new gun, dropped his gun into some reeds along Finnish Bay and was unable to retrieve it. This loss took such a tole that the man fell sick and was only saved because his colleagues' generosity, who all pitched in and bought him a new gun.

With "The Overcoat"Gogol began a new theme in Russian literature where the poor worker is not presented as an object at which to poke fun or to give charity but rather as a feeling human being.

Another possible interpretation, other than high ranked snobbery, could be drawn around materialism in "The Overcoat". Akaky was always satisfied with his work, then he became happy with the idea of a new overcoat. Material possessions led to his increased self-esteem and he ventured into society only to be robbed, discriminated against, and yelled at. Perhaps Gogol is also showing the horrors that come with greatly valuing material possessions.

Many films of Gogols "The Overcoat" have been made over the last century. Perhaps the most interesting is the animated film by Yurly Norshteynwhich has been in the making since 1981 and is still unreleased. In early 2007 Norshteyn said he wanted to release the first thirty minutes of the film by the end of the year, but as of 2009 this still has not happened.

"The Overcoat" has also been adapted by Gecko Theater Company, who tries to reinterprate the story to deal with contemporary issues, Kirov Ballet, and Morris Paynch, who made a mimed version of the tale with an alternate ending.

Go to the photo page to see photos of "The Overcoat" preformed by Gecko Theater, Kirov Ballet, and Canadian Productions.

Here's a link to some people's homemade video of "The Overcoat"
Here's a link to the BBC review of Gecko's "The Overcoat"
Here's a link to a preview for Gecko's "The Overcoat"

The Nose (1836)

GogolGroup — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:14:24 CDT

Brief Summary
Barber Ivan Yakovlevich finds Collegiate Assessor Kovalyov's nose in a loaf of bread; he runs around town trying to discard of it, and eventually throws it off of Issakiyevsky Bridge. Meanwhile, Kovalyov wakes up in shock to find not a nose but a flat spot in the middle of his face. He sees his nose in a State Councillor's uniform and tries to approach his nose in Kazan Cathedral, but is confounded because his nose is a higher rank than he. Koyalyov tries in vain to put an advertisement in a newspaper; luckily a police officer finds the nose, and returns it to Koyalyov. However Koyalyov has no way to reattach his nose to his face, but one day wakes up with his nose back on. While he is incredibly pleased, he acts dignified again, as if nothing humbling such as losing his nose had happened to him.

Things of Interest

Richard Peace has noted that "Nose" backwards in Russian is "dream". Indeed it only seems as though a nose could leave one's face and become a State Councillor only in a dream, though many playful uncles will steal your nose and tell you otherwise. There are rumors, perhaps truths, of an earlier version of "The Nose" where Kovalyov wakes up and the whole thing has been a dream.

"The Nose" is a ridiculous story perhaps commenting on the ridiculous social structure Gogol saw in Russian society.David Magarshack writes, "'The Nose' is a biting exposure of the snobbery, self-complacency, and stupidity of the Russian upper classes." While many of Gogol's works lead the reader to assume Gogol was a satirical social critic, Gogol himself probably never thought of himself this way. Gogol never mentioned plans for changing society; although his works like "The Nose" and "The Overcoat" gave fuel to Russian radicals, Gogol only says, "My subject was always the same: my subject was life, and nothing else."

In 1994 a monument to Gogol's short story "The Nose" was put up in St. Petersburg. After enduring a few pranks, this nose did exactly what nose do, it disappeared. In May of 2008 a new monument to "The Nose" was put up in St. Petersburg; this one, we believe, has not disappeared yet.

Dmitri Shostakovich's opera of "The Nose" was written between 1928-9 and was fist preformed in Leningrad on June 18, 1930. After sixteen performances, the opera was closed not to be preformed again in the Soviet Union until Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Boris Pokrovsky revived the work in 1974.

Go to the photo page to see photos of "The Nose" monument and opera.

Here's a link to a video of the first act of "The Nose"
Here's a link to a preview of a puppet show of "The Nose"

Move to Petersburg

GogolGroup — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:41:51 CDT

Upon finishing up his schoolwork, Gogol left his homeland in the autumn of 1828 full of great aspirations and headed for the capital of Saint Petersburg in the hopes of making a name for himself. With him he brought only the qualifications for the lowest rank in the civil service and some writings of his. Finding it hard to move up the hierarchical ladder of the social service, Gogol quickly tried to find success in his writing and took it upon himself to publish his poem ‘Hanz Kuechelgarten,’ which was an adventure poem written in the contemporary German style. Soon after being published, the critics tore the poem apart, sending the young author into a frenzy. Assisted by his puzzled serf-servant, Gogol took to the bookstores of the city as quickly as he could, buying back all that he had published and burning it.

What happened next is well explained quite frankly by Nabokov: “All I can do is to note that after every shock he experience during his literary career, he would hurriedly leave whatever town he happened to be in.” Gogol embezzled some money sent to him by his mother and set off for Germany. In explaining his sudden departure from the capital to her, he gave different and equally false reasons. First he claimed to be trying to espape a femme fatale, then a couple days later wrote her another letter complaining of a chest pain. Such deceit along with constant requests for money characterizes much of the correspondence he held with his mother over the years. Gogol only spent three months abroad in Northern Germany, before his funds ran out and he was forced to return to Petersburg.

Gogol met Pushkin (pictured right) in 1831 through friends and attempted to become closer to the poet by asking him to let his mail be sent to him, claiming to have no fixed address. Although the two men never became truly close friends, as they fell on completely opposite sides of the spectrum, Pushkin defended Gogol all throughout his professional career, taking note of an essence of genius that perhaps would have otherwise gone unnoticed.