March 20, 2009

Happy Birthday Nikosha Gogol!


Today is the 200th birthday of Nikolai Gogol. Well, sort of.

I'll come back to that.

Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol is one of Russia's greatest and yet least appreciated writers. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, author of Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov and other classics, said that "we all came out of Gogol's Overcoat." What he meant is that Gogol was completely unlike any Russian writer who preceded him, and that all Russian literature that followed was indebted to him.

Gogol had a way of seeing the world that was at once dark and hysterical, grotesque yet humorous. In his stories, he magnified human frailties, fears, pettiness and license, the better to demonstrate the comic futility of our human condition. His works are therefore timeless and, in many ways, unequaled.

There are few short stories as powerful as Gogol's The Overcoat; there is no Russian play more important than his Inspector General; and few novels have had as much impact as his epic Dead Souls. And then there is his masterful short story, The Nose - a personal favorite. On the surface, it seems to be a nonsensical story about a nose that left its owner's face to make a life of its own, yet it is in fact a hilarious, and utterly profound, story about status and social mores.

Gogol had a huge impact on Russian culture. Even today, 200 years after his birth, Russians still use the names of characters from his stories as adjectives to describe people they know. And Gogol is perhaps only exceeded by Pushkin - Russia's national poet - in the number of his works adapted for opera, ballet and film.

Yet perhaps the best thing about Gogol is that he is just telling great stories; he is not, like Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky, trying to sell Great Ideas. As the writer Vladimir Nabokov said: "Gogol was a strange creature, but genius is always strange... Great literature skirts the irrational" And the irrational, Nabokov said "is the very basis of Gogol's art, in fact, whenever [Gogol] tried to treat rational ideas in a logical way, he lost all trace of talent."

Not surprisingly, Soviet literary critics did not get Gogol. Instead, they mortgaged his long-dead soul for their own purposes, classifying him as a realist and a social critic, which was pure nonsense. And, as if that were not enough, they moved observation of his birthday from March 20 to April 1, to make it seem like the satirist had been born on April Fool's Day - a ridiculous sham.

Today, on Gogol's 200th birthday, we should resolve to look at the world as this great writer did, not taking ourselves too seriously, and always remembering, as he wrote in The Nose, that "Absolute nonsense happens in the world."

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955