Nikolai Gogol

Poprishchin is tormented by his humble social standing and the humiliations he suffers at work, which fuels his secret, inflated ambition. He is hopelessly in love with the beautiful Sophie—the daughter of his department director, who represents an unattainable symbol of power. When he learns that Sophie is about to marry a wealthy chamberlain, his […]

The corrupt officials of a small, provincial Russian town are thrown into utter panic: their Mayor, Anton Antonovich, has just received word that a high-ranking, incognito Inspector General is secretly arriving from St. Petersburg to audit their region. Knowing their incompetence, graft, and neglect—from the stinking hospital to the broken roads—will be instantly exposed, they […]

The protagonist is Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, a humble, invisible titular counsellor in St. Petersburg who finds his sole purpose in life through the mindless work of copying documents. His miserable existence is defined by his threadbare, despised overcoat, which offers little protection from the brutal Russian cold. When his tailor declares the old coat beyond […]