The Sorochinsk Fair

Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) was a Russian novelist, humorist, and dramatist. Considered the father of modern Russian realism, his best-known works are the novels Dead Souls and Taras Bul'ba, the play The Inspector-General, and the short stories "Diary of a Madman," "The Nose," and "The Overcoat." With their scrupulous and scathing realism, ethical criticism, and philosophical depth, they remain some of the most important works of world literature. However, because much of Gogol's writing satirized the corrupt bureaucracy of the Russian Empire, he was temporarily exiled from Russia.