Nikolai V. Gogol
People consider that Russian writer Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Николай Васильевич Гоголь) founded realism in Russian literature. His works include
The Overcoat
(1842) and
Dead Souls
(1842).
Ukrainian birth, heritage, and upbringing of Gogol influenced many of his written works among the most beloved in the tradition of Russian-language literature. Most critics see Gogol as the first Russian realist. His biting satire, comic realism, and descriptions of Russian provincials and petty bureaucrats influenced later Russian masters Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev, and especially Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Gogol wittily said many later Russian maxims.
Gogol first used the techniques of surrealism and the grotesque in his works
The Nose
,
Viy
,
The Overcoat
, and
Nevsky Prospekt
. Ukrainian upbringing, culture, and folklore influenced his early works, such as
Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka
.
His later writing satirized political corruption in the Russian empire in
Dead Souls
.
“The longer and more carefully we look at a funny story, the sadder it becomes.”
“But wise is the man who disdains no character, but with searching glance explores him to the root and cause of all.”
“You can't imagine how stupid the whole world has grown nowadays. The things these scribblers write!”