Nikolai Gogol

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (1809–1852) was a Russian writer of Ukrainian origin. Born in Velyki Sorochyntsi, Ukraine, into a landowning family, he moved to St. Petersburg in 1828. After brief work in the civil service and as a teacher, he turned to literature. Alexander Pushkin became his friend and patron. Gogol first gained recognition with the folkloric stories collected in *Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka*, and later became known for the *Petersburg Tales*, the comedy *The Government Inspector*, and the novel *Dead Souls*. He repeatedly destroyed parts of the manuscript for the second volume of *Dead Souls*. Gogol died in Moscow in 1852.