Interesting facts from the life of Nikolai Gogol. Interesting facts from the life of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (15 photos) Interesting information from the life of Gogol

The writer loved miniature editions. Not loving and not knowing mathematics, he ordered a mathematical encyclopedia only because it was published in a sixteenth of a sheet (10.5 × 7.5 cm).

Gogol loved to cook and treat his friends to dumplings and dumplings. One of his favorite drinks was goat's milk, which he brewed in a special way by adding rum. He called this concoction Gogol-Mogol and often, laughing, said: “Gogol loves Gogol-Mogol!”

The writer usually walked along the streets and alleys on the left side, so he constantly collided with passers-by.
Gogol was very afraid of thunderstorms. According to contemporaries, the bad weather had a bad effect on his weak nerves.

He was extremely shy. As soon as a stranger appeared in the company, Gogol disappeared from the room.

Gogol often, when writing, rolled balls out of white bread. He told his friends that this helps him solve the most difficult problems.

Gogol always had sweets in his pockets. Living in a hotel, he never allowed the servants to take away the sugar served with tea, he collected it, hid it, and then gnawed pieces while working or talking.

Gogol's whole life still remains an unsolved mystery. He was haunted by mysticism, and after his death there were more questions than answers. They allow you to look at the work of your favorite writer from a completely different perspective, try to explain some contradictions and inconsistencies and see him not as an idol, but as a simple, incredibly subtle and talented person.

Nikolai Vasilyevich was passionately interested in everything that came into his field of vision. The history of his native Ukraine was one of his favorite studies and hobbies. It was these studies that prompted him to write the epic story “Taras Bulba”. It was first published in the collection “Mirgorod” in 1835. Gogol personally handed one copy of this magazine into the hands of Mr. Uvarov, the Minister of Public Education, so that he presented it to Emperor Nicholas I.

In the same collection, the most incredible and mystical of all Gogol’s works was published - the story “Viy”. The writer himself claimed that “Viy” is a folk legend, which he allegedly heard and wrote down without changing a single word in it.

But what’s interesting is that neither literary scholars, nor historians, nor folklorists, nor researchers have ever been able to find any oral or, especially, written references to folk legends or fairy tales that would even remotely resemble the plot of “Viy” . All this gives reason to consider the story solely a figment of the imagination of the great mystifier and writer.

Researchers of Gogol’s life and work are inclined to think that the name “Viy” itself is a free combination of the name of the owner of the inferno “Iron Niy”, who was a deity in Ukrainian mythology, and the word “viya”, which in Ukrainian means “eyelid” .

Neither contemporaries nor descendants can explain what happened to Gogol in last years his life. It is believed that when Gogol visited Rome in 1839, he contracted malaria. Despite the fact that over time the disease did subside, its consequences became fatal for the writer. It was not so much the physical torment as the complications that caused Gogol to have seizures, fainting, but most importantly, visions, which made his recovery difficult and lengthy.

In the fall of 1850, while in Odessa, Nikolai Vasilyevich felt relief. Contemporaries recall that his usual liveliness and vigor returned to him. He returned to Moscow and seemed completely healthy and cheerful. Gogol read out to his friends individual fragments from the second volume “ Dead souls"and rejoiced like a child, seeing the delight and hearing the laughter of the listeners. But as soon as he put an end to the second volume, it seemed to him that emptiness and doom had fallen upon him. He felt the fear of death, such as his father had once suffered.

No one knows for certain what happened on the night of February 12, 1852. Biographers, with a joint titanic effort, tried literally minute by minute to reconstruct the events of that night, but what is absolutely certain is that until three o’clock in the morning Gogol prayed earnestly. Then he took his briefcase, took out some sheets of paper from it, and ordered everything that was left in it to be immediately burned. After which he crossed himself and, returning to bed, sobbed uncontrollably until the morning. It is traditionally believed that that night Gogol burned the second volume of Dead Souls, but some biographers and historians are confident that this is far from the truth, which is unlikely to be known by anyone.

Modern specialists in the field of psychiatry have analyzed thousands of documents and come to a very definite conclusion that there is no mental disorder Gogol had no trace of it. He may have suffered from depression, and if it had been applied to him correct treatment, the great writer would have lived much longer.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is one of the most famous classics of Russian literature. His biography is shrouded in secrets and mysteries. Perhaps this affected the work of the poet and prose writer, because his works are also full of mysticism.

The mysterious story of Gogol

Gogol's life was eventful and full of tragic moments. Even during his lifetime, the poet encountered rumors, often embellished. There were many reasons for this: Gogol was known as a closed person, practically isolated from society. And even though more than a century and a half has passed since the writer’s death, to this day practically nothing is known about his life.

Gogol, interesting facts from whose life continue to be revealed to this day, was inclined to mythologize his own biography. So, he deliberately kept silent about his life and even made up stories that never happened to him in reality.

The family of the great writer and playwright

Do you know what Gogol's real name was? Mysteries surrounded him from birth. The poet came from the respected noble family of Gogol-Yankovsky, which dates back to the 17th century. Family legend says that the founder of this Ukrainian Cossack family was Ostap Gogol, the hetman of Right Bank Ukraine.

Gogol's father is Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yankovsky. Vasily Afanasyevich was a writer, poet and playwright. He wrote his works (mostly plays for small theaters) in Ukrainian. This affected the fate of young Nikolai Vasilyevich, who, unfortunately, lost his father quite early - the boy was barely 15 years old at the time of his death.

The mother of the poet and prose writer was She who is considered the “culprit” of her son’s passion for religiosity and mysticism. In addition to Nikolai Vasilyevich, their family had eleven more children. Gogol was the third, and, in fact, the eldest child in the family - the first two babies were stillborn.

Biographical mystery of the great genius: what was Gogol's name

So what was Gogol's name? Despite the fact that this biographical fact is actively discussed by historians and biographers, at birth, as we all know, the poet received the name Nikolai Vasilyevich. But few know that at birth the boy was named Yanovsky. By the way, from the age of 12 the Russian classic was worn by Gogol-Yanovsky. It is believed that the writer, not knowing the history of the origin of this surname, discarded it because he considered it invented by the Poles.

Now that you know what Gogol’s name was at birth, we’ll tell you other interesting facts from Gogol’s life.

Influences of childhood on Gogol's work

The great playwright spent his entire childhood in the village. The boy was constantly immersed in the atmosphere of Ukrainian life. Moreover, he knew no less about the life of peasants and workers than about the life of the nobility. This affected many of Gogol's works. He was also very passionate about history. Even after leaving for St. Petersburg, the young writer did not stop expanding his knowledge base - in his letters he asked his mother to tell more about the life of peasants and gentlemen.

The boy showed interest in literature and art in general quite early - back in his school years. As a student at the gymnasium, he was passionately interested in amateur theater, which he created together with his comrades.

The writer's school years

At the age of ten, young Nikolai’s parents sent him to the Nizhyn gymnasium. Unfortunately for them, the boy did not succeed at all in his studies, although this was largely the fault of the educational institution.

There were also problems with the study of Russian literature. The teacher of the subject in every possible way denied the significance in the culture of such modern writers and poets like Pushkin and Zhukovsky. The result of this approach was the introduction of high school students to the romantic literature of the 19th century.

The formation of N.V. Gogol as a writer

Having completed his studies at the gymnasium in 1828, the classicist left for the city of great opportunities - St. Petersburg. This stage of life became one of the most difficult in his life, but at the same time the most productive. The modest funds left for him by his noblewoman mother to live in the big city were barely enough, and Gogol settled down to public service, which he soon became bored with.

Then Nikolai Gogol turned to literature. His first works, published under pseudonyms, were criticized by the public, and the desperate writer went abroad in search of better life. However, he stayed there for only a month, after which he returned to St. Petersburg.

According to the observations of the future genius of Russian literature, the life and culture of the Ukrainian people attracted not only Little Russians, but also Russians. It was then that the plan for the famous “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka” began to emerge in his head. The young man persistently asked his mother, who lived in the village, to tell him about Ukrainian traditions and customs unknown to him, about Ukrainian legends, manuscripts and costumes. All this helped him to most fully and accurately depict the Little Russian village and its inhabitants.

In 1830, Gogol’s first successful work, “Evenings on the Eve of Ivan Kupala,” was published, published in “Notes of the Fatherland” in 1830. But “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”, “May Night” and “Sorochinskaya Fair” brought real fame and recognition to the young author.

From that moment on, the writer’s life turned upside down.

What influenced Gogol's work?

In the 1830s, Nikolai Vasilyevich met P. A. Pletnev, V. A. Zhukovsky and A. S. Pushkin, who largely influenced Gogol’s literary work.

Everything in the life of the literary classic was reflected in his works. Over time, he plunged more and more into metropolitan life. As a result, “Petersburg Tales” were published, consisting of 5 stories:

"Nevsky Avenue".
"Overcoat"
"Diary of a Madman".
"Portrait".
"Nose".

The collection is combined not only common problem, but also the general place of action - the city of St. Petersburg, where N.V. Gogol lived.

Few raised the theme of the duality of the capital in their works. People saw in it not only the “Grad of Petrov”, but also a refuge of evil. The greatest poet of the Golden Age, A.S. Pushkin, was one of the first to show all the ambiguity of the “city on the Neva”. He described it as follows: “The city is lush, the city is poor.”

This problem is revealed especially clearly in Nevsky Prospekt. Hidden behind the gloss of the main street are the broken hopes and tragedies of ordinary townspeople. In the story, the city is indifferent to the problems of people - everything is ruled by money and rank. Ideas about good and evil in the capital have long been destroyed. The same idea was revealed by N.V. Gogol. The plot of many works develops in St. Petersburg: this is the controversial “The Nose”, and “Notes of a Madman”, “The Overcoat” and “Nevsky Prospekt”. St. Petersburg in Gogol’s works is a haven for street children and impoverished officials. This image is opposed to the generally accepted image of the capital - luxurious, idle, dazzling with its splendor.

On the other hand, Gogol's capital is a city where mysticism and reality live as one.

Mirgorod in the life and work of Gogol

Although St. Petersburg played a significant role in Gogol’s work, Ukrainian folklore occupied the first place in it. In addition to such wonderful works as “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” and “May Night”, the writer wrote a number of other cult stories, which were combined into the collection “Mirgorod”. It was not without reason that Gogol chose this name for his collection: the city of Mirgorod appears in his work “The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich.”

This collection also includes other works that are known to us from school:

"Viy."
"Taras Bulba".
"Old World Landowners"

Why exactly Mirgorod? Gogol deliberately chose this locality. It was located near the village of Velikie Sorochintsy, where young Nikolai spent his childhood and youth. The same village appears in his work “Sorochinskaya Fair”.

Throughout Ukraine and, in particular, in the Mirgorod region, the memory of the great countryman is still honored. Everywhere you can find not only monuments dedicated to the writer, but also streets, hotels, sanatoriums, squares, hospitals, libraries named in his honor.

The originality of Gogol's stories

Having analyzed all the works, we can highlight specific features Gogol's creativity. Some moments from the writer’s life are still the subject of controversy, but in his works Gogol was unusually accurate and straightforward.

The author's creative style is very recognizable. It was the uniqueness of his writing that allowed Gogol to become one of the greatest writers of the Golden Age. His first poem, Hanz Küchelgarten, which he published under a pseudonym, failed miserably. The reason for this was an attempt to write a poem in the manner of the romantic Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky.

His subsequent stories were also written in a romantic manner, but in them the unique Gogolian character of writing begins to appear. A little later, the writer, under the influence of Pushkin, took a course towards critical realism. And although Gogol saw him as his mentor, he never tried to create according to the model of Pushkin’s creations.

The writer's later works had an obvious social orientation. Gogol was one of the first to accurately depict the essence of the problem of the “little man” in corrupt Russia. He skillfully ridiculed vulgarity and laziness modern man, exposed the social contradictions of that time.

The early works of Nikolai Vasilyevich are also worth special attention. These works have common recognizable features. For example, mystery and romance, an expressive and “live” description of Ukrainian life, references to Ukrainian folklore.

This passion is quite natural: the writer spent his childhood in Ukraine. For many years his life was closely connected with Ukrainian customs and culture. In these works, mysticism takes place to a greater extent - they are very similar to dark fairy tales. In his works, Gogol skillfully combined reality and mysterious otherworldly forces - witches, mermaids, and even devils lived next to the ordinary Ukrainian people.

Death of a Genius

Many questions about the life of the great and mysterious writer excite people's minds. What was Gogol's name? Was he married? Does he have any descendants? But the most main question, still unsolved and causing a lot of controversy, is the reason

To this day, no one can say for sure how this genius of literary thought left the world. Many historians, biographers and literary scholars put forward their versions of his death. One of the most widespread, but still unconfirmed versions is that the writer was buried alive.

This truly horrific variation of the classic death was put forward in 1931. Since the cemetery where he was buried was liquidated, it was decided to rebury him. Many eminent writers were present at the ceremony, and when the coffin was opened, eyewitnesses were horrified to discover that Gogol's skeleton was lying with his head turned to the side.

This news caused a real flurry of discussions not only in the literary and historical community, but also among ordinary people. As it turned out, there is a completely logical explanation for this phenomenon: the side boards of the coffin are the first to undergo rotting processes, and the lid of the coffin, which does not have strong support, begins to put pressure on the head of the deceased, causing it to rotate on the “Atlas” vertebra. According to burial experts, this is a normal practice, and Gogol is far from the first person to be found in such a position after burial.

The situation was complicated by the fact that Nikolai Vasilyevich’s greatest fear was being buried alive. During his lifetime, he noticed that he was subject to a state of so-called “lethargic sleep”, when the reaction to the world is absent, the heartbeat slows down significantly, and the pulse ceases to be palpable. For this reason, he made a will in which he ordered that he be buried only when signs of cadaveric decomposition became obvious. This gave the legend of the writer’s burial alive even greater mystery.

Another, less frightening version of the classic’s death is poisoning with calomel (a mercury-containing drug used in the 19th century). The writer himself was susceptible to many diseases, and therefore was treated by various doctors. It was a medical error that could have caused Gogol’s premature death.

The latest version has become the most widespread, but it is still not recognized as official.

Thus, it is believed that Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol died due to exhaustion caused by hunger. The classic's contemporaries admitted that he was prone to depression and was overly passionate about religion, which pushed him to maintain an ascetic lifestyle and renounce carnal pleasures.

In pursuit of the triumph of the spirit over the body, Gogol exhausted himself by stubbornly refusing food. A week before the start of Lent, he decided to give up creativity, food and limit contact with people as much as possible.

Before his death, he burns his belongings, as he himself explains, “under the influence of an evil spirit.” Two days before his death, the writer’s condition deteriorated significantly - he went to bed and stubbornly refused any help, mentally preparing for death. Doctors did not stop trying to cure the writer, but on February 21, 1852, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol died.

Now Gogol is buried at the Moscow Novodevichy Cemetery. The writer left this world in the prime of his life, but, as literary critic V.A. Voropaev, this is “a death filled with spiritual meaning,” which is what the writer wanted.

13 October 2014, 13:31

It would seem that almost everything is known about Gogol. But again and again new ones emerge and sometimes completely unexpected facts. Gogol's whole life still remains an unsolved mystery. He was haunted by mysticism, and after his death there were more questions than answers. And how many versions there are that refute the myths about Gogol! But I think these versions will appear in the comments, but I present to you data.

♦ Nikolai Gogol was named after miraculous icon St. Nicholas, kept in the church of Bolshie Sorochintsi, where the writer’s parents lived.

♦ Gogol had a passion for needlework. I knitted scarves, cut out dresses for my sisters, wove belts, and sewed scarves for myself for the summer.

♦ The writer loved miniature editions. Not loving and not knowing mathematics, he ordered a mathematical encyclopedia only because it was published in a sixteenth of a sheet (10.5 × 7.5 cm).
Surely, he would be delighted with such an edition of his book:

♦ Gogol wrote very mediocre essays at school, he was very weak in languages and made progress only in drawing and Russian literature.

♦ Gogol loved to cook and treat his friends to dumplings and dumplings.

♦ One of his favorite drinks was goat's milk, which he brewed in a special way by adding rum. He called this concoction gogol-mogol and often, laughing, said: “Gogol loves eggnog!” The recipe for modern eggnog, for those interested: beat the yolks with sugar until white foam. Continuing to whisk, slowly pour in whiskey, rum, milk and a little cream. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites into a stiff foam and add the mixture of yolks + a little more cream, powdered sugar and beat the mixture until thick. Ready!

♦ The writer usually walked along the streets and alleys on the left side, so he constantly collided with passers-by.

♦ Gogol was very afraid of thunderstorms. According to contemporaries, the bad weather had a bad effect on his weak nerves.

♦ He was extremely shy. As soon as a stranger appeared in the company, Gogol disappeared from the room. And they say that he has never met anyone. Some believe that Gogol died a virgin; these statements appeared because... it is unknown about his relationships with women in general. True, in the spring of 1850 N.V. Gogol made an offer (first and last) to A.M. Vielgorskaya, but was refused. There is also a version about Gogol’s unconventional orientation, they even devote entire articles to this and guess who)))

♦ When Gogol was writing, he often rolled balls of white cotton :). He told his friends that this helps him solve the most difficult problems.

♦ Gogol always had sweets in his pockets. Living in a hotel, he never allowed the servants to take away the sugar served with tea, he collected it, hid it, and then gnawed pieces while working or talking.

♦ Gogol was very attached to his pug dog Josie, given to him by Pushkin. When she died (Gogol did not feed the animal for weeks), Nikolai Vasilyevich was attacked by mortal melancholy and despondency.

♦ The source of the plot for Gogol’s play “The Inspector General” was a real incident in the city of Ustyuzhna, Novgorod province, and Pushkin told the author about this incident. It was Pushkin who advised Gogol to continue writing the work when he more than once wanted to give up this work.

By the way, at the delightful monument to the 1000th anniversary of Russia in Veliky Novgorod in the group “Writers and Artists”Pushkin stands next to Gogol, whose image was placed only under public pressure.
And next to us, our beloved Lermontov, became sad)))

♦ The history of his native Ukraine was one of his favorite studies and hobbies. It was these studies that prompted him to write the epic story “Taras Bulba”. It was first published in the collection “Mirgorod” and in 1835 Gogol personally handed one copy of this magazine into the hands of the Minister of Public Education Uvarov, so that he presented it to Emperor Nicholas I.

♦ Gogol was embarrassed by his nose. In all the portraits of Gogol, his nose looks different - so, with the help of artists, the writer tried to confuse future biographers.

♦ It is known that Nikolai Vasilyevich died at the age of 42 from constant depression and dark thoughts, but modern specialists in the field of psychiatry analyzed thousands of documents and came to the very definite conclusion that Gogol had no trace of any mental disorder. He may have suffered from depression, and if the right treatment had been given to him, the great writer would have lived much longer.

♦ Neither contemporaries nor descendants can explain what happened to Gogol in the last years of his life. At the age of 30, while in Rome, Gogol fell ill with malaria, and, judging by the consequences, as well as the symptoms proposed by modern pathologists, the disease affected the writer’s brain. He began to experience seizures and fainting with regular frequency, which is typical, according to modern diagnostics, for malarial encephalitis. Every year, attacks and fainting with side effects became more frequent. In 1845, Gogol wrote to his sister Lisa: “My body reached a terrible state of cold: neither day nor night I could not warm myself with anything. My face turned yellow, and my hands became swollen and blackened and were like ice, this frightened me.”

Monument to Gogol in Rome in the Roman “Garden of Poets” (Zurab Tsereteli, 2002)This is what Gogol says about Italy: “Here is my opinion! Whoever has been to Italy, say “forgive” to other lands. Whoever was in heaven will not want to come to earth. In a word, Europe in comparison with Italy is the same as a cloudy day in comparison with a sunny day!”
N.V. Gogol with Russian artists in Rome. 1845

There were many rumors, however, not without foundation, about his “religious insanity,” although in the generally accepted understanding he was not a deeply religious person. And he was not an ascetic. The illness, and with it a general “head disorder,” pushed the writer to “unprogrammed” religious thoughts. And the new environment in which he found himself strengthened and supported them (we are talking about the fact that Gogol came under the influence of the “Martyrs of Hell” sect).

True, there was one family circumstance - under the influence of his mother, from childhood Gogol had a fear of hell and the Last Judgment, of the “afterlife” rooted in his mind (just remember the mysticism of his story “Viy”). Historiographers and biographers of Gogol confirm that his mother, Maria Ivanovna, due to her difficult fate, was a pious woman prone to mysticism. She came from impoverished local nobles and was left an orphan early, as a result of which she married (most likely, was given away) at the age of 14 to 27-year-old Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yanovsky. Of their six sons, only Nikolai survived. He was the first-born and the only surviving guardian of the family, and his mother adored her Nikosha, whom she named in honor of St. Nicholas of Dikansky. Based on the circumstances, as a pious person, she tried to give him a religious education, although the writer himself did not consider his religiosity to be true. Gogol himself later wrote about his attitude towards religion: "...I was baptized because I saw that everyone was being baptized."
Nevertheless, despite the signs of depression and insanity, he found the strength to go to Jerusalem to the Holy Sepulcher in February 1848. However, the trip did not bring spiritual relief. He becomes withdrawn, strange in communication, capricious and unkempt in clothes. Gogol even writes to his beloved mother less and less often and, unlike previous years, more and more dryly. And having arrived to stay at his home in 1848, he treated the sisters, whom he loved dearly, coldly and indifferently, although before he had tenderly looked after them and helped them with advice and money. When his middle sister Maria died, Gogol, instead of words of reassurance, even wrote the following lines, unusual for his mother: “Happy is still the one to whom God sends some terrible misfortune and through misfortune forces him to wake up and look back at himself.”

♦ In the fall of 1850, while in Odessa, Nikolai Vasilyevich felt relief. Contemporaries recall that his usual liveliness and vigor returned to him. He returned to Moscow and seemed completely healthy and cheerful. Gogol read out to his friends individual fragments from the second volume of Dead Souls and rejoiced like a child, seeing the delight and hearing the laughter of the listeners. But as soon as he put an end to the second volume, it seemed to him that emptiness and doom had fallen upon him. He felt the fear of death, such as his father had once suffered.

♦ No one knows for certain what happened on the night of February 12, 1852. Biographers, with a joint titanic effort, tried literally minute by minute to reconstruct the events of that night, but what is absolutely certain is that until three o’clock in the morning Gogol prayed earnestly. Then he took his briefcase, took out some sheets of paper from it, and ordered everything that was left in it to be immediately burned. After which he crossed himself and, returning to bed, sobbed uncontrollably until the morning. It is traditionally believed that that night Gogol burned the second volume of Dead Souls, but some biographers and historians are confident that this is far from the truth, which is unlikely to be known by anyone. There is a version that Gogol first burned the manuscript of several chapters of the second volume of Dead Souls back in 1845 because of his mental illness as a result of malaria contracted in Rome. But he burns the main part of the first three chapters of the second volume of “Dead Souls”, since the continuation of this work at times seems to him not a divine revelation, but a devilish obsession. Fear of hell, torment beyond the grave and the Last Judgment hastened his death, for which, in fact, he was preparing in the last weeks of his life.

♦ The writer in his will 7 years before his death warned that his body should be buried only in case of obvious signs of decomposition. This then became the reason for numerous mystical assumptions that in reality the writer was buried in a state of lethargic sleep. Rumor has it that during his reburial in 1931, a skeleton with a skull turned to one side was discovered in his coffin. (According to other sources, the skull was completely absent)

P.S.There is a very interesting documentary film about Gogol by Leonid Parfenov, as well as many detailed articles devoted to one aspect of his biography or work.

Nikolai Gogol is a world-famous Russian writer, whose works have been translated into all major languages of the world. Many people know him from his most famous work, perhaps, “Dead Souls,” the planned sequel of which never saw the light of day, but in his arsenal there are many other, no less iconic works.

If you believe family legends, Nikolai Gogol came from an ancient family of Cossacks, although this fact seems doubtful to historians.
Gogol's mother got married at the age of 14, and her husband was twice her age. Over the years of marriage, she gave birth to her husband 12 children, including the future classic of Russian literature. True, most of Gogol's brothers and sisters died at birth or in childhood.
After arriving in St. Petersburg, Nikolai Gogol planned to perform on stage, but he was never hired as an actor.
Gogol claimed that he did not intend to burn the second volume of “Dead Souls” and a number of other works, but the “evil spirit” forced him.
Nikolai Gogol was involved in needlework since childhood - he knew how to knit, weave belts and cut out outfits for his sisters.
The writer was very fond of miniature books - for example, he wrote down an encyclopedia on mathematics, despite all his dislike for this science, since the size of the book was about 10 centimeters in length and 7 in width.
While working on his masterpieces, Gogol often rolled bread crumbs into balls or ate sweets.
Gogol claimed that the plot of “Viy” is an ancient legend, which he memorized verbatim and then wrote down. True, not a single folklore expert has ever heard of such a legend.
Nikolai Gogol died a month before his 43rd birthday - the writer stopped eating, went to bed and fell into unconsciousness. All attempts by friends and doctors to save him were in vain.
After Gogol's death, his heirs were left with personal belongings worth just over 43 rubles. The only valuable thing the writer had was a gold watch that previously belonged to Vasily Zhukovsky and preserved the memory of the deceased Alexander Pushkin - it was set to 2:45 pm, the time of death of the great poet.
The gravestone that originally lay on Gogol's grave was later replaced by a monument depicting the figure of the writer. The story of the block of marble did not end there - in the utility rooms of the Novodevichy cemetery it was found by the widow of Mikhail Bulgakov, who was looking for a gravestone for her husband. She bought the tombstone, after which it was installed at the resting place of the author of “The Master and Margarita” (see).
Nikolai Gogol loved to serve his guests a drink he jokingly called “gogol-mogol” - it consisted of goat’s milk and rum.
The writer took sugar from the hotels where he stayed, so that he could eat it while working. Gogol was generally a big fan of sweets - he could eat an entire jar of jam in one sitting.
Gogol told his friends that French doctors allegedly discovered an anomaly in his body - the writer’s stomach was turned “upside down.”
Nikolai Gogol never married and had no children. There is no information left at all about his love affairs, so it is believed that the writer died a virgin.
Gogol loved to cook - he was especially good at dumplings and dumplings. At the same time, the writer’s favorite dish was Italian pasta with spices and parmesan.
The writer was terrified of thunderstorms (see).
Nikolai Gogol categorically did not like his nose, although he dedicated a separate work to this part of the body. It is interesting that in all the portraits of the writer his nose looks different - it is believed that this is how the artists intended to confuse future researchers of Gogol’s life.

Among the biographies of great writers, biography of Gogol stands in a separate row. After reading this article you will understand why this is so.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is a generally recognized literary classic. He worked masterfully in a variety of genres. Both his contemporaries and writers of subsequent generations spoke positively about his works.

Brief biography of Gogol

It is still not known for certain when exactly Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was born. The official date of his birth is considered to be March 20, 1809.

Little Kolya spent his entire childhood in the village of Sorochintsy, Poltava province. He grew up in a very large family. He had 5 brothers and 6 sisters, although some of them died in infancy.

His family came from the old noble family of the Janowskis. According to family legend, his grandfather Afanasy Yanovsky decided to add another part to his surname to prove his relationship with the Cossack hetman Ostap Gogol.

Thus, they began to bear the surname Gogol-Yanovsky.

Gogol's parents

The father of the future writer, Vasily Afanasyevich, worked in the postal department, rising to the rank of collegiate assessor. He was creative personality and was keenly interested in what undoubtedly influenced the biography of young Nicholas.

The head of the family showed a talent for poetry and writing. He also directed the home theater of one of his comrades, and periodically participated in performances himself.

It is known that Gogol Sr. wrote comedic plays, but only one of them has survived to this day - “The Simpleton, or the Cunning of a Woman Outwitted by a Soldier.”

Obviously, it was from his father that Nikolai Vasilyevich adopted his passion for literature, and already in early childhood he began to write poetry.

Nikolai Gogol's mother's name was Maria Ivanovna. She got married when she was barely 14 years old. She was half her husband's age. In her youth, she was particularly attractive and was considered the first beauty in the village.

Mary was a God-fearing person and tried to raise her children in the same spirit. She paid special attention to various biblical prophecies and the Last Judgment of humanity, which was to occur soon.

Some biographers of Gogol believe that it is thanks to his mother that the writer’s work is imbued with mysticism.

Since as a child he saw how poor peasants and wealthy gentlemen lived, in his works he began to skillfully describe the intricacies of everyday life and the emotional experiences of people.

Education

At the age of 10, Gogol was sent to study at school. After that, he continued his studies with a local teacher, Gabriel Sorochinsky. When he turned 16 years old, he was able to enter the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences in the city of Nizhyn.

During his years of study, young Nikolai Vasilyevich had very poor health. In addition, he had difficulty with precise subjects. However, one of the writer's strengths was his. He liked to study literature and read various literature.

In a word, studying Gogol’s biography one cannot help but notice that his education was not of very high quality. Many biographers believe that, most likely, the gymnasium itself is to blame for this, since it employed teachers below the average level of qualification.

Very often, knowledge was taught not in the form of a traditional explanation of the topic, but through physical punishment with rods.

As a high school student, Nikolai Vasilyevich took part in all possible performances and skits. According to his friends and family, he had a wonderful sense of humor and was always an optimist.

Creative biography of Gogol

He made his first attempts to prove himself as a writer as a student. Young Gogol was delighted with the work of the great, so he strove to imitate him in everything.

He composed various feuilletons and poems, and also tried his talent in other literary genres. It is worth noting that initially Nikolai Vasilyevich viewed writing more as entertainment than as professional work.

In 1828, Gogol decided to go to. Upon his arrival in this city, he faced various difficulties and trials.

An interesting fact is that he tried to get a position as an official, and also tried himself as an actor.

However, all these attempts were in vain. As a result, he had to take up his pen again and begin to creative activity. Thus, his biography was doomed to become famous throughout the world.

At the first stages, the writer Gogol was expected serious problems and disappointments. He managed to publish only a couple of poems.

When he wrote “Idyll in Pictures,” an avalanche of criticism and ironic ridicule fell upon him. This forced Gogol to buy all editions of this poem with his own money and burn them.

Despite this, he did not give up, but rather worked on the mistakes and even changed the genre.

Soon he had a meeting with Baron Delvig, who agreed to publish Gogol’s works in his publications. This became an important event in his biography.

Finally, he managed to achieve some success in the literary field. The young writer was noticed, and soon he was able to meet Pushkin and (see).

When Alexander Sergeevich read “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” and “The Night Before Christmas,” full of humor and mysticism, he highly appreciated Gogol’s talent.

At this time, Nikolai Vasilyevich became seriously interested in the history of Little Russia, as a result of which he wrote several works. Among them was the famous “Taras Bulba”, who gained worldwide fame.

Gogol even wrote letters to his mother asking her to tell him about his life in as much detail as possible. ordinary people living in remote villages.

In 1835, the famous story “Viy” came out from his pen. It contains ghouls, ghouls, witches and other mystical characters who are regularly found in his creative biography. Later, a film was made based on this work. In fact, it can be called the first Soviet horror film.

In 1841, Nikolai Vasilyevich wrote another story, “The Overcoat,” which became famous. It tells about a hero who becomes poor to such an extent that the most ordinary things make him happy.

Gogol's personal life

From his youth until the end of his life, Gogol experienced disorders. For example, he was very afraid of an early death.

Some biographers claim that the writer generally suffered from manic-depressive psychosis. His mood often changed, which could not but worry the writer himself.

In his letters, he admitted that he periodically heard certain voices calling him somewhere. Due to constant emotional stress and fear of death, Gogol was seriously interested in religion and led a secluded lifestyle.

His attitude towards women was also peculiar. Rather, he loved them from a distance, being attracted to them more spiritually than physically.

Nikolai Vasilyevich corresponded with girls of different social statuses, doing it romantically and timidly. He didn’t really like to flaunt his personal life and, in general, any details related to this side of his biography.

Due to the fact that Gogol did not have children, there is a version that he was a homosexual. To date, this assumption has absolutely no evidence, although discussions on this topic are periodically conducted.

Death

The early death of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol still causes many heated debates among his biographers and historians. In the last years of his life, Gogol experienced a creative crisis.

This was largely due to the death of Khomyakov’s wife, as well as criticism of his works by Archpriest Matthew Konstantinovich.

All these events and mental anguish led to the fact that on February 5 he decided to refuse food. After 5 days, Gogol burned all his manuscripts with his own hands, explaining that some “evil force” commanded him to do so.

On February 18, while adhering to Lent, Gogol began to feel physical weakness, which is why he took to bed. He avoided any treatment, preferring to calmly await his own death.

Due to intestinal inflammation, doctors believed he had meningitis. It was decided to perform bloodletting, which not only caused irreparable harm to the writer’s health, but also worsened his mental state.

On February 21, 1852, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol died on the estate of Count Tolstoy in Moscow. He did not live to see his 43rd birthday by just one month.

The biography of the Russian writer Gogol contains so many interesting facts that you could make up a whole book from them. Let's give just a few.

Gogol was afraid because this natural phenomenon had a negative effect on his psyche.
The writer lived poorly and wore old clothes. The only expensive item in his wardrobe was a gold watch, donated by Zhukovsky in memory of Pushkin.
Gogol's mother was considered a strange woman. She was superstitious, believed in supernatural things and constantly told mysterious, embellished stories.
According to rumors, Gogol’s last words were: “How sweet it is to die.”
often received inspiration through the work of Gogol.
Nikolai Vasilyevich loved sweets, so he always had sweets and pieces of sugar in his pocket. He also loved to roll bread crumbs in his hands - it helped him concentrate on his thoughts.
Gogol was sensitive about his appearance. He was very irritated by his own nose.
Nikolai Vasilyevich was afraid that he would be buried while in a lethargic sleep. Therefore, he asked that his body be interred only after the appearance of cadaveric spots.
According to legend, Gogol did wake up in a coffin. And this rumor has a basis. The fact is that when they intended to rebury his body, those present were horrified to discover that the dead man’s head was turned to one side.

If you liked short biography Gogol - share it on in social networks. If you generally like biographies of great people and simply subscribe to the site IinterestingFakty.org. It's always interesting with us!

Did you like the post? Press any button.