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.
After watching a Russian TV show about Gogol on Amazon Prime, I found this book of his stories in a used book store. Published in 1980 and printed in the USSR. It was translated from Russian by Christopher English with illustrations compiled by Nina Glazunova. The book smelled like it had been in an old school library, it was lovely. My favorite short stories in the book are probably The Portrait and The Nose. But they are all brilliant! I'm so glad I stumbled onto that tv show which lead me to such an amazing writer.
In the book there is a foreword from by Professor Sergei Mashinsky which describes Gogol, his life and his importance to Russian literature.
The book is split into three sections:
From Mirgorod: This section has 2 short stories. - Old-World Landowners - Story of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarrelled with Ivan Nikiforovich
From St. Petersburg Stories: This section has 5 short stories - Nevsky Prospekt - The Nose - The Portrait - The Greatcoat - Diary of a Madman
The Government Inspector: a play that was performed in St. Petersburg