Dead Souls

Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) was a great writer who influenced the minds of his compatriots with the power of his talent. "All of Rus' will appear in it," Gogol said about his future novel "Dead Souls," which he later called a poem. The plot "given" by Pushkin provided the basis for an adventure-picaresque novel, but the traditional genre could not accommodate all the richness of Gogol's idea. The definition of a prose work as a poem is no accident - so poetic is the image of Rus', the troika bird, created by the writer. "Rus', where are you rushing to? Give an answer. Gives no answer..."