Dead Souls

“Dead Souls” is one of the largest and most significant works of Russian literature. Mr. Chichikov’s journey across Russia to purchase “dead souls” is, above all, a large-scale study of a question that has always worried Russian people: “Russia, where are you rushing to?” Here you can see the widest variety of characters and individuals, towns and villages pass before the hero’s eyes—Chichikov of his time— and the bird-troika keeps spreading its wings again and again…

In most collected editions of N. V. Gogol, the first volume of the poem is printed in full, along with an early version of the second volume dated 1842. As is known, Gogol burned a later version of the second volume.