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         >> N.V. Gogol.
NIKOLAI VASILIEVICH GOGOL (April 1, 1809 – March 4 (February 21), 1852) is a famous writer born in the Ukraine, who was closely connected with the culture of 'Little Russia' (Malorossiya), but always wrote in Russian and on different stages of his creative development invariably addresses to the theme of Russia. After finishing Nezhin school Gogol in 1828 came to Petersburg and published there his first works and narrative series ('Hans Kuhelgarten' – 1829, 'Evenings at the Farm near Dikanka' – 1831 – 1832, 'Mirgorod' – 1835, 'Arabesques' – 1835). Petersburg in April 1836 witnessed the first night of the 'Inspector General' on the stage of Mariinsky Theater.
Gogol's Petersburg is a phantasmagoric, hierarchical, mercantile city that seems to have lost any spiritual elements, but secretly strives for religious and spiritual essence of life. Meditations on the contradictory nature of art find their expression specifically in Petersburg's stories (that have been first published within the third volume of Gogol's Collected Works in 1843). That was also in Petersburg where in 1831 Gogol made acquaintance with Pushkin. He carried his veneration for the poet through his whole life that did not prevent him from a special polemics with Pushkin. Gogol would soon come to a conviction that poetry of 'sweet sounds and prayers' that had transfigured art is not enough for the spiritual transfiguration of life.
In the end of the 1830s – early 1840s the writer suffered through creative crisis and took for the crisis of art in general. Gogol was carried away with the idea to bring closer secular and spiritual kinds of literature. His travail at 'The Dead Souls' that had lasted from 1835 till the end of his life reflected this difficult process of creative search. Gogol was trying to understand the nature of Russian people, but at the same time he explored human soul in general; within this context his turn to Christian tradition – to the Bible, texts of Holy Fathers, Old Russian sermonizing literature – becomes inevitable and natural.
Having left Russia in 1836 and coming back only sporadically Gogol travelled a lot around Europe, but most time he spent in Italy, in Rome. In the 1840s he worked at some principally novel works, trying to create spiritual prose basing on Christian literature tradition. In this context he published (in the early 1847) 'Chosen Place from Letters to Friends'. In the new book he presented himself to a reader as a new writer, combining functions of a spiritual tutor and pupil; monk and citizen; the writer carrying out his messianic calling, and an artist repenting the sinfulness of his art.
In 1848 Gogol made a trip to Jerusalem. In the following years he lived in Russia, in Moscow. In summer 1950 he undertook a travel to his native places and also paid a visit to Optina Hermitage. After publication in 1842 the first volume of 'The Dead Souls' he continued working on the poem that, according to the writer's plan, was to consist of three parts. The burning of the second volume (at night of February 11 – 12, 1852) as a foreboding of Gogol's death is symbolic. This act was an expression of dissatisfaction with what he had produced, desire to overcome the power of secular literature over him, unwillingness to leave unfinished the creation that was supposed to embody Gogol's innermost idea – to turn literature art into life-creation.

E.I. Annenkova. www.pushkinskijdom.ru

Ukraine has been struck its own coins dedicated to Nykolay V.Gogol. There are commemorative coins 'Sorochynsky Fair': 5 Hryvnias and 20 Hryvnias (2005); jubilee 5 Hryvnias coin 'Nikolai Gogol', dedicated to the 200th anniversary of his birth (2009); silver 50 Hryvnias coin 'Nights at the khutor near Dykan'ka' and 1 dollar coin of Tuvalu, dedicated to 200th Anniversary of Nikolai Gogol.

Click to enlarge!	Denomination: 2 Rubles Year: 1994 Material: Silver Description: Commemorative coin 'The 185th Anniversary of the Birth of N.V. Gogol'. Obverse: Two-headed eagle (designed by I. Bilibin), the letters under it indicate the metal sign, the fineness, the mint trademark and the fine metal content. The inscriptions along the rim: at the top – 'ДВА РУБЛЯ 1994 г.' (TWO RUBLES 1994), at the bottom – 'БАНК РОССИИ' (BANK OF RUSSIA). Reverse: The portrait of Nikolai Gogol, round it from left to the right – the titles of his main books: 'The Inspector-General', 'Taras Bulba', 'The Nose', 'The Carriage', 'The Greatcoat' and 'Dead Souls' and a burning candle. Under the portrait – the writer's facsimile signature, below – two dates in two lines '1809 – 1852'. 500 standard silver. Diameter – 33 mm, weight – 7.78 g. Edge – incised. Put in circulation since 22.03.1994. Artist and sculptor: A.V. Baklanov. Mintage: 250 000. The coin was struck at the Leningrad Mint (ЛMД). Country or town: Russian Federation
	Denomination: 3 Rubles Year: 2009 Material: Silver Description: Series: The Bicentennial Anniversary of the Birthday of N.V. Gogol. Obverse: In the centre – the emblem of the Bank of Russia [the two-headed eagle with wings down, under it – the semicircular inscription 'БАНК РОССИИ' (BANK OF RUSSIA)] framed by a circle of dots and inscriptions along the rim – on top: 'ТРИ РУБЛЯ' (THREE RUBLES), below: to the left – indications of the precious metal and its fineness, in the centre – the year of issue '2009 г.', to the right – the fine metal content and the mint trade mark. Reverse: On smooth field to the left – the portrait of N.V. Gogol (by A.A. Ivanov, 1841), to the right above – the facsimile inscription of the writer: 'Н. ГОГОЛЬ' (N.GOGOL) going over to a stylized image of a whip raised by the coachman over headlong running troika (three horses harnessed abreast), below on the matted surface in the form of the half-noon – dates: '1809 – 1852'. 925 standard silver. Diameter – 39 mm, weight – 33.94 g. Edge – 300 corrugations, thickness – 3.30 mm. Put in circulation 02.03.2009. Artists: S.V. Sutyagin, sculptor: A.A. Dolgopolova. Mintage: 5 000. The coin was struck at the Saint Petersburg Mint (СПМД). FMM hasn’t got this coin yet. Country or town: Russian Federation
	Denomination: 100 Rubles Year: 2009 Material: Silver Description: Series: The Bicentennial Anniversary of the Birthday of N.V. Gogol. Obverse: In the centre – the emblem of the Bank of Russia [the two-headed eagle with wings down, under it – the semicircular inscription 'БАНК РОССИИ' (BANK OF RUSSIA)] framed by a circle of dots and inscriptions along the rim – on top: 'СТО РУБЛЕЙ' (ONE HUNDRED RUBLES), below: to the left – indications of the precious metal and its fineness, in the centre – the year of issue '2009 г.', to the right – the fine metal content and the mint trade mark. Reverse: In design of the side – characters of works of N.V. Gogol. On top along the rim – facsimile inscription 'Н. ГОГОЛЬ' (N. GOGOL), under it – the counter portrait of the writer, in the central part of the disc to the left – huts, trees and wattle-fences of a khutor under the celestial sky with the half-moon; lower – a milestone and a carriage harnessed with troika running in clouds of power, to the right – the architectural panorama of Saint Petersburg with two male figures in the foreground – one of them, in civil clothes, on the bridge, and another one, in military uniform – on the quay; in the lower part of the disc in the oval – a man at the desk with goose-quill in the hand, behind him – a man in the chair in the pose of the narrator and a figure of bowing man, before them – four men in official clothes, in the upper part of the oval – dates: '1809 – 1852'. 925 standard silver. Diameter – 100 mm, weight – 1083.74 g. Edge – 360 corrugations, thickness – 15.00 mm. Put in circulation 02.03.2009. Artists: S.A. Kozlov, sculptor: Yu. S. Gogol. Mintage: 500. The coin was struck at the Saint Petersburg Mint (СПМД). FMM hasn’t got this coin yet. Country or town: Russian Federation
	Denomination: 50 Rubles Year: 2009 Material: Gold Description: Series: The Bicentennial Anniversary of the Birthday of N.V. Gogol. Obverse: In the centre – the emblem of the Bank of Russia [the two-headed eagle with wings down, under it – the semicircular inscription 'БАНК РОССИИ' (BANK OF RUSSIA)] framed by a circle of dots and inscriptions along the rim – on top: 'ПЯТЬДЕСЯТ РУБЛЕЙ' (FIFTY RUBLES), below: to the left – indications of the precious metal and its fineness, in the centre – the year of issue '2009 г.', to the right – the fine metal content and the mint trade mark. Reverse: In the centre – the profile image of the writer, below – the facsimile inscription: 'Н.ГОГОЛЬ' (N. GOGOL), to the left – dates: '1809 – 1852'. 999 standard gold. Diameter – 22.60 mm, weight – 7.89 g. Edge – 134 corrugations, thickness – 1.30 mm. Put in circulation 02.03.2009. Artists: S.A. Kozlov, sculptor: A.N. Bessonov. Mintage: 1 500. The coin was struck at the Saint Petersburg Mint (СПМД). FMM hasn’t got this coin yet. Country or town: Russian Federation
	Denomination: 200 Rubles Year: 2009 Material: Gold Description: Series: The Bicentennial Anniversary of the Birthday of N.V. Gogol. Obverse: In the centre – the emblem of the Bank of Russia [the two-headed eagle with wings down, under it – the semicircular inscription 'БАНК РОССИИ' (BANK OF RUSSIA)] framed by a circle of dots and inscriptions along the rim – on top: 'ДВЕСТИ РУБЛЕЙ' (TWO HUNDRED RUBLES), below: to the left – indications of the precious metal and its fineness, in the centre – the year of issue '2009 г.', to the right – the fine metal content and the mint trade mark. Reverse: To the left above – the tsarina on the throne, before here at foot-steps of the throne – a yang man with lady shoes in hands, to the right – two female figures and the male one similar to the writer's appearance, in the background – a small khutor with the church, huts and a well, below on the matted surface in the form of half-moon – the facsimile inscription of the writer: 'Н.ГОГОЛЬ' (N. GOGOL) and dates: '1809 – 1852'. 999 standard gold. Diameter – 33.00 mm, weight – 31.37 g. Edge – 252 corrugations, thickness – 2.80 mm. Put in circulation 02.03.2009. Artists: S.A. Kozlov, sculptor: E.I. Novikova. Mintage: 500. The coin was struck at the Saint Petersburg Mint (СПМД). FMM hasn’t got this coin yet. Country or town: Russian Federation

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