The great Russian prose writer, playwright, critic, poet and publicist Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol made a huge contribution to Russian literature and journalism, enriching it with many immortal works, some of which are incredibly relevant today. However, as you know, we all come from childhood, therefore, to understand the origins of his work, you first need to find out where Gogol was born, who his parents were, and what early impressions influenced the formation of his worldview.
Where were the Yanovskys from?
Gogol's biographers report that the writer's ancestors were hereditary priests and had nothing to do with the nobility. It is also known that his great-grandfather - Afanasy Demyanovich - settled near Poltava and took the name Yanovsky, according to the name of the area where he built the house. A few years later, when receiving a letter of honor to the nobility, he added another surname to his surname - Gogol, in order to confirm (or, as some researchers believe, fabricate) his relationship with a well-known personality - Colonel Eustache Gogol, who was in the service of King Jan the Third Sobessky. Thus, the writer's ancestors moved to Little Russia from Poland somewhere in the second half of the eighteenth century. In fairness, it must be said that Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol himself mistakenly believed that the surname Yanovsky was invented by the Poles. That is why in 1821 he simply threw it away. At that time, his father was no longer alive, so there was no one to prevent such free treatment with a generic name.
Where was N.V. Gogol born?
The future great Russian writer was born on March 20, 1809 in the village of Sorochintsy, which at that time was in the Poltava province of the Russian Empire. Today this settlement is called Great Sorochintsy and is part of the Mirgorod region of Ukraine. At the time of Gogol’s birth, it was known for its famous fair, which gathered from almost all corners of Little Russia and even from Poland and the central provinces of Russia. Thus, the small homeland of the future great writer was a rather famous shopping center, where life was in full swing.
The house where Gogol was born
During the Great Patriotic War, many buildings in the Great Sorochintsy, as well as throughout the Poltava region, were destroyed. Unfortunately, such a fate befell the very place where Gogol was born - the house of Dr. M. Trokhimovsky, in which in 1929 a museum was organized dedicated to his childhood. In the postwar period, much work was done to find things and documents related to the childhood of the great writer. She was successful, and six years later, on the site of the destroyed house where Gogol was born, a new building was built, which housed the literary and memorial museum. Today, he is considered one of the main attractions of the Great Sorochintsy, and there visitors can see the personal belongings of the writer, his portrait of Repin and some rare first editions of books. Visiting the village where Gogol was born (photo below), you can also see the magnificent Transfiguration Church. This majestic temple, built at the beginning of the eighteenth century in the Ukrainian Baroque style, is notable for the fact that it was there that the writer was baptized in 1809.
early years
Gogol's parents at the time of his birth lived in his own estate Vasilievka, or Yanovschina, located near the village of Dikanka. In total, twelve children were born to college assessor Vasily Gogol-Yanovsky and noblewoman Maria Kosyarovskaya, most of whom died in infancy. The future great writer himself was the third child and the oldest surviving to adulthood. The children of the Gogol-Yanovsky grew up in an atmosphere of rural life along with peers from peasant families. However, at the same time, the writer’s parents were frequent guests on neighboring estates, and Vasily Gogol-Yanovsky even for some time managed the home theater of his distant relative D.P. Troshchinsky, a retired member of the State Council. Thus, his children were not deprived of cultural entertainment and from a young age joined the art and literature.
Where did the adolescence of Gogol
When the boy was ten years old, he was sent to Poltava to one of the local teachers, who was engaged in preparing the future writer for admission to the Nizhyn gymnasium. If the Great Sorochintsy is the village where Gogol was born, the city of Nizhyn is the place where his adolescent years passed. At the same time, he never forgot about the Great Sorochintsy, since he spent all his holidays there, carelessly indulging in fun in the company of sisters and children of peasants.
Studying at the gymnasium
The institution where Gogol's parents identified him for further education was opened in 1820. Its full name sounded like the Nizhyn High School of Higher Sciences. Education there lasted nine years, and only children of Little Russian nobles could become students. Graduates of the Nezhin Gymnasium, depending on the results of the exams, received the rank of twelfth or thirteenth grade in the “Table of Ranks”. This meant that the certificates issued by this educational institution were quoted on a par with university diplomas, and their holders were exempted from having to pass additional exams for production to higher ranks.
Judging by the surviving documents, the schoolboy Nikolai Gogol-Yanovsky was not a diligent schoolboy, and he managed to pass exams only thanks to his excellent memory, which became a byword. In addition, the memoirs of some teachers and classmates of the future writer were preserved, indicating that he was hardly given foreign languages, as well as Latin and Greek, but Russian literature and drawing were his favorite disciplines.
Circle of communication while studying at the gymnasium
The question of who influenced the formation of views on the life and character of the future writer is no less important than information about where Gogol was born. In particular, already in adulthood, he recalled how, while studying at the Nezhin Gymnasium, together with a group of comrades, he enthusiastically engaged in self-education. Among the writer's classmates, one can note Gerasim Vysotsky, Alexander Danilevsky, with whom Gogol was friends until the end of his life, as well as Nikolai Prokopovich and Nestor Kukolnik. My friends got into the habit of writing literary almanacs together, and once a month publishing their gymnasium hand-written journal. Moreover, Gogol himself often published his first poems in it and even wrote a historical novel and poem for him. In addition, the satire about Nizhyn, written by him, was very popular with gymnasium students.
The last years of study at the gymnasium
When Gogol was only fifteen years old, he lost his father, which was an irreparable loss for him. Thus, at such a young age, he remained the only man in the family (four brothers died in infancy, and another one, Ivan, in 1819). Despite this, the writer’s mother continued to give her meager means so that her beloved son could graduate from high school, as she considered him a genius and believed in his success. In fairness, it must be said that until the end of his life Nikolai took care of her and her sisters, and even refused the inheritance in order to give them a decent dowry.
As for the aspirations that the young man had in his last years of study at the gymnasium, he dreamed of public service, and he regarded literature more as a kind of hobby. Meanwhile, the place in which Gogol was born played a very important role in his future career and contributed to a high-profile debut in the Northern capital.
Trip to Petersburg
Leaving the place where he was born, Gogol went to conquer St. Petersburg. There he was received by no means with open arms. At first, Nicholas wanted to try himself in acting, but the artistic environment rejected the self-confident provincial. As for public service, it seemed to him boring and meaningless. However, very soon the young man noticed that Little Russia and everything connected with it were extremely interested in the St. Petersburg beau monde, and there they listened with pleasure to the works of Little Russian folklore. Thus, everything that came from the places where Gogol was born, the city on the Neva took, as they say, with a bang! Therefore, it is not surprising that the beginning writer in almost every letter to her mother asked her to tell about some details of the local life or to send him old traditions that her mother could hear from her peasants or wanderers making pilgrimages to holy places.
Now you know what to say if you are asked: "Name the place where Gogol was born." You can also give some details of his biography regarding childhood and adolescence. And to plunge into the atmosphere of Little Russia, you should visit the village of Veliky Sorochintsy and the city of Mirgorod. Then you will see with your own eyes the famous fair and puddle, which the writer admired, calling it one of a kind. It exists today and even acquired its own promenade!