Fodor's Expert Review Gogol statue

This statue of a melancholy Nikolai Gogol (1809–52) originally stood at the start of Gogolevsky bulvar but was replaced by a more "upbeat" Gogol. The statue now stands inside a courtyard near the apartment building where the writer spent the last months of his life. The statue actually captures Gogol's sad disposition perfectly. He gazes downward, with his long, flowing cape draped over his shoulder, protecting him from the world. Gogol is perhaps best known in the West for his short stories, his novel Dead Souls, and for his satirical drama Revizor (The Inspector General), about the unannounced visit of a government official to a provincial town. Characters from his works are engraved on the pedestal.