N.V. Gogol

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (1809–1852) was an outstanding Russian writer, playwright, and publicist, a recognized classic of Russian literature.
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Here's everything important and interesting about him, broken down into blocks:

Biography and origin
Date of birth: April 1 (March 20, old style) 1809
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Place of birth: village of Velyki Sorochintsy, Poltava province
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Family: Born into the family of landowner Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yanovsky. At birth, he bore the surname Yanovsky, but later adopted the name Gogol.
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Childhood: He grew up surrounded by Ukrainian life and folk traditions, which greatly influenced his work. He studied at the Poltava District School, then at the Nizhyn Higher Sciences Gymnasium.
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Creation
Gogol became famous for his mystical and satirical works. His most famous works are:

"Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka" (1831–1832) is a series of short stories that made the writer famous. It combines humor, folklore, and mysticism ("The Night Before Christmas," "May Night," "Sorochintsy Fair").
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"The Government Inspector" (1836) is a satirical play that has become a classic of Russian drama. The plot was inspired by Alexander Pushkin.
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Dead Souls (1842) is a novel-poem in which Gogol satirically portrays Russian society. The second volume was burned by the author himself in 1852.
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"St. Petersburg Tales" ("The Nose," "The Overcoat," "The Portrait," "Notes of a Madman") is a series of works that explore the theme of the "little man" and the absurdity of city life.
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"Taras Bulba" is a story from the "Mirgorod" cycle, dedicated to the theme of Cossacks and patriotism.
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Interesting facts and personality traits
Gogol was a man with many quirks and fears, which often became the subject of legends:

Fear of being buried alive. The writer suffered from taphophobia. He instructed that he be buried only when obvious signs of decomposition appeared. This gave rise to a legend that when he was reburied, his body lay in an unnatural position in the coffin (later explained by the nature of his decomposition).
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Strange habits. Gogol walked only on the left side of the