The Gogol Museum at 7 Nikitsky Boulevard has been a fixture in Moscow since the 1970s (it was recently refurbished in honor of the 200th anniversary of Gogol's birth), but, while Russia claims Gogol as a Russian writer, the Ukrainians claim him, too. Why? Because Gogol, though he wrote his masterpieces in the Russian language, was Ukrainian by birth. That his Ukrainian heritage impacted him as a writer is evident in pieces like Taras Bulba, a tale of Ukrainian Cossacks that is epic enough in nature to have inspired the creation of more than one film adaptation of the story.
When Gogol was writing (he lived from 1809 to 1852), Russia and Ukraine were more closely joined than the are today - under the umbrella of the Russian empire. Today, as Ukraine strives to emphasize its political and economic independence from Russia, it also seeks to show how it is culturally independent from its eastern neighbor, too. Unfortunately, whatever assertions either country makes in regards to Gogol, Gogol cannot belong solely to either one. Both through his literature and in his life he showed an affinity for both.
In Gogol's early life, his writings (for example, his tale of a monster with heavy eyelids, Viy) borrowed from Ukrainian folklore. As has already been mentioned, his novella, Taras Bulba brought to readers his portrayal of the Cossacks of Ukraine.
It is worth noting, however, that even during Gogol's lifetime, Russians began to consider him a “Russian” writer. The play, The Inspector General depicts the ridiculousness of small-town Russian bureaucracy. It was in Russia's capital city that Gogol began his decline into death, having written his masterpiece Dead Souls. Spiritually tortured, he burned the second part of Dead Souls then died several days later in the house in which the Gogol Museum now stands. It is also in Russia were Gogol is buried; his remains rest at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg.
Russian literature classes make room for Gogol, and every student of Russian literature has read The Overcoat or seen a film adaptation of Gogol's works. But these students are also made aware of Gogol's Ukrainian heritage. Similarly, neither Russia nor Ukraine should overlook the fact that Gogol is a product of both cultures, because this is, in part, what makes his writing so rich and unique.
