Gogol, Authorities and Censorship in the New Monograph by I. A. Vinogradov

Abstract

The review describes a new monographic study by I. A. Vinogradov, published in 2021, on the relationship between Gogol and the censorship of his time. The scale, depth, scientific thoroughness of the book of the scientist, who presented the censorship histories of N. V. Gogol’s works with numerous details, is noted. I. A. Vinogradov thoroughly refutes the ideologized approach in illuminating the issue of the relationship between the writer and the official censorship, reveals the complex and ambiguous relationship of Gogol with the censorship department, illustrates the specifics of the government’s literary policy, explains the importance of the personality of the censor in the process of working with a literary text. The monograph overcomes stereotypical ideas about the possibilities and boundaries of cooperation between the state and the individual, about the existence of an insurmountable barrier between the artist’s self-expression, his civic position and state policy. I. A. Vinogradov presents the topic of the relationship between the writer and censorship in a volumetric and multifaceted manner, asserting it as one of the most important areas of research in modern literary criticism.