GOGOLIAN ⟪PROJECT OF SCHOLARLY CRITIQUE⟫ (FROM A COMMENTARY ON N. V. GOGOL'S LETTER TO A. S. PUSHKIN, DATED AUGUST 21, 1831)

Gogol's letter to Pushkin, dated August 21, 1831 is his first attempt to address the topical issues of literary struggle, outline his own position in the literary battles and find a form of expression that would allow him to fully engage the comic side of his talent. Besides, he picks up the ideas, themes and style of Pushkin's anti-Bulgarian pamphlet The Triumph of Friendship, or Alexander Anfimovich Orlov Justified, refracting the characteristic << currents >> of the literary process in the mirror of irony and parody. The article strives to identify and interpret specific allusions to the events of the literary life of the time contained in the letter, in order to provide an academic commentary.