Die Toten Seelen Oder Die Abenteuer Tschitschikows
The Dead Souls, or The Adventures of Chichikov, is a renowned satirical novel by Nikolai Gogol, following the cunning Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov as he travels across provincial Russia buying 'dead souls' – deceased serfs still registered on census documents – from various landowners. This brilliant piece of Russian literature critiques serfdom, bureaucracy, and human avarice, offering a darkly comedic yet profound exploration of societal flaws and the human condition in 19th-century Russia.