They ask such questions that at least stand still fall. This is especially true of literature, which no one reads, but instead plays "dotka" or "votka". When the student finally needs to answer a question, he tries to find it on the Internet. On the site, the site you can find answers not only for the school curriculum, but also for street slang and prison argo. Add us to your bookmarks to periodically visit us for the light. Today we will talk about such a difficult question for an immature and young brain, this Khlestakovschina which means you can read it a little later.
However, before continuing, I would like to advise you to look at a couple of other articles on the subject of science and education. For example, what does it mean to bring to white heat; read about the Abolition of Serfdom in Russia; briefly about the Decembrist Uprising in 1825; the meaning of the phraseological unit Do not renounce the bag and prison, etc.
So let's continue what does Khlestakovshchina mean?
Khlestakovschina- this insignificance elevated to the absolute, this deceitful and impudent boasting and bragging, the quote is "The emptiness that has arisen to the highest degree"
Khlestakovschina- this term got into our everyday speech from the old Russian comedy "The Inspector General", the author of which is Gogol
Synonym for Khlestakovshchina: bragging, fanfare, bragging, bragging, fanfare, self-congratulation, bragging.
Khlestakov- this is a darling of fate, one of the "golden youth", he is the product of a bureaucratic regime, emptiness and the decline of a serf society, wasting the capital of his swindler-father
In his book, Gogol decided to laugh at what is actually worthy of all ridicule. In this comedy, he decided to bring together everything negative and bad that existed at that time in the Russian Empire. In this play in an acute degree exposed the politics of that era, as well as the vices that are inherent in most officials, both of that and our time.
For many contemporaries, this book, which describes a small provincial town, the embezzlement reigning in it, and sheer arbitrariness was perceived as a symbol of the entire tsarist government.
In the comedy, the image of local officials is described with rather mean, but negative strokes. In fact, having fallen into this system of mutual responsibility, even the most honest person becomes a greedy and vicious world-eater. Although before Gogol, mots, liars, deceivers, red tape, braggart and rogues were ridiculed in various works. However, at that time, the image Khlestakova turned out to be very fresh and vibrant, even among world literature. Khlestakov's character included all of the above traits, so we understand that this person is a kind collectively... This phenomenon was called "Khlestakovschina", which after years became a household name in narrow circles.
Khlestakov is the most ordinary person, who does not stand out from the crowd, but is overcrowded with ChSV. Like all young people, he tries to appear not who he is, constantly "throws dust in his eyes", he is impudent and complacent. As the author wrote, he is both "a coward, and a bastard, and a liar." This person does not understand what good and evil mean, and therefore, without any mental anguish, he commits vile deeds. He deceives his interlocutors by telling what a high position he occupies in society.
Separate features " Khlestakovschiny"can be found in any city in Russia, they are inherent in many people.
If you look more closely, you can find an amazing thing, almost all the characters in this comedy bear the features of "Khlestakovshchina". These include rudeness, deceit, the claim to education with noticeable ignorance, careerism, spiritual emptiness, meanness, cowardice, ambition.
In fact, such vices can be found even in the mayor, although in fact he is not a scoundrel. He just found himself in the place where money floats into his hands, and he cannot resist it. For him, bribery is part of the mechanism, it is a lubricant for state gears.
As in our time, this high-ranking official does not disdain anything, but prefers large sums. For example, he steals money from the state treasury to build a church, writing a false report that the church was burned down. In fact, he has been in this position for a long time, and he feels himself in it like a fish in water. Therefore, at first he does not worry that the inspector is going to come to them, hoping to hang him on the ears. However, he begins to be a great coward when he learns that an official from St. Petersburg has been living in the city for a week, and probably was able to find out many things that were unpleasant for him.
As the saying goes, "two boots are a pair", that is, the mayor and Khlestakov molded from the same dough, they are both capable of rudeness, fraud and deceit.
The play also goes to the local nobility. These two noblemen by last name Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky, are a vivid collective image of officials of that time, they are liars, loafers, gossips, and part-time work as a kind of "word of mouth", telling everyone who has ears about local news.
In fact, "Khleskakovschina" includes all the negativity and vices of bureaucrats and functionaries. This phenomenon is well known to everyone, and despite the fact that in those days it was for the most part caused by the way of life of a feudal society, it lives and lives in our time. Therefore, we can say that Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General" is not only not obsolete, but a very modern work, the meaning of which is very suitable for our time. Today we can conclude that such citizens as Khlestakov will live and flourish at all times.
After reading this short article, you learned what does Khlestakovshchina mean, and now you can answer this question without hesitation.
The image of Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov, the protagonist of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General", is one of the most remarkable and characteristic in the writer's work, "the beloved child of his fantasy." In the image of a petty Petersburg official, Gogol embodied Khlestakovism, a special product of the Russian estate-bureaucratic system.
The comedy "The Inspector General" is a truly brilliant work: it contained such an explosive power that Russian drama had never known before. This work is a well-aimed prick in the most sore spot: the stupidity and ignorance of the people who are afraid of everyone and everything. There is not one in this comedy positive hero- all characters were severely criticized by the author. The main blow fell on the bureaucracy, represented in the comedy by a number of bribe-takers, fools and simply worthless people. Calling Khlestakov the main character, Gogol emphasized his special role in the play.
What is Khlestakovism? The name of this phenomenon, quite obviously, comes from the name of the main character of the work. Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov is a young man, a rogue and a bastard, a lover of fun and for this reason constantly in need of money. By chance, in the county town where he arrived, he was mistaken for an auditor who had come to check the results of the activities of the city government. Imagine the surprise of the unsuspecting Khlestakov when local officials vied with each other to offer him money and patronize him in every possible way, seeking his favor. Having understood the situation, Khlestakov decides to use it for his own good. With the hint of his servant Osip, he enters the game offered to him, without trying to explain to others the erroneousness of the situation. With the help of convincing lies, he makes the local officials tremble in front of his meaningless person and, at the end of the day, retires as a winner, leaving the mayor and his entourage as a fool.
Khlestakov's way of thinking is typical for most of Gogol's characters: the illogicality, incoherence of his speeches and rampant lies are simply stunning. Perhaps some "devilry" is associated with the image of Khlestakov, the possibility of the impossible. Is it not an obsession that a respectable and experienced mayor takes a "trick" for a "significant" person. Moreover, the whole city, following him in a fit of insanity, bears tribute to the "inspector", begs for protection, tries to cajole this insignificant little man.
In creating the image of Khlestakov, Gogol somewhat deviated from the contemporary Russian and Western European literary tradition. Typically, the engine of intrigue in a comedy was a "rogue" seeking a goal. This goal could be both disinterested and selfish. Gogol, with his Khlestakov, completely broke with this tradition. Khlestakov did not set himself any goals of deceiving officials, if only because the goal and deliberate deception are incompatible with his character. As one of the first reviewers of the comedy P.A. Vyazemsky: "Khlestakov is a windy, but by the way, he may be a good fellow; he is not a bribe-taker, but a borrower ...". Meanwhile, the mayor and other officials prepared to see just the bribe taker. The subtlest comic of the action lies in the fact that innocence and stupidity all the time encounter trickery and cunning - and take over! It is to the lot of Khlestakov, who does not possess any intelligence, or cunning, or even an impressive figure, that unexpected success falls. And the officials seized with fear "whipped themselves" ...
Not the least role in the fact that Khlestakov so cleverly managed to deceive the officials was played by general fear. This is the impulse that drives all conflict in comedy. It is fear that does not allow the mayor and officials to open their eyes when Khlestakov, in self-delusion, unleashes such a stream of lies on them that a sane person can hardly believe. Each character, under the influence of fear, misinterprets the words of the other: the lie is taken as the truth, and the truth is taken as a lie. Moreover, not only Khlestakov is lying uncontrollably - both the mayor and the trustee are lying recklessly charitable institutions, trying to present the farm entrusted to them in the most beneficial light.
The enchanting scene of lies at the mayor's reception most vividly outlines Khlestakov's inherent desire to show off, to play a role slightly higher than that intended by fate. From an employee who "only rewrites," he grows in a matter of minutes almost to a "commander-in-chief" who "goes to the palace every day." The homeric scale dazes those present: "thirty-five thousand couriers" rush at full speed to find Khlestakov - without him there is no one to run the department; the soldiers, at the sight of him, "make a gun": soup in a saucepan goes to him directly from Paris. In the blink of an eye, he builds and destroys a fantastic world - the dream of the modern mercantile age, where everything is measured in hundreds and thousands of rubles. Khlestakov's speech is fragmentary, but leaps forward at full speed. In his own eyes, he is already a hero-lover, charming mother and daughter, the mayor's son-in-law, a "significant person" who is humbly offered bribes. He starts to taste, more and more accustomed to the new role. If he shyly asks for a loan from the first visitor, he literally demands money from Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky.
And Khlestakov disappears in a special way - "like a deceitful personified deception ... God knows where." After all, this is just a mirage, a ghost, born of a bad conscience and fear. In the grotesque form of a "silent scene", when officials find out about the arrival of a real auditor, it is emphasized symbolic meaning: the motive of punishment and higher justice. All the pain of the writer was expressed in the comedy "The Inspector General": Gogol could not indifferently look at the abuses that reigned in the circle of officials. In this society, greed, cowardice, lies, imitation and insignificance of interests ruled, and people were ready for any meanness to achieve their goal. All this gave rise to such a phenomenon as Khlestakovism. Gogol, in the form of Khlestakov and the bureaucracy, reflected the eternal problems of Russia. He understood that he could not change anything, but at least he wanted to draw the attention of others to them.
Summarizing the characteristics of Khlestakovism, one can say in the words of Gogol himself that it is a nonentity, raised to the nth degree, "a vacuum that has arisen to the highest degree." This is a phenomenon caused by the political and social system in which Gogol himself lived. This is a symbolic, generalized image of the modern Russian man, "who has become all a lie, without even noticing it himself" ...
"The Inspector General" - the famous comedy by N.V. Gogol. Its events take place in a small county town. Ideological meaning comedy, indicated in the epigraph, is most clearly revealed in the images of officials.
They are depicted as vicious, as a whole, they represent one social type. These are people who do not correspond to the "important places" they occupy. All of them shy away from true service to the Fatherland, steal from the state treasury, take bribes or do absolutely nothing in the service. In each of the characters, Gogol also notes individual traits.
The imaginary "auditor" Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov is the embodiment of thoughtless lies, a frivolous attitude to life and widespread human weakness - to ascribe to himself other people's affairs and someone else's glory. Khlestakov is an official from St. Petersburg. He serves in the department, has the lowest civilian rank - the collegiate registrar. The insignificant position of a copyist corresponds to the inner wretchedness of the hero. The author in "Notes to Messrs. Actors" points out characteristic feature Khlestakov: "... somewhat silly, without a king in his head, an empty person." The hero's light, thoughtless attitude to life is already manifested in the fact that he treats the service without any zeal and zeal. Khlestakov's father is a landowner in the Saratov province. The hero lives at his expense. On the way to the family estate, he squandered all the money sent by his father. In Penza, Khlestakov finally lost at cards. In the provincial town of N, he was starving, could not pay for a hotel, had no money for the further journey, and thought: "Should I sell my pants?" Khlestakov's frivolity and carelessness to some extent even help him not to lose heart in absolutely hopeless circumstances, out of habit hoping for "maybe". Therefore, Khlestakov easily enters the role of an important person: he meets officials, accepts petitions, and begins, as befits a "significant person", to "scold" the owners for nothing, making them "shake with fear." Khlestakov is not able to enjoy power over people, he simply repeats what, probably, he himself experienced more than once in his St. Petersburg department. The hero lives for one day, does not set himself any specific goals, except for one: "After all, this is what you live to pick flowers of pleasure."
Khlestakov is unpredictable, goes with the flow, not thinking about the consequences of his words and actions. In this respect, the scene of the transformation of "his excellency" into a groom is interesting. Khlestakov, treated kindly by the attention in the mayor's house, unexpectedly remains alone with his daughter and immediately declares his love to her. The mayor's wife, who accidentally enters, drives out the "rival", and Khlestakov throws himself on his knees in front of his mother. Caught up by Marya Antonovna who suddenly ran in, he again finds himself in an absurd situation, but he carelessly gets out of it: he asks "mama" to bless them with Marya Antonovna "constant love".
From stupidity and frivolity "comes" another vice of the official - lies, thoughtless, without calculation. Khlestakov therefore deceived the mayor and district officials because he was not going to deceive anyone. Unexpected favorable circumstances lifted Khlestakov to unprecedented heights, and he came up with an "ideal" biography. Wine finally frees Khlestakov from self-control, and he becomes bolder in boasting. The flight of his reckless imagination is so impetuous that he utters phrases that are unexpected for himself. Khlestakov invents that he and Pushkin are "on a friendly footing", that he is the author of works of different eras and styles, and publishes the Moscow Telegraph magazine. An insignificant official in his speeches promotes himself to field marshals. He lies out of fear and out of a desire to be exalted in the eyes of his listeners.
The district officials, also paralyzed by fear, hear what Khlestakov is saying, how he lies incredibly and every now and then "checks", but they do not get the true meaning of what was said. Indeed, according to officials, even the most fantastic lie turns into truth in the mouth of a "significant person". This is how Khlestakov's famous hyperboles appear: "a watermelon costing seven hundred rubles", "soup in a saucepan came from Paris right on the ship", "thirty-five thousand couriers alone." The pathetic scribe brilliantly enters the role of an influential person and even intimidates officials: "The State Council itself is afraid of me ..." The hero utters a mixture of stupidity, nonsense and nonsense. The key words in his self-righteous exaltation can be called the following: "I am everywhere, everywhere .." Here in this Khlestakov is involuntarily right. As the author noted, "everyone, at least for a minute ... was or is being done by Khlestakov, but, naturally, he just doesn't want to admit it ..."
Khlestakovism is a common vice for the characters in the play. The desire to play a role even one step higher than the one that life has taken is the inner desire of both officials and ladies, and even Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky. Khlestakov turns out to be an idol because his shadow lives in each of the heroes. So, Bobchinsky has a single "lowest request" to Khlestakov: "... as you go to St. Petersburg, tell all the nobles there: senators and admirals ... if the Emperor has to do that, then tell the Emperor that it is Your Imperial Majesty." Pyotr Ivanovich Bobchinsky lives in such and such a city. " Thus, he also, in essence, wants to "elevate" himself to the highest officials of the empire up to the sovereign. Trustee of charitable institutions Strawberry is a rogue and a rogue. In the hospital under his jurisdiction, "they don't use expensive medicines", the sick are fed with cabbage, everywhere there is dirt and desolation, so that the sick resemble blacksmiths. However, Strawberry, like Khlestakov, also ascribes to itself non-existent dignities: "I can say that I do not regret anything and zealously perform my service." Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin is a bribe-taker, does not understand anything about matters: "I have been sitting in the judge's chair for fifteen years now, but when I look at the memorandum, I just wave my hand. Solomon himself will not allow what is true in it and what is not true. ". Before the alleged auditor, he does not admit to abuses, but extols his merits: "For three three years he was presented to Vladimir of the fourth degree with the approval of the authorities." With the help of kinship with a "significant person" the mayor himself hopes to change his life for the better. The victory won, the eliminated danger flatter him, and he is unable to refuse the celebration, from self-glorification: "Anna Andreevna, what birds we have become now! High flight ..." The rapprochement with Khlestakov opens the mayor the opportunity to "fit into the generals." And after the departure of the imaginary inspector, the mayor seems to continue to play the "Khlestakov" role - the role of a liar and a dreamer, instantly getting used to a new image: "Ah, damn it, it's nice to be a general!" Now his vanity knows no bounds: "Announce to everyone so that everyone knows ... I'm not marrying my daughter for some simple nobleman ..." Thus, Khlestakovism is typical for all officials, his demeanor and incentives are common to all heroes. Khlestakov contains the secret desires of people: to seem better than in reality, to exaggerate personal qualities, to overestimate their capabilities, to claim undeserved respect.
The great Gogol, having written his "Inspector General", hardly guessed how relevant his comedy would be after centuries. In the heroes described in it, we still recognize our acquaintances today, famous people and possibly yourself. Khlestakov - main character and one of the most powerful images created by the author. This is not a separate person, but a whole phenomenon in society. In this article we will tell you what Khlestakovism is.
Khlestakov and Khlestakovshchina
The hero of Gogol's "Inspector General" Khlestakov is by no means an exception to the rule and not a separate character. The author himself says that every person, at least for a minute in his life, turns into Khlestakov. That is why such a concept as Khlestakovism arose, which characterizes certain behavior and specific traits of many people.
Khlestakov is a product of a soulless bureaucratic system that has lost its morality and spiritual values. Therefore, the same qualities and the same hypocrisy are clearly visible in other representatives of this system. As Khlestakov deceives everyone around, so they behave with each other and with him. Through his image, Gogol describes the vice of society and a widespread phenomenon that is called Khlestakovism.
What is Khlestakovism? (Based on Nikolai Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General") The appearance of the comedy "The Inspector General" in 1836 caused an uplifting emotional feeling in the society. This spring gave the audience a meeting with a real masterpiece. More than 160 years have passed since then, but the comedy "The Inspector General" has not lost its relevance and sound today. You don't have to look far for examples. Let us recall the negative heroes of popular "police" serials than not the heroes of Gogol, who only became more cold-blooded and cruel. Gogol himself noted that Khlestakov is the most difficult character in the play. In the recommendations for the actor who performed this role, Gogol reveals the character of this character in depth. Khlestakov performed all his feats in the district town absolutely unintentionally. Khlestakov can be compared with a ballet dancer moving through the space of the play, he revives the course of the entire action, acts as a real engine of the plot development of the comedy. Khlestakov brilliantly played the role of auditor before the district officials, only by the middle of the fourth act he began to understand that he was being mistaken for a somewhat "statesman". What the false auditor feels like it seems to be nothing. Khlestakov's behavior amazes all officials of the district town. In their opinion, the auditor is very cunning and resourceful and you need to keep your ears open with him. Characteristically, it never occurred to anyone that Khlestakov was just a desperate liar. In each of the situations that arise, he behaves like a brilliant actor. One can imagine how difficult it was for a theatrical actor who first played the role of Khlestakov, an actor playing an auditor. Khlestakov should not be regarded as an evil or cruel person. By itself, he is completely harmless, and those around him can make anything out of him, even incognito from Petersburg, and even with a secret prescription, even an insignificant metropolitan official. The peculiarity of Khlestakov's character, or rather the lack of character, lies in the fact that he has practically no memory of the past and thinking about the future. Khlestakov is focused on the present minute, and within this minute is able to achieve the highest artistry. He easily and even with some grace changes his appearance. Among the district officials entirely written off from nature, this completely fictional character makes an unforgettable impression. Probably, we can say that for the district officials such a terrible event as the arrival of the inspector from the capital looked like a kind of eerie, but interesting holiday. Khlestakov is terrifying to them and arouses their admiration for the fact that he does not at all look like a man capable of cruelly punishing the guilty. Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol knew the life of the petty Petersburg bureaucracy well, "which allowed him to give in the image of Khlestakov an exaggerated and collective type of superficially educated fanfare. Khlestakov gladly uses for the sake of beauty the syllables picked up from someone and poorly understood French words, cliches of the then fiction... At the same time, there are vulgar expressions in Khlestakov's speech. Gogol made Khlestakov's remarks abrupt, this character is spiritually poor and completely unable to stop his attention on anything. Gogol's contemporary Apollon Grigoriev described this character "Khlestakov, like a soap bubble, inflates under the influence of favorable circumstances, grows in his own eyes and the eyes of officials, becomes bolder and bolder in bragging ..." The influence of the comedy "The Inspector General" on Russian society was enormous ... The surname Khlestakov began to be used as a common noun. And they began to call Khlestakovism any unrestrained phrase-mongering, lies, shameless boasting combined with extreme frivolity. Gogol managed to penetrate into the very depths of the Russian national character, having fished out the image of the false auditor Khlestakov from there. According to the author of the immortal comedy, every Russian person becomes Khlestakov at least for a minute, regardless of his social status, age, education, and so on.
Re-reading the classics
The comedy of Nikolai Vasilyevich was presented to the public in the distant 1836. Since then, almost two centuries have passed and several historical eras... But the situation and the characters depicted in this work have not gone anywhere. As such a phenomenon as Khlestakovism, it is that phenomenal when nothingness feels given to him by fate finest hour... And enjoys unexpected happiness. Gogol's comedy is still relevant today. And not only because every year schoolchildren are asked to write essays on the topic of Khlestakovism? "The Inspector General contains the answer to this question. Has anything in Russia other than the titles of officials? Of course, has changed. The class of Russian officials has increased many times, and its well-being has noticeably improved. Officials have become more confident in their complete impunity. And today they take bribes not only with greyhound puppies.
How was this comedy created?
It is believed that the idea of this work was suggested to Gogol by Pushkin. But in the very plot of the comedy "The Inspector General" there is nothing special. There are more than enough such plot structures, based on the fact that a person is mistaken for who he really is not, in world literature. But being transferred to the realities of the Russian Empire, such an intrigue simply could not but touch the foundations of the state foundations existing in it. Contemporaries testify that the idea of "The Inspector General" came to Pushkin when he traveled around the Orenburg province, collecting materials about the uprising of Emelyan Pugachev. Some district officials mistook the poet for an inspector from the capital, traveling solely for the purpose of collecting compromising information. Pushkin was in no hurry to reassure them of this delusion.
With the highest approval
Everyone who was involved in the creation of this comedy could not help but understand that her stage fate would not be easy. Since it was impossible not to notice that the Khlestakovism brought out in it was, among other things, a dashing mockery of the state bureaucratic machine. The staging of this play on stage became possible only after the personal appeal of Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky to the Sovereign Emperor. The poet was able to convince that the comedy is not directed against the foundations of the state, but only ridicules the provincial officials who were stealing. The sovereign allowed himself to be assured that such a satire could bring nothing but benefit to the administrative system. But before the audience, the work appeared in an abridged form.
The main character
Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov, an official from St. Petersburg, by chance, turned out to be a very significant person. Of course, deep down, he guesses that something is wrong here, and he was most likely confused with someone ... But what does it matter when everyone around him froze in front of him with a sense of sacred horror and awe? And the petty clerk from the capital's office swells like a soap bubble to incredible sizes. As a result, the reader and the viewer are presented with a clear answer to the question of what Khlestakovism is. This is a narcissistic insignificance who has reached the pinnacle of greatness in his understanding. But Ivan Aleksandrovich carries a wave of inspiration, and he enters into the role of an important person to such an extent that he himself believes that it was not by chance that he was at the top. What is Khlestakovism? This is the phenomenon of loss of banks and separation from reality. But at the same time, it is also a readiness to perceive any impudent rogue as an important statesman.
Monologue
The comedy tells about himself most vividly the main character... He does it selflessly and with inspiration. To such an extent that he himself believes in the nonsense that he carries to frightened officials. The insignificance felt its power over the audience and in its monologue reveals itself with maximum frankness. Khlestakov is not at all untalented when he broadcasts about the imaginary meaning and greatness of his person. So, among other things, Khlestakovism is also poetic inspiration. Without this peculiar drive and courage, the adventurer would simply not have taken place. The whole plot intrigue of Gogol's comedy is based on the fact that the inspired insignificance and the public interested in him came together in a narrow place. And they found a perfect understanding.
Inhabitants of the county town
But no less than Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov, the officials of the provincial town vested with powers are also interesting. All of them, figuratively speaking, have a "stigma in the gun". They all have good reason to fear the appearance of a mysterious "inspector" in their subordinate settlement. No answer to the question of what Khlestakovism is, is impossible without this stealing bureaucracy. Without them, this phenomenon simply could not take place, and a petty insignificance would never have been able to ascend above them to the pinnacle of fame and success. The city bosses and the merchants who bring him bribes and gifts are no less ridiculous than the "inspector" himself. The wife and daughter of the mayor are presented with special expressiveness in the comedy. Anna Andreevna and Marya Antonovna compete for the attention of a visiting rogue. They should not be deceived, they themselves are glad to be deceived.
"The governor is as stupid as a gray gelding ..."
Homerically funny and at the same time a pitiful figure is the first administrative person of the district town Anton Antonovich Svoznik-Dmukhanovsky. This is despite the fact that the language does not turn out to be just stupid to call him. On the contrary, he is very smart and calculated everything in advance. He has everything under control, reconnaissance and counterintelligence is properly built up, he is notified of the incognito inspector's approach to the city long before the visit, and he has the opportunity to prepare for this event. He made a mistake, like a sapper, only once. And with this mistake he provided several generations of Russian schoolchildren with examination tickets on the topics "The Inspector General, Khlestakov and Khlestakovism." It is enough that in Anton Antonovich some provincial governors saw a hint of themselves and in every possible way prevented the staging of Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General" in their cities. They had every reason for this. Everything turned out very much alike, down to small everyday details and accidental coincidence of names and surnames.
Mute scene
The scene, deafening in its expressiveness, ends with Gogol's Khlestakov and the Khlestakovism celebrated the victory, and all the district authorities were left in complete fools. It seems that it could not be otherwise. But everything would have been as usual if the mayor had not been mistaken about an incomprehensible guest in a city hotel. Where did the system crash occur? Is it random or natural? How did it happen that such an insignificant creature celebrated a triumph and departed with rich trophies in an unknown direction, and a large group of influential corrupt officials froze in a daze, unable to comprehend the scale of the catastrophe that befell them? These questions remain unanswered. We can only be sure that Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov will enthusiastically remember both this strange adventure and that small town where fate has accidentally brought him to the end of his days. These were by far the best moments of his life.
Summing up
What did Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol want to convey to us with his comedy? Khlestakov and Khlestakovism as a phenomenon deserve separate comprehension against the background of the events described by the writer. How is it that such a number of, at first glance, absolutely not stupid people fall under the influence of a complete insignificance? Is Khlestakovism an exclusively Russian phenomenon? Or has it blossomed so brightly on Russian soil because of favorable circumstances for it? But a simple glance towards the modern political sphere allows us to make sure that Khlestakovism often underlies the success of many political leaders and smaller functionaries. To verify this, just turn on the TV. And more fun than in politics, things are only in what is called a vague definition of "show business". Gogolevsky Khlestakov would certainly have made a brilliant career in him.
