The annexation of Crimea launched the process of Ukraine's emancipation. This emancipation began with a space of general political. Next came the stage of economy and mutual trade. After the time of the common historical and symbolic. Then came the turn of moral authorities: those who claimed the universality of their morals, suddenly found that citizenship limits the legitimacy of their mentoring, - writes Pavel Kazarin in the column on "Crimea. Realities ".

But so far there has been no battle for Gogol. Nikolai Vasilyevich.

What distinguishes him from all other Ukrainian writers is the target audience. Unlike Shevchenko or Franco, Gogol wrote primarily for the inhabitants of the empire. And those who made up its "title part". And he wrote not just for them, but - more importantly - about them.

The laws of the humorous are arranged in such a way that it has the right to a joke. To tell jokes about Jews from the stage can a Jew. About Armenians - Armenian. Otherwise, you run the risk of stumbling upon an accusation of chauvinism, and your joke will be perceived as a mockery and a mockery.

In the post-Soviet years this rule was strictly observed: in the same KVN only Caucasian teams could mock the Caucasians. On the descendants of Central Asia - Kazakhs or Uzbeks. "ProjectorPershilton" prudently issued to their leading nationalities: Tsekalo was given the role of Ukrainian, Martirosyan was in charge of Transcaucasia, and Urgant sometimes allowed himself to joke about the Jews. Each humorous team sought to expand the geography of jokes, inviting representatives of national minorities - in order to get rid of reproaches from the "ridiculed".

And so Russia will hold on to Gogol until the last.

Not only because he is one of the founders of mystical realism. Not only because in his letters he spoke of the Russian component of his identity. Not only because he managed to make a standard creative migrant, who poured into the space of imperial literature. Gogol is important not only for his friendship with Pushkin and Zhukovsky, not only for his metropolitan and literary scale. He is still important in his intonation.

Because his "Inspector" or "Dead Souls" - this is, to a large extent, not bytology, but satire. Merciless and tough. The one that makes fun of and scandals. Gogol can love his characters, but he is ruthless towards them. Which, in principle, is not surprising given that the writer himself perceived literature as a way to change the world and people.

Mute pause play in the final of "The Inspector General" (which the author himself wanted to stretch out on stage for a few minutes) - this is just an attempt to put in front of a theater audience a mirror in which he had to scrutinize, to recognize themselves in the characters' actions and, horrified, - change. "Dead Souls" and did think like a trilogy, where the main characters, having passed through a string of purification tests were to be reborn. But the viewer refused to do this synchronously with the literary prototypes and the second volume went to the stove.

Gogol - the most violent satirist and ridicule. And he ridiculed that very Russian imperial reality, about which his main works of the Petersburg period were written.

And after all this, recognize him as a Ukrainian writer? How then to read his books in Russia?.

This recognition will destroy the legitimacy of his ridicule. It turns out that this is no longer the Russian author who is flaunting the vices of his country, and the representative of another country, already foreign and hostile, ridicules the country in which he found himself. Give Gogol to Ukraine - and it turns out that for a century and a half Russia is reading a ruthless parody of its own life, which is written by an external observer. It turns out that all this time from the literary scene anecdotes about Russia Russian were told by a foreigner.

But it is absolutely impossible to put up with it.

Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Join also the TSN group. Blogs on facebook and follow the updates of the section!.