The Government Inspector

Interesting Facts

• The comedy The Government Inspector was written at the insistence of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, who told Gogol an anecdotal story about how an unknown person was mistaken for an inspector in one of the towns.
• The premiere of The Government Inspector took place on April 19, 1836, at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg and caused a significant public reaction.
• Gogol himself admitted that The Government Inspector is a work in which he wanted to showcase all the vices of Russian society, and therefore there are no positive characters in the play.
• One of the most famous lines from the play is the mayor's remark: «What are you laughing at? You're laughing at yourselves!» — which is still frequently quoted today.
• The character Khlestakov, who is mistaken for the inspector, has become a byword for someone who deceives others by pretending to be someone else.