THE UNSOLVABLE RIDDLE OF THE 1835 PRINTED EDITION OF GOGOL'S MIRGOROD

The article examines discrepancies found in the copies of the 1835 editions of Mirgorod. It reviews the theories proposed by N. L. Stepanov, I. A. Vinogradov, E. G. Paderina regarding the origins of these discrepancies, including the probability of censorship interference and typographical errors. In addition to the previously identi ed «special» copy of Mirgorod discovered by N. L. Stepanov in the Library of the Academy of Sciences in the 1930s, two other previously overlooked «special» copies are analyzed: one from the Prague Scienti c Library and another from the A.V. Nikitenko Library in Tomsk, each exhibiting unique features. Notable inconsistences include: the presence of a preface to the story «How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich» in both the Library of the Academy of Sciences (BAN) and Nikitenko Library copies; the absence of the nal scene in «Viy» in the BAN copy, while the Nikitenko copy features both this scene and the preface; a duplicated note in «Viy», labeled as an «Error» but unrelated to the story's content, suggesting a metatextual play with the reader. These ndings challenge the exiting hypotheses, including the previously accepted chronology of Gogol's revisions of Mirgorod during the typesetting stage, prompting further scholarly inquiry.

N. V. Gogol, Viy, textual criticism, Mirgorod editions 1835 [Mirgorod editions 1835], A. V. Nikitenko Library