Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1809 – 4 March [O.S. 21 February] 1852) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Many writers and critics have recognized Gogol’s huge influence on Russian, Ukrainian and world literature. Gogol’s influence was acknowledged by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Franz Kafka, Mikhail Bulgakov, Vladimir Nabokov, Flannery O’Connor and others. Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé said: “We all came out from under Gogol’s Overcoat.”