Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol (March 31, 1809-March 4, 1852) was a major Russian short story writer, playwright, and novelist. Born in the Ukraine, much of his writing focused on his upbringing, especially in his first major work Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka (1832). The Inspector-General (1836), his most influential work soon followed. It exposed Gogol's disdain for the corruption among Russian government officials. The book was fiercely denounced and led to his exile to Rome. He continued to write short stories, "The Overcoat" (1842) being his most famous.