The 2020 Series "Dead Souls" is an attempt to look at Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s legendary novel from the perspective of a sophisticated viewer. The events of the book have been moved to the present day with minimal changes to the plot. Like his distant literary ancestor, an enterprising businessman named Chichikov arrives in a provincial town, where he stays at a good hotel and then meets local officials one by one, all of whom turn out to be individuals of dubious moral character and even more dubious usefulness to the town. The main difference between the new Series and Gogol’s novel is that this Chichikov buys up "living souls," offering bureaucrats the chance to purchase prime spots in a Moscow cemetery in advance. Chichikov’s visits from one statesman to another and the dialogues contain an enormous amount of humor and subtle satire on the current state system and modern morals. "Dead Souls" (2020) will be an equally delightful gift both for Gogol’s fans and for all connoisseurs of classic Russian plots.
