Translated by C. J. Hogarth. Introduction By John Cournos.

Taras Bulba is a romanticized short historical novel by Nikolai Gogol. It tells the story of an old Zaporozhian Cossack, Taras Bulba, and his two sons, Andriy and Ostap. Taras’ sons studied at the Kyiv Academy and return home. The three men set out on a journey to Zaporizhian Sich located in Ukraine, where they join other Cossacks and go to war against the Polish nobles.

Taras Bulba is Gogol’s longest short story. The work is classical in nature with characters that are not exaggerated or grotesque as was common in Gogol's later work, though his characterizations of Cossacks are said to be a bit exaggerated by some scholars. This story can be understood in the context of the romantic nationalism movement in literature, which developed around a historical ethnic culture which meets the romantic ideal. It has been cited as the seminal work establishing the concept of the "Russian Soul". The story is rich in adventure and battle scenes as well as touches of Gogol’s characteristic humor.

— Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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