by Nikolai Gogol, Translated and updated by Mattius Rischard
The Government Inspector is set in a remote, provincial Russian town in the 1830s. The town’s mayor assembles other local officials in his home and announces that an incognito government inspector from St. Petersburg is coming with “secret instructions” to investigate them. The mayor frantically warns the officials to hide evidence of their maladministration before the inspector arrives. The mayor, judge, Warden of Charities, Inspector of Schools, postmaster, and Chief of Police are all guilty of neglecting their duties and abusing their power, so they’re desperate not to get caught. The landowners Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky rush in with dreadful news. Earlier, at the inn, they saw a young government official from St. Petersburg named Khlestakov. They claim that Khlestakov must be the inspector. Having learned that Khlestakov has already been in town for two weeks, the panicked mayor hastily sends the officials away to clean up the town. Then the mayor prepares to meet Khlestakov at the inn, bringing his scratched sword with him and anxiously praying that he won’t be in trouble for his sins.
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