By Vladimir Kozlov

April Fool's Day seems like a fitting birthday for Nikolai Gogol, author of some of Russian literature's sharpest satires including "The Government Inspector" and "The Nose".

The renowned writer was born on April 1, 1809, and Gogol fans are in luck as hundreds of events are scheduled all over the country to celebrate his 200th anniversary.

Besides official, routine events - such as readings of Gogol works in libraries - there are some interesting things to check out.

The Gogol House Museum on Nikitsky Bulvar reopens on April 1 after a renovation, so it will be possible to visit the rooms where the writer spent the final years of his life and died in 1852, supposedly after burning the second volume of "Dead Souls". Visitors can see the author's pen, correspondence, portraits and other belongings - but his death mask is not yet on display here, as it's currently part of another Gogol exhibition called "Gogol Boulevard" at the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts.

Besides the eerie death mask, the Pushkin Museum's exhibition also features, among other things, the legendary leather case in which Gogol carried manuscripts, including the mysterious second volume of "Dead Souls".

Those looking for a more stimulating way to celebrate Gogol's anniversary could watch a nude actress in the stage play "Pannochka", based on the author's "Viy" and produced by Tver's TYuZ youth theatre. You don't even have to travel to Tver, as footage of the most graphic scene is available online (http://life.ru/ video/9233). The performance has stirred up quite a bit of controversy, partly thanks to such newspaper headlines as, "Theatre shows children a porno play based on Gogol."

"In accordance with the director's idea, Pannochka indeed enters the stage nude for a few seconds," Lyubov Mikhailova, the theatre's deputy marketing director, told RIA Novosti. "But no one really pays attention to that. In addition, the play ‘Pannochka' belongs to the theatre's adult programme, performances are at night and children under 16 are not admitted."

Meanwhile, the film "Taras Bulba," based on Gogol's novel, is to be released on April 2. Tipped to be the year's biggest Russian blockbuster, "Taras Bulba" is a joint project bet-

ween the domestic film company Central Partnership and the national TV channel Rossiya. Its creators have compared it to Hollywood epics.

"In some scenes, we had 1,000 extras, 150 horses and 100 stuntmen," director Vladimir Bortko told RIA Novosti, adding that a total of 100 scenes were shot in eight locations, from St. Petersburg to Wroclaw.

The director sounded quite self-congratulatory, saying that the Hollywood blockbuster "Alexander" from 2004 "doesn't look as rich, despite the $100 million budget, which is incomparable to what we had."

Russian Fashion Week, scheduled to kick off in Moscow on March 28, also couldn't get by without Gogol. A Taras Bulba-themed collection named "Cossacks in the City" will be presented on April 4, RIA Novosti reported. Producer Alexander Shumsky said RWF participants had made special, stylish dresses and suits for the show, which he said would be not merely a fashion parade but a performance.

Contacts

Gogol House Museum / Mon., Wed. and Fri., 12 noon to 7 pm / 7 Nikitsky Bulvar / m. Arbatskaya

State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts / "Gogol Boulevard" runs until May 18 / Tues.-Sun. 10 am to 7 pm, closed Mon. / 12 Ul. Volkhonka / m. Kropotkinskaya

Russian Fashion Week / March 28 - April 4 / World Trade Center / 12 Krasnopresnenskaya Nab. / m. Delovoi Tsentr

Tver youth theatre TYuZ / "Pannochka" next on April 11, 5 pm / 32 Sovetskaya Ul., Tver / (4822) 34 97 03