Compared with other major classics of Russian literature, Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy and others, Gogol is the least studied writer. This should be said about all areas of his life and work. The lack of a detailed objective chronicle of Gogol's life and work, the need for which has long been felt in science, was a significant gap. For the first time, a chronicle of the Gogol clan was compiled. The rich source study base made it possible to introduce into scientific circulation previously unknown facts of the writer's biography, to make numerous clarifications of the dating of Gogol's letters and his addressees, to recreate his creative and everyday path as fully as possible.