The adventures of a con man Roman medoks, the prototype of Gogol's inspector General

The basis of almost all classical works based on real cases. The author had to do was skip the story through the prism of their talent and to make the morality contained in it, obvious to everyone. Is no exception and Gogol's "the Inspector General".

History inspector is so grotesque that it seems could not happen in reality, but in fact, such was the case and it certainly knew Nikolai Gogol. The hero of this story was Roman medoks that shook Russian society adventures from 1812 until the mid-1850s.

The Roman Medoks

The talent and audacity of this man was incomprehensible to the mind of his contemporaries. Life medoks cheated and gave himself for others, earning it huge by the standards of the time money. But the most interesting Scam professional impostor, no doubt, considered his trip as a Royal envoy to the Caucasus, is incredibly similar to the plot of "Inspector".

It all started with the fact that in 1812 cornet Roman medoks squandered two thousand rubles of public money. Nobleman and military at the time such offense could cost lives — a bullet in the forehead allowed for less important occasions. But Maddox wasn't going to quitarse life — he just ran away from the regiment to earn money and return to the Treasury.

Cornet Roman medoks did not differ the article, but, according to his contemporaries, was quite credible

Fugitive officer could not live in the Empire for his real documents and cornet medoks, without thinking, turned into another person. The fraudster has managed to forge documents in the name of adjutant's horse guards Lieutenant Sokovnin, who served as aide-de-camp of the Minister of police Balashov.

But this Novel wasn't enough, he invented and wrote a statement on behalf of the Minister of war, which gave him the right to inspect any military unit in the Caucasus. The original plan Medox was naive but commendable.

Using unlimited powers, he planned to follow in the footsteps of Minin and form of the mountain peoples of the efficient militia. With his own army embezzler was going to go to war with Napoleon and in the heat of battle to earn the forgiveness, and if you're lucky, fame and lost the respect of his comrades.

In the first half of the nineteenth century Georgievsk was a seedy military town

With such good intentions medoks arrived in Georgievsk, which was the residence of the Governor of the Caucasus, Wrangel and the chief of staff of the Caucasian line of General Portnyagina.

First, the impostor needed money to not starve and be able to move freely in the region. Medoks immediately fabricated a false claim with the signature of the Minister on 10 thousand rubles, which appeared before the lords Wrangel and Portnyagin.

The two statesmen had no reason to doubt that neat and polite young man with the last name Sokovnin and letters from the Minister — the real inspector from St. Petersburg. Baron Wrangel immediately ordered the Treasurer to give the young man the entire required sum.

Interestingly, the swindler, but they did not cause the slightest doubt two experienced officials of high rank, seemed suspicious petty clerks to the provincial Treasury. But Wrangel expertly stopped the attempt of the exchequer to resist and Maddox got every last penny.

As you might expect, after receiving huge amounts of money on their own needs, novel and forgot to think about the purpose of his visit to the Caucasus and more about it not remembered. Envoy of the Minister of war was rendered in Georgievsk a most cordial reception, which the scammer could not even dream of.

In honor of the reviewers gave receptions and balls, he was eager to see local aristocrats and high military ranks, it was left to dry, the girls and married matrons. For distant from the capital run-down military garrison, the guest appearance of such a high rank was a significant event, because in addition to hunting, war, drinking, other entertainment in the town did not know.

Feeling of power over the local, medoks dispersed in earnest. Every day he became more and more expanded its powers and authority. Come down to the fact that the novel demanded the right to inspect personal and official correspondence of the Governor and immediately got it.

General Portnyagina crafty young man said that his real purpose of coming to the Caucasus — the observation of Baron Wrangel, which appeared in St. Petersburg under suspicion. Thus, medoks doubt in the soul of the old warriors and forced him with mistrust to concern to the old comrade and loyal companion.

As communication with the capital was carried out only with the help of couriers, about the violent activities "of the inspector Sokovnin" in the defense Ministry learned only a few months. There refused to believe in the possibility of a similar Scam, so she was primitive and treacherous.

The Emperor Alexander I

After recovering from the shock, the Minister personally gave the order to arrest "Lieutenant Sokovnin" and deliver to Petersburg as quickly as possible. The investigation was very confusing — the prisoner twisted and lied, calling himself a wimp Vsevolozhsk, the Prince Golitsyn.

The story of the Novel Medox interested in the sovereign, and on the progress of the case to the Emperor Alexander I regularly reported his adjutant. In the end, the autocrat tired of fuss about a brazen impostor, and he issued a decree ordered him without trial in the Schlisselburg fortress for an indefinite period.

For Medox it could mean a lifelong stay in prison, and an unexpected release under an Amnesty or a whim of the king or his successors. But the conclusion has lasted for 14 years, and the will of the novel was published only in 1827.

Schlisselburg fortress

Some historians tend to believe that the impostor was released because he agreed to work as an informant in the environment of the Decembrists. Rogue during his imprisonment, he became close friends with some of the participants of the December uprising and they began to trust him. The con of such high class could be a useful power in the identification of freethinkers, who, after a coup attempt around a lot of divorced.

After the pardon Medox exiled to Vyatka, through which on his way to Siberia, political prisoners of that time. A friend of Alexander Pushkin, Ivan Pushchin wrote in a letter to the family that met in Vyatka with some Medoks and this is the guy that stayed in town for this Grand Scam.

Yes, from Vyatka Roman medoks tried again to run away to the Caucasus with a forged passport, but was detained by police in Ekaterinodar. After this, the king ordered to send it to a soldier in Siberia, but the prototype of the inspector ran away from Odessa, where he was ordered to stay pending the Supreme will.

After all these adventures, worthy of a separate book, medoks wrote the Emperor a letter in English in which he repented and asked for pardon. Apparently the message worked, as the fraudster enlisted as a private in the Omsk regiment, but was sent along the line of the gendarmerie office in Irkutsk.

The exiled Decembrists. Artist N. P. Repin

In the capital of Eastern Siberia, the novel is lived as exile and was friends with the families of the exiled Decembrists. It is hardly necessary to explain, what was connected with the interest of Maddox, secret gendarmes, the disgraced officers. In Siberia the adventurer also did a lot of things, but they lie outside told us the history.

Finally it is worth saying that the novel has not just been concluded, including in the Shlisselburg fortress. But dead adventurer on the loose at the ripe age of 65 and, surprisingly, his death.