In this article, using the comparative-historical method and the method of holistic analysis of a literary work, we attempt to understand Gogol's traditions in the works of M.A. Bulgakov. It is established that «Chichikov's Adventures» presents a grotesque image of Russia as witnessed by Bulgakov, where Gogol's characters of «The Dead Souls» are placed into the contemporary political and social realities. By comparing Gogol's era and post-revolutionary Russia of the 1920s, Bulgakov presents a cultural assessment of the contemporary society. Not only he relies on Gogol's experience of creating absurd reality through the use of grotesque, creating comic and frankly ridiculous situations, but also expands this grotesque by rethinking the device of «wonderful dream». «Chichikov's Adventures» in the realities of «modern times» are represented as a dream, emphasizing the fantastic nature of the new Russian reality.
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