Short summary
A small provincial Russian town, 1830s. The Governor received a letter warning that an inspector-general from St. Petersburg was coming incognito to investigate the town. The news terrified all the officials, who were corrupt and incompetent.
Two local landowners reported that a suspicious young man had been staying at the inn for two weeks without paying his bills. The officials mistook him for the inspector-general.
The Governor rushed to the inn and invited Khlestakov to stay at his house. Khlestakov, who was broke and hungry, accepted. The officials began bribing him with money, thinking he was conducting a secret inspection.
Khlestakov boasted about his connections in St. Petersburg and flirted with the Governor's wife and daughter. He proposed to the daughter, and the Governor joyfully agreed to the marriage. Khlestakov borrowed more money and left town, promising to return the next day.
The Postmaster opened Khlestakov's letter and discovered he was not an inspector but a penniless clerk who had been mocking them. He had written to a friend describing how he fooled the stupid provincial officials and borrowed money from them all.
The officials were horrified and blamed each other for the mistake. Suddenly, a gendarme entered and announced:
An official from St. Petersburg sent by imperial order has arrived, and wants to see you all at once. He is stopping at the inn.
Detailed summary by acts
Descriptive titles for acts and scenes are editorial.
Act 1. The Inspector-General is coming
In a provincial Russian town, the Governor summoned his officials to his house with alarming news. He had received a letter from a friend warning him that an inspector from St. Petersburg was coming to their district, traveling incognito with secret instructions to investigate the entire government.
I have called you together, gentlemen, to tell you an unpleasant piece of news. An Inspector-General is coming...Yes, an Inspector from St. Petersburg, incognito. And with secret instructions, too.
The Judge speculated that this might be a political matter, suggesting Russia intended to go to war and the government wanted to uncover any treasonable activity. The Governor dismissed this theory but acknowledged the need for precautions. He instructed each official to prepare his department for inspection. The Superintendent of Charities was told to ensure patients wore clean nightcaps and that placards in Latin hung above each bed stating the disease and date of illness. The Judge was advised to remove the geese and goslings from the courthouse entrance hall and hide his hunting crop. The School Inspector was warned about his teachers' peculiar habits, particularly one who made faces and another who lectured too passionately about Alexander of Macedon.
The Postmaster arrived and initially thought the news meant war with Turkey. When corrected, he offered to open and read all letters passing through the post office to check for denunciations against the Governor. The Governor readily agreed to this illegal arrangement. Two local landowners, Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, burst in breathlessly with news. They had discovered a young man at the inn who had been staying there for two weeks without paying his bills, ordering everything on credit, and scrutinizing everything closely. The innkeeper confirmed the guest was an official from St. Petersburg traveling to Saratov. The landowners were convinced this mysterious stranger was the inspector-general traveling incognito.
Act 2. A case of mistaken identity
At the inn, a young man named Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov lay in his room, desperately hungry. He had been stranded there for two weeks, having gambled away all his money on the road from St. Petersburg. His servant Osip complained about their situation, reminiscing about life in the capital where one could at least find food, even if irregularly.
Khlestakov tried to order dinner, but the innkeeper refused to serve him without payment. When Osip reported this, Khlestakov became indignant. The servant brought the innkeeper himself, who insisted that Khlestakov had already run up substantial debts and threatened to complain to the Governor. Khlestakov protested that he was hungry and needed to eat, but the innkeeper remained firm. Finally, the innkeeper agreed to bring soup and roast beef, warning it would be the last meal on credit.
The meager meal arrived, and Khlestakov complained bitterly about its poor quality. The soup tasted like hot water, and the roast beef was as tough as tree bark. As he finished eating, Osip announced that the Governor had arrived. Terrified that the innkeeper had made good on his threat, Khlestakov went pale. When the Governor entered with Dobchinsky, both men were equally frightened. The Governor feared exposure of his corruption, while Khlestakov feared imprisonment for his unpaid bills. The Governor spoke respectfully, explaining he had come to ensure visitors were properly accommodated. Khlestakov, thinking the Governor meant to arrest him, began a confused defense about the bad food and his inability to pay. The Governor, interpreting this as the inspector's complaints about local conditions, became even more obsequious.
Act 3. The impostor settles in
The misunderstanding deepened as the Governor offered to move Khlestakov to his own house, where he would be more comfortable. Khlestakov, realizing the Governor was treating him with great respect rather than arresting him, boldly asked for a loan of two hundred rubles. The Governor quickly provided four hundred instead, which Khlestakov accepted without counting. The Governor then invited him to inspect the town's institutions, starting with the hospital and schools. Khlestakov agreed, and they prepared to leave in the Governor's carriage.
At the Governor's house, his wife Anna Andreyevna and daughter Marya Antonovna waited impatiently for news. They had heard about the important visitor but knew nothing of his appearance or rank. When the Governor finally returned with Khlestakov, Anna Andreyevna was immediately impressed by his metropolitan manners and fashionable dress.
Khlestakov, emboldened by the wine at lunch and the respectful treatment, began to boast extravagantly. He claimed to be on intimate terms with ministers and to visit the imperial court daily. He described his luxurious St. Petersburg apartment and the balls he hosted. He spoke of dining on seven-hundred-ruble watermelons and soup brought directly from Paris by steamer. He claimed to have written famous literary works, including The Marriage of Figaro and works attributed to other authors. He boasted of playing cards with foreign ambassadors and of being so important that even the Imperial Council feared him. The Governor and his family listened in awe, completely convinced of his importance. When Khlestakov mentioned that he was about to be made a field marshal, he slipped and nearly fell, but the officials caught him respectfully.
Exhausted by his performance, Khlestakov retired to rest. The Governor expressed relief that things seemed to be going well, though he remained anxious. Anna Andreyevna was delighted with their distinguished guest, while Marya Antonovna found him charming. The officials who had been present marveled at Khlestakov's importance and worried about the reports he might send to St. Petersburg.
Act 4. Bribes, complaints, and a proposal
The next morning, the town officials came one by one to pay their respects to Khlestakov and offer him money. The Judge arrived first, trembling with fear. After an awkward conversation, he offered Khlestakov a loan, which was quickly accepted. The Postmaster followed, also providing money and agreeing with everything Khlestakov said. The School Inspector came next, so frightened he could barely speak, and he too left money. The Superintendent of Charities not only gave Khlestakov four hundred rubles but also used the opportunity to denounce his colleagues, claiming the Postmaster neglected his duties, the Judge kept dogs in the courtroom and was having an affair with Dobchinsky's wife, and the School Inspector was a dangerous freethinker.
Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky arrived together, offering smaller sums and making humble requests. Dobchinsky asked Khlestakov to legitimize his illegitimate son, while Bobchinsky begged him to tell the Czar that Piotr Ivanovich Bobchinsky lived in this town. Khlestakov agreed to everything. After they left, he counted his takings and was delighted to discover he had accumulated over a thousand rubles. He decided to write to his friend Triapichkin in St. Petersburg, describing the absurd situation and the foolish officials.
Merchants arrived with complaints about the Governor's extortion and bribes. They described how he took goods without payment, demanded gifts on multiple name days, and quartered soldiers in their homes as punishment. They offered Khlestakov money and gifts, including sugar and wine, which he accepted along with a silver tray. Then came petitioners, including a locksmith's wife whose husband had been illegally conscripted and a widow who claimed the Governor had flogged her by mistake. Khlestakov listened to their grievances and accepted their petitions.
When Marya Antonovna entered the room, Khlestakov began flirting with her, speaking of love and trying to kiss her. She resisted and tried to leave. Anna Andreyevna entered and found Khlestakov on his knees. Thinking he was proposing to her daughter, she began to scold Marya, but Khlestakov declared his love for Anna herself. The confusion was interrupted by the Governor's arrival. When Anna told him that Khlestakov was asking for their daughter's hand in marriage, the Governor was stunned. Khlestakov confirmed his intention to marry Marya, and the Governor, though bewildered, gave his blessing. Khlestakov kissed his bride and announced he needed to leave immediately to visit his rich uncle and would return the next day. The Governor lent him another four hundred rubles for the journey. Khlestakov departed in a government coach with the best horses, promising to return soon.
Act 5. The truth revealed
After Khlestakov's departure, the Governor and his wife celebrated their good fortune. The Governor imagined himself becoming a general and moving to St. Petersburg. Anna dreamed of their house being the finest in the capital. The town officials arrived to offer congratulations on the engagement. The Governor boasted about his future son-in-law's importance and threatened revenge on those who had complained about him, particularly the merchants. He summoned them and lectured them about their past complaints, though he magnanimously forgave them and demanded expensive gifts as congratulations.
The Postmaster burst in with shocking news. He had opened and read a letter Khlestakov had written to his friend in St. Petersburg. The letter revealed the truth: Khlestakov was not an inspector-general but a penniless clerk who had been stranded at the inn. He described how the town officials had mistaken him for an important personage and showered him with money. He mocked each official in turn, calling the Governor as stupid as an old horse, describing the Postmaster as a drunkard, the Superintendent of Charities as a pig in a cap, the School Inspector as reeking of onions, and the Judge as possessing extremely bad tone. He wrote that he was considering taking up literature to describe these ridiculous provincials.
Not only will you be made a laughing-stock of, but some scribbler, some ink-splasher will put you into a comedy...He won't spare either rank or station. And everybody will grin and clap his hands.
The Governor was devastated. He raged at his own stupidity and at the officials who had first identified Khlestakov as the inspector. He blamed Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky for starting the rumor. The officials turned on each other, each trying to shift responsibility. The Governor lamented that he had been in service for thirty years, had outwitted countless swindlers, and yet had been fooled by this insignificant young man. He cursed the writers who would mock them in print and feared the ridicule that would follow when the story became known throughout Russia.
Last scene. The real Inspector arrives
As the officials argued and despaired, a gendarme entered with an announcement that struck them all like a thunderbolt: an official from St. Petersburg, sent by imperial order, had arrived and was waiting at the inn to see them immediately.
Silent scene. Frozen in shock
The news paralyzed everyone. The Governor stood rigid in the center of the stage, his arms outstretched and head thrown back in horror. Anna Andreyevna and Marya Antonovna strained toward him in shock. The Postmaster transformed into a living question mark. The lady guests wore satirical expressions directed at the Governor's family. The Judge crouched with his hands spread, his lips pursed as if to whistle. The other officials stood frozen in various poses of dismay and disbelief. The entire group remained motionless, a tableau of stunned realization that the real inspector-general had finally arrived, and their deception and corruption would now be exposed. The moment stretched on, capturing the instant when their world collapsed around them.