The Order of Vladimir, Third Class

The Order of Vladimir, Third Class (Russian: Владимир третьей степени; Vladimir tret'jej stepeni) is an unfinished play by Nikolai Gogol, which he worked on between 1832 and 1834. It survives only in four fragments: "An Official's Morning", "The Lawsuit", "The Servants' Quarters" and "Fragment". Each fragment follows the official Barsukov, in search of his dream to receive a decoration, the Order of Vladimir. According to Gogol's contemporaries, a lost scene showed Barsukov in front of a mirror in which he sees the decoration, finally believing he is the decoration.