Qiqikof participated in a smuggling case that was exposed

Chichikov’s participation in a major smuggling conspiracy is exposed when a quarrel with his accomplice prompts an anonymous denunciation. The collapse follows a calculated rise through the Customs Department: Chichikov first cultivated a reputation for extraordinary diligence and incorruptibility, then used the authority earned by that reputation to facilitate contraband. The scandal strips away his gains and position, but not his appetite for risk; once again deprived of capital, he sets out to begin anew.

From conspicuous diligence to concealed partnership

Chichikov’s customs career initially appears to be an almost theatrical performance of honesty. He masters the department’s procedures within weeks, measures and weighs goods with exceptional skill, and inspects travellers with such persistence that even his colleagues marvel at his ability. His composure remains intact while those searched grow agitated, and his courtesy never falters. In particular, he refuses to enrich himself through confiscated goods that were not turned over to the government, ostensibly to save clerical labour. For a time, smugglers find it impossible to operate around him.

That conduct wins him promotion and, more consequentially, extensive powers to search and investigate. Chichikov proposes a scheme for detecting contrabandists and receives the authority needed to carry it out. The narrative makes the reversal plain: the very powers granted in recognition of his apparent rectitude become the means by which he can control a smuggling operation. He had already known of an organized, well-financed association, but had declined to join while he lacked influence and could expect only a small share. Once he holds the reins, he signals that the moment has come and dictates his terms.

The contraband operation and its profits

The association’s business proceeds on a large scale. The account refers to Spanish sheep crossing the frontier in double fleeces, with valuable Brabant lace concealed between the layers. Chichikov’s complicity is presented as essential to the success of these journeys: without his participation, the operation could not have succeeded. He also brings a vulnerable fellow official into the conspiracy, and together they profit from the arrangement.

After three or four such crossings, Chichikov and his accomplice possess 400,000 roubles apiece. Some estimates place Chichikov’s gains as high as half a million, attributed to his greater industry. The figures establish the scale of the reversal from his earlier public image: his supposed disinterestedness had been real only so long as he lacked the power to make fraud pay on a grand scale. Once able to command the operation, he turns official access and investigative authority into private wealth.

The quarrel that exposes the conspiracy

The partnership breaks down through a personal dispute. The account gives conflicting possibilities rather than a definitive explanation. One version says that the two officials quarrelled after a heated exchange in which Chichikov called his accomplice a priest’s son; the colleague answered that Chichikov, too, had a priest for a father. Another version attributes the rupture to a woman and describes an alleged plan to have Chichikov assaulted in a dark alley, but the narrator explicitly leaves the truth uncertain. What is certain is that the quarrel destroys the conspirators’ cooperation.

The accomplice submits an anonymous document to the authorities. A complete exposure of the customs dealings follows, and both officials are questioned, deprived of their property, and made to record in writing what they had done. Thus the operation is undone not through Chichikov’s elaborate detection scheme but through the fragility of the alliance he has made: a quarrel gives the authorities a route into a conspiracy that had prospered under his control.

Loss, escape, and renewed motion

The consequences fall heavily on both conspirators, though not equally. Chichikov’s colleague disappears into obscurity in a remote place. Chichikov, by contrast, uses his social skills and knowledge of people to soften his treatment. He deploys pleasant manners, persuasive speech, flattery, and occasional payments, avoiding a criminal trial and retiring with less disgrace than his accomplice. Yet this limited reprieve does not preserve his fortune: he loses his capital and imported possessions.

What remains is precisely itemized: 10,000 roubles saved for a rainy day, two dozen linen shirts, a small bachelor’s carriage, and his two servants, Selifan and Petrushka. Customs officials also set aside several cakes of the soap he had admired. The inventory measures the distance between the profits of the conspiracy and the reduced means with which Chichikov must continue. He describes his reverses as suffering in the service of truth, a self-serving phrase that contrasts with the fraud that has just been exposed.

The collapse does not end his pursuit of new experience. He is angry at what he regards as fate’s injustice and resentful toward the world, but he does not retreat into a quiet provincial life. The episode therefore closes not with reform or final defeat, but with persistence: Chichikov has lost almost everything, yet retains the energy to think again and seek another opening. His repeated changes of fortune give the plot its episodic forward drive while making his resourcefulness inseparable from his willingness to turn public trust into private advantage.