The belonging of the Dead Souls to the genre of the epic (ancient and medieval) poem about wars and wanderings (including the world beyond the grave) is the original author's installation, and not only Chichikov's "Adventures", but also the military theme in its various aspects is an immanent component text. Chichikov - the bearer of an alien, non-Russian mentality, invading Russian realities, and therefore the parallel between Chichikov and Napoleon is consistently carried through the entire text of the poem.