What is the surname of the protagonist in Gogol's 'The Overcoat'?

The surname of the protagonist in Nikolai Gogol’s “The Overcoat” is Bashmachkin. His full name is Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, a poor government clerk and copyist in St. Petersburg.

Gogol’s story follows Akaky’s narrow but meaningful existence. He takes genuine pleasure in copying documents, while colleagues mock him because of his meek personality and threadbare clothing. When his old overcoat becomes impossible to repair, he sacrifices heavily to save for a new one, turning the garment into the central object of his hopes and newly awakened pride.

The coat briefly changes how others treat him, but the improvement is painfully temporary. After it is stolen, Akaky seeks help from officials, including a pompous “important personage,” yet the bureaucracy offers him no meaningful assistance. He soon falls ill and dies; the story then shifts into the fantastic, as a ghost resembling Akaky begins taking overcoats from people in St. Petersburg.

Plyushkin, Chichikov, and Khlestakov are also famous Gogol characters, but they belong to “Dead Souls” and “The Government Inspector.” Bashmachkin is specifically associated with “The Overcoat,” first published in 1842.