Why do the officials bribe Khlestakov?

Each magistrate believes Khlestakov will report sins to Petersburg: embezzlement, kickbacks, brutal hospital management, opened letters. They bribe him to buy silence and favor, not because he proves identity. Fear of the inspector’s notebook matters more than evidence he is that inspector.

Gogol satirizes autocracy without independent courts — only surveillance counts. Bribery scenes are confessionals disguised as hospitality. Khlestakov takes cash because he is broke and amused. Students can chart who offers what and which crime each hides — the play becomes corruption map of one town.