June 12, 2001

Anton Chekhov


Anton Chekhov

One of the most unique Russian lives is that of Anton Chekhov. Born January 17, 1860 {old calendar} to a humble grocer and church choir director, Anton turned out to be one of his country's best late nineteenth century writers. Along the way, he became a medical doctor {1884} and primary means of financial support for his family. Economically ruined, the elder Chekhov was forced to move his family to Moscow in an attempt to fine work. Anton helped support his parents and younger siblings with the money he received from freelance writing.

At first, Chekhov seemed to have a split personality when it came to his styles of writing. He was a master of of the short, humorous and somewhat seedy story. The Telephone, written in 1886, is one example of Chekhov's sense of humor. At the same time, he wrote several very serious and deep articles about the various faces of human suffering; possibly a way of dealing with the pain and grief a doctor, inevitably, witnesses. One of Chekhov's touching stories of this period, Vanka, also written in 1886.

In 1888, Chekhov was published in the highly acclaimed Severny vestnik {Northern Herald}. His long story, The Steppe, marked the end of Chekhov's production of light pieces. This autobiographical work featured a child's impressions of trip in the Ukraine. Shortly after his success as a serious writer, Chekhov presented his first drama, Ivanov {1889}. His older brother, Nikolay, died that same year of tuberculosis. This play is very heavy and morbid. It is a study of the spirit of the terminally ill and ends with the lead character, a young man, committing suicide.

As the years passed, Chekhov wrote fewer short stories, practiced medicine less and concentrated on his plays. After Ivanov, Chekhov's full-length plays included; The Wood Demon {1889}, Uncle Vanya {1898}, The Seagull {1898}, Three Sisters {1901} and The Cherry Orchard {1904}. Between 1889 and 1901, Chekhov wrote, or revised, 240 short stories for publication.

To the end, Chekhov was never totally satisfied with the production of his plays. While most would, and did, consider his later plays to be very tragic, Chekhov insisted that they were intended to be comedies bordering on farce. This was particularly true of his last two plays, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard. Both plays were written for the Moscow Art Theatre, co-founded by the great actor and director, Konstanin Stanislavsky . The Theatre opened its doors on October 14, 1898, and was later re-named in honor of Chekhov. Nevertheless, Anton's works fall into the genre of late nineteenth century Russian Realism and give us a good idea of the travails and joys of life in Imperial Russia.

Finally, after two heart attacks, Anton Chekhov died of pulmonary tuberculosis on July 2, 1904 {old calendar}, in Badenweiler, Germany. It was not until after World War I, when the first translations of Chekhov's writings became available, that he was known to the rest of Europe. He gained worldwide acclaim, at the close of World War II, when The Complete Works and Letters of A.P. Chekhov, a 20 volume set, was published. There are still those who question the artistic value of his stories and plays. However, Chekhov's plays are a mainstay of most academic theatre programs and his writings required reading in literature.

Query
Template: /muraWRM/core/mura/content/feed/feedGateway.cfc:250
Execution Time: 0.883 ms
Record Count: 0
Cached: No
Lazy: No
SQL:
SELECT
tcontent.siteid, tcontent.title, tcontent.menutitle, tcontent.restricted, tcontent.restrictgroups,
tcontent.type, tcontent.subType, tcontent.filename, tcontent.displaystart, tcontent.displaystop,
tcontent.remotesource, tcontent.remoteURL,tcontent.remotesourceURL, tcontent.keypoints,
tcontent.contentID, tcontent.parentID, tcontent.approved, tcontent.isLocked, tcontent.contentHistID,tcontent.target, tcontent.targetParams,
tcontent.releaseDate, tcontent.lastupdate,tcontent.summary,
tfiles.fileSize,tfiles.fileExt,tcontent.fileid,
tcontent.tags,tcontent.credits,tcontent.audience, tcontent.orderNo,
tcontentstats.rating,tcontentstats.totalVotes,tcontentstats.downVotes,tcontentstats.upVotes,
tcontentstats.comments, tparent.type parentType,
tcontent.path, tcontent.created, tcontent.nextn, tcontent.majorVersion, tcontent.minorVersion, tcontentstats.lockID, tcontentstats.lockType, tcontent.expires,
tfiles.filename as AssocFilename,tcontent.displayInterval,tcontent.display,tcontentfilemetadata.altText as fileAltText,tcontent.changesetid
FROM
tcontent
left Join tfiles on (tcontent.fileid=tfiles.fileid)
left Join tcontentstats on (tcontent.contentid=tcontentstats.contentid
and tcontent.siteid=tcontentstats.siteid)
Left Join tcontent tparent on (tcontent.parentid=tparent.contentid
and tcontent.siteid=tparent.siteid
and tparent.active=1)
Left Join tcontentfilemetadata on (tcontent.fileid=tcontentfilemetadata.fileid
and tcontent.contenthistid=tcontentfilemetadata.contenthistid
and tcontent.siteid=tcontentfilemetadata.siteid)
WHERE
tcontent.siteid in ('default')
and tcontent.active = 1
and tcontent.Approved = 1
AND tcontent.isNav = 1
AND tcontent.moduleid = '00000000000000000000000000000000000'
AND tcontent.searchExclude = 0
AND tcontent.contentid <> '00000000000000000000000000000000001'
AND tcontent.type <>'Module'
and (
tcontent.parentid
=
'D6A032A6-5056-A32F-D5443365F3F5C422'
and
tcontent.subtype
=
'footnote'
)
AND (
tcontent.Display = 1
OR
(
tcontent.Display = 2
AND
(
(
tparent.type!='Calendar'
and tcontent.DisplayStart <=
{ts '2026-04-03 23:20:00'}
and (tcontent.DisplayStop >=
{ts '2026-04-03 23:20:00'} or tcontent.DisplayStop is null)
) OR (
tparent.type='Calendar'
and tcontent.DisplayStart <=
{ts '2027-04-03 23:20:00'}
and (tcontent.DisplayStop >=
{ts '2026-04-03 23:20:00'} or tcontent.DisplayStop is null)
)
)
)
)
AND (
tcontent.mobileExclude is null
OR
tcontent.mobileExclude in (0,1)
)
order by
tcontent.lastUpdate desc
siteidtitlemenutitlerestrictedrestrictgroupstypesubTypefilenamedisplaystartdisplaystopremotesourceremoteURLremotesourceURLkeypointscontentIDparentIDapprovedisLockedcontentHistIDtargettargetParamsreleaseDatelastupdatesummaryfileSizefileExtfileidtagscreditsaudienceorderNoratingtotalVotesdownVotesupVotescommentsparentTypepathcreatednextnmajorVersionminorVersionlockIDlockTypeexpiresAssocFilenamedisplayIntervaldisplayfileAltTextchangesetid
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955