Korolenko, Vladimir Galaktionovich (1853—1921). A novelist and left-wing liberal who took a politically engaged position in life and in art, championing the rights of peasants, decrying anti-Semitism, and joining with Chekhov in protesting the exclusion of Gorky from the Academy of Sciences by resigning their own titles as Honorary Academicians in 1902. Korolenko's "Sakhalin Fugitive" may have inspired Chekhov's interest in writing about the penal colony.
Lavrov, Vukol Mikhailovich (1852—1912). Scion of a wealthy Moscow merchant family, Lavrov was the owner, publisher, and editor of the left-liberal literary journal Russian Thought (Russkaya Mysl). He distinguished himself as a journalist and as a translator of Polish writers (most notably Henryk Stankiewicz) and hosted extravagant literary dinner parties.
Lazarev-Gruzinsky, Alexander (1861—1927). Under the pen name A. Gruzinsky, wrote in the humor magazine in which Chekhov began his literary career. He met Chekhov in 1887 at the magazine's editorial offices, though by this point
Chekhov had already "graduated" to more prestigious venues. With Chekhov's help and mentoring, he gained entrйe to New Times and other major journals and publications.
Leontyev (Shcheglov), Ivan (1856-1911). A writer for the theater. In his diary entry for December 9, 1888, he wrote that Chekhov lacked moral principles and "a general animating idea." On February 9, 1889, he noted that an acquaintance had said, "Chekhov is a genius, but does not have God in his soul."
Leykin, Nikolai Alexandrovich (1841-1906). Publisher of the St. Petersburg humor magazine Fragments {Oskolki), to which Chekhov contributed stories between 1883 and 1885. Leykin was a great promoter of the Chekhov brothers, helping them with money and publishing opportunities in his magazine and publishing firm. He liked to claim that he first "discovered" Anton Chekhov. He himself also wrote novels and stories about the Russian merchant class.
Menshikov, Mikhail Osipovich (1859-1917). A prominent journalist, editor of the St. Petersburg magazine The Week (Nedelya), and contributor to Alexei Suvorin's New Times (Novoye Vremya) between 1901 and 1917.
Mikhailovsky, Nikolai Konstantinovich (1842-1904). An influential literary critic and editor of the "thick journals" Notes of the Fatherland (Otechestvennye Zapiski) and Russian Wealth (Russkoe Bogatstvo). As the leading theoretician of populism, he required of literature a pronounced social, political, and moral agenda.
Orlov, Ivan Ivanovich (1851-1917). A surgeon who practiced in a district adjoining the Serpukhov zemstvo where Chekhov practiced during his stay at Melikhovo. The two physicians frequently corresponded on matters bearing on the organization of health care in the countryside and the state of the intelligentsia.
Pleshcheyev, Alexei Nikolayevich (1825-93). Poet, essayist, translator, and, in his youth, a principled liberal who was exiled to Siberia. Pleshcheyev was the editor of the Northern Herald (Severnii Vestnik), in which he published Chekhov's stories between 1887 and 1889. The two enjoyed a close friendship, with Pleshcheyev visiting Chekhov during summer holidays in the country.
Polonsky, Yakov Petrovich (1819-98). One of Russia's leading poets during the poetic doldrums following the death of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin in 1837. Chekhov and Polon- sky respected each other's work, and each dedicated a work to the other.
Rossolimo, Grigory Ivanovich (1860-1928). Of Greek origin, Rossolimo studied with Chekhov at the Moscow University Medical School, whose faculty he subsequently joined as a specialist in neurology and psychology. A dynamic clinician, researcher, and scholar, Rossolimo kept in steady contact with Chekhov and was especially attentive and solicitous in the final years of Chekhov's precipitous decline.
Shavrova, Elena Mikhailovna (1874-1937). One of a group of Maria Chekhova's girlfriends and schoolmates with whom Chekhov carried on light flirtations. The Chekhov home was always filled with friends and associates, lively conversation, serious debate, and, unfailingly, laughter. Fifteen when she met Chekhov, Elena went on, with his help, to have a modest literary success.
Suvorin, Alexei Sergeyevich (1834-1912). One of the most powerful and influential "men of letters" of nineteenth- century Russia. A peasant by origin and a schoolmaster by training, Suvorin entered the literary profession in the 1860s and rose to prominence first as a muckraking journalist, then as owner and publisher of the conservative New Times, which he took over in 1876. He was also involved with all the leading journals of the age, including Russian Speech (Russkaya Rech'), The Contemporary (Sovremennik), Notes of the Fatherland (Otechestvennye Zapiski), and Herald of Europe (Vestnik Evropy). The "media empire" of this literary entrepreneur included a chain of his own bookstores in Russia's major cities where his editions of Russian and translated writers were sold. Novelist, literary scholar, and playwright, he wrote fiction under the pseudonyms Bobrovsky and Neznakomets, and in what was characterized as "tragic handwriting," his extensive Diary, a valuable source of information on the literary and historical events of his time. Suvorin made a fortune as a renaissance man of letters and was a great admirer, patron, and friend of Chekhov.
Tchaikovsky, Modest Ilyich (1850—1916). Playwright, librettist, translator of Shakespeare, and younger brother of the composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Chekhov, a great devotee of the composer, met Modest in St. Petersburg in 1888 at the home of the poet Pleshcheyev. The acquaintance led to meetings with the composer, who stunned Chekhov by recognizing him as a rising talent. Chekhov dedicated a volume of his stories to Peter, who reciprocated by sending him a signed photograph with the inscription "To A. P. Chekhov from his ardent admirer. P. Tchaikovsky, October 14, 1889."
Tikhonov, Vladimir Alekseyevich (1857—1914). A minor playwright and briefly editor of the magazine North (Sever). Tikhonov was a loyal supporter of Chekhov, who enjoyed his company and correspondence for a number of years.
Yegorov, Yevgraf Petrovich (no date). After Yegorov became a friend of the Chekhov family in 1883-84, while stationed in the military at Voskresensk, it appears that he fell in love with Maria Chekhova and proposed. After leaving the army in 1891, he settled in Nizhny Novgorod province, where he served as a humane and enlightened local land captain overseeing judicial and administrative peasant affairs. Chekhov modeled a character on Yegorov in his story "Green Braid"("Zelyonaya kosa") from that period.
Evreinova, Anna Mikhailovna (1844-1919). The first Russian woman to receive a doctorate in law. Evreinova attained a position of cultural influence as the publisher of the Northern Herald, in which Chekhov published a great many of his stories.
Zhirkevich, Alexander Vladimirovich (1875-1927). A minor poet, writer (under the pseudonym A. Nivin), and essayist with a prominent career in military jurisprudence. Highly cultivated, a passionate collector of manuscripts, drawings, medieval instruments of torture, and prominent artists and writers, he carried on extensive correspondence with Leskov, Fet, Sologub, and Chekhov and was an occasional visitor at Leo Tolstoy's Yasnaya Polyana. Like Vladimir Gilyarovsky, he appears in Ilya Repin's The Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (1880-91).