Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

• Early experience: According to biographers, Chekhov lost his virginity at the age of 13 in his hometown of Taganrog, visiting a brothel.
• Visiting brothels: As a young man and adult, Chekhov regularly used the services of prostitutes. He openly and unabashedly described his adventures in brothels in letters to friends and his publisher Alexei Suvorin, including exotic experiences during his travels to Asia, India, and during his famous trip to Sakhalin.
• Numerous romances: Chekhov had a huge number of admirers, whom his contemporaries ironically called "Antonovkas." Researchers count about 30 serious romantic and intimate relationships in his life. Among his passions were Lika Mizinova, Lydia Yavorskaya, Lydia Avilova, and many others.
• Marriage: In 1901 (at the age of 41) Chekhov officially married the leading actress of the Moscow Art Theatre, Olga Knipper, with whom he remained in a close relationship until his death in 1904

• Early rise and coffee - got up around five in the morning, loved mocha coffee.
  - Meticulous neatness - never worked in casual clothes, even wore a tie at home.
  - Daily letter - wrote every day, even in the presence of guests he could retire for a few lines.
  - Fishing and mushrooms - called fishing "a quiet madness", adored "quiet hunting".
  - Cards and games - solitaire, lotto, croquet.
  - Sweets - marmalade, chocolate, jam.
  - Ties and perfume - bought ties in France (although he did not know how to tie them), used Vera-Violetta.
  - Sunflower seeds - in his youth he gnawed on them, shocking high society.

Chekhov's fears:

• Publicity - he was terrified of public speaking and the attention he received ("he suffered from stage fright").
  - Typhus - as a doctor, he knew how dangerous it was and was especially afraid of catching it.
  - Death and illness - he was not so much afraid of death as of its "mask"; he knew about his tuberculosis, but hid his fear behind irony.
  - Cats - he had a strong aversion to them; they weren't kept in Melikhovo.

In short: publicity, illness and death – but he consciously suppressed these fears.

Whom Chekhov loved and appreciated:

• Talented and sincere people - "talent" was the highest praise for him.
  - Friends from the art world - Shekhtel, Levitan, actors Svobodin and Davydov.
  - Leo Tolstoy - he deeply respected as a person and an artist.
  - Maupassant - he considered one of the greatest writers.
  - Aspiring authors - he willingly helped young writers with advice and recommendations.
  - Gorky *- he highly appreciated his talent even before they met.

The main criterion is* talent and sincerity , not status or profession.

Specific people towards whom Chekhov felt a strong dislike (according to letters and memoirs):

• Nikolai Leykin - the publisher of "Shards", with whom Chekhov had a difficult relationship; He considered him rude and dishonest.
  - Viktor Bilibin - editor of "Oskolki", whom Chekhov called a "rat" in his letters and ridiculed for his duplicity.
  - Anton Chekhov Sr. (father) - complicated relationship: the writer did not forget his father's despotism in childhood.
  - Alexey Suvorin - publisher, friend, but after the Dreyfus affair Chekhov sharply cooled towards him, calling him "the old devil".
  - Ignatiy Potapenko - a writer whom Chekhov considered untalented and self-satisfied.
  - Pyotr Sergeenko *- a writer whom Chekhov could not stand for his intrusiveness and empty talk.

Mostly these are* specific colleagues from the literary community - for rudeness, duplicity, mediocrity, or intrusiveness.

• Cats - he had an aversion to them, they weren't kept in Melikhovo.
  - Rudeness and bad manners - he could stop communicating with rude people.
  - Loud sounds and harshness - he couldn't stand shouting or commanding tones.
  - Lies and violence - he said he hated them "in all forms."
  - Labels and bias - he couldn't stand it when people looked for a political subtext in his works.
  - Talking about himself - he called it "autobiographophobia."

• Food : He loved crucian carp in sour cream, pancakes, dumplings, caviar, and salted saffron milk caps.
  - Animals : He loved dachshunds (Brom and Hina), but didn't like cats.
  - Plants : He was passionate about roses, and grew flowers and a garden in Melikhovo and Yalta.
  - Books and music : He appreciated Maupassant and Tolstoy, and loved Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninov.
  - Clothes : He was neat, loved ties (although he didn't know how to tie one), and used perfume.

Chekhov's appearance was described differently by his contemporaries, but almost everyone agreed on one thing: he was handsome, tall, and gave the impression of a warm-hearted, simple man *. Here are his main features.

📏 Height and Build

Chekhov was very tall for his time - about* 186-187 cm *. In his youth, he was distinguished by his strong physique: the artist Ilya Repin called him "an indestructible strongman in the makeup of his body and soul." Over the years, due to illness, he lost a lot of weight and became haggard, but he retained a slender figure until the end.

😊 Face and Eyes

Chekhov's face was described as* "large, open" *and "oblong, regular, and pure." According to memoirs, he had "some kind of fold, reminiscent of a simple-minded village boy," which gave him a special charm.

The most controversial point is* the color of his eyes . The documents of the Taganrog city council indicate that his eyes are brown . However, Vladimir Korolenko remembered them as blue, radiant and deep , and Maxim Gorky - gray, sad *. Most likely, his eyes appeared different depending on the lighting and mood. Almost everyone noted intelligence, kindness and a gentle mockery in them.

His hair was* dark, wavy and abundant , and in the second half of his life, he had a small beard and a chestnut-colored mustache. Many remembered his gentle, kind smile *.

👔 Clothing and demeanor

Chekhov was known for his* neatness and meticulous love of order . Ivan Bunin and Alexander Kuprin recalled that they never saw him casually dressed or in a dressing gown (although in fact he did have a dressing gown, but he quickly gave it away to someone). He preferred modest but elegant clothing, and from the 1890s onwards, he almost always appeared in photographs wearing a tie *(although, by his own admission, he did not know how to tie one).

The overall impression of his appearance was best conveyed by the artist Konstantin Korovin:* “His whole figure, open face, broad chest inspired a special trust in him - an atmosphere of warmth and protection seemed to emanate from him.”

reserved, ironic, contradictory:

• Outwardly soft and simple : he seemed cheerful, was the life of the party, but he kept a low profile and weighed every word.
  - Self-ironic and self-critical : he called his character "a sponge", admitted to being hot-tempered, but was used to restraining himself.
  - Inwardly passionate : behind his softness hid passion and enthusiasm - he could selflessly play croquet or think over a story for weeks.
  - Secretive : he was terrified of public speaking, avoided anniversaries and fame, and preferred to keep in the shadows.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian writer, playwright and physician, a classic of world literature.

• A physician by training : he worked as a district doctor; medicine greatly influenced his work.
  - A master of the short story : he started with humorous magazines under the pseudonym Antosha Chekhonte, later creating profound psychological stories ("Ward No. 6", "The Man in the Case", "The Lady with the Dog").
  - An innovative playwright : his plays ("The Seagull", "Uncle Vanya", "Three Sisters", "The Cherry Orchard") became the basis of a new theater - with subtext and "undercurrent".
  - Public figure : he treated peasants for free, built schools, and traveled to Sakhalin.
  - Personal life : he was married to actress Olga Knipper; he died of tuberculosis in Germany.