A. P. Chechov: A Chronicler of Everyday Life or the Author of Fantasy Stories? Chekhov’s Contemporaries Debates the Specifics of His Poetics and Some Prospects for Chekhov Studies

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Bushkanets, L. E. “A. P. Chechov: A Chronicler of Everyday Life or the Author of Fantasy Stories? Disputes Among Chekhov’s Contemporaries About the Features of His Poetics and Some Prospects for Chekhov Studies.” Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 8, no. 1, 2026, pp. 54–77. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-1-54-77
Abstract:
This article analyzes critical and reader debates about A. P. Chekhov from the 1880s to 1900s. As A. P. Chudakov noted, contemporaries reacted sharply to the innovative features of the writer’s poetics. The debate over the authenticity of Chekhov’s depictions of Russia was particularly intense and divisive. Some saw the writer as a “reflector” and “historian” of Russian life, while others perceived his works as “caricatures.” The most insightful readers, however, drew attention to the distinctive features of Chekhov’s poetics, the specifics of his creative method, and his “work” with reality. Some aspects of Chekhov’s poetics (the concentration of certain types of details bordering on caricature, the introduction of implausible and unrealistic details to create a tense atmosphere, and the use of suggestive techniques) have been little studied, and literary scholars often continue to interpret Chekhov’s realism as a “depiction of everyday life.” The reaction of Chekhov’s contemporary readers may become an incentive for further research into how the works of this writer are “made,” to use B. M. Eikhenbaum’s term.
Keywords: A. P. Chekhov, realism, poetics, suggestiveness, literary criticism, reader’s reception, Chekhov studies
Author: Liya E. Bushkanets
Information about the author:
Liya E. Bushkanets, DSc in Philology, Professor, Kazan Federal University, Kremlevskaya St., 18, 420008 Kazan, Russia.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3581-6320

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Received: November 02, 2025
Approved after reviewing: December 21, 2025
Published: March 25, 2026
Issue: 2026 Volume 8 No. 1
Pages: 54-77
DOI: Visit Website
EDN:
https://elibrary.ru/UURINK
UDK: 821.161.1.09"19"
Publication Type: Research Article

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