Two centuries of the Russian classics Two centuries of the Russian classics 2686-7494 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-1-54-77 Research Article Articles 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 Bushkanets Liya E. red@rusklassika.ru 25 03 2026 8 1 54 77 A. P. Chekhov realism poetics suggestiveness literary criticism reader’s reception Chekhov studies Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 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. 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