Two centuries of the Russian classics Two centuries of the Russian classics 2686-7494 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-1-96-109 Research Article Articles “If They Don’t Understand My ʽIvanov’ Now, I’ll Throw It in the Oven and Write the Story ʽEnough’”: Turgenev’s Contexts of Anton Chekhov’s Early Drama Belyaeva Irina A. red@rusklassika.ru 25 03 2026 8 1 96 109 A. P. Chekhov I. S. Turgenev “Ivanov ” “A Month in the Country ” drama dramatic character Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 This article examines the references to Turgenev’s work in Chekhov’s early play “Ivanov.” These references can be seen both as a polemic against the recognizable plot and character models of Turgenev’s prose and as a continuation of his predecessor’s dramatic discoveries, which were not fully appreciated by his contemporaries. Chekhov refuted the early critics’ tendency to see in “Ivanov” the author’s inability to handle the central character, who they perceived as pessimistic, by noting, not without irony, that if he was not understood even after his revisions, he would throw his play into the fire and write the story “Enough,” thereby recalling Turgenev and offering the reader a key to reading his work. Chekhov did not consider “Ivanov” as an expression of personal disappointments, as Turgenev did in “Enough.” In “Ivanov,” Chekhov offered a contemporary reflection on the typical Turgenevian love situation (a weak hero and a strong heroine), questioning the viability of the familiar literary model. He took into account, but reinterpreted, Turgenev’s achievements in the presentation of dramatic action and the dramatic character, which is not reducible to a specific type or role. 1. Beliaeva, I. A. “ʽIa zadumal etu shtuku v tiazheloe vremia’: k voprosu o znachenii povesti ʽDovol’no’ v tvorchestve I. S. 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