Select your language

Two centuries of Russian classics

Philological journal
A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the
 Russian Academy of Sciences

Povarskaya St., 25A, bld. 1,
121069 Moscow, Russia

+7 (495) 690-50-30

red@rusklassika.ru

JATS XML:

XML

BibTEX:

BIB

Research Information Systems Citation Format:

RIS

  • Download:

    PDF

  • For citation:

    Yahyapour M. and J. Karimi-Motahhar. “Chekhov’s ʽCherry Orchard’ Still Blooms in Iran.” Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 8, no. 1, 2026, pp. 322–333. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-1-322-333

  • Abstract:

    This article examines the influence of Russian literature and Anton Chekhov’s works on the development of Iranian literature and theater. It focuses on the play “The Cherry Orchard,” which remains popular in Iran more than a century after its creation. Particular attention is paid to the reception of Chekhov in Iranian culture. It demonstrates that Chekhov’s plays and short stories have been actively translated and studied in Iran since the last third of the 20th century and have had a significant impact on the development of realistic prose and the short story genre in Persian literature. The works of Iranian writers and playwrights Jamal-Zadeh, Sadegh Hedayat, Simin Daneshvar, and Naser Nayer-Mohammadi, who were directly influenced by Chekhov’s themes and artistic techniques, are examined. A comparative analysis is provided of the plays of Chekhov and Akbar Radi, known as the “Chekhov of Iranian theater,” revealing common features in their character systems.

  • Keywords: A. P. Chekhov, “The Cherry Orchard,” Iranian literature, translations, perception, impact, character system
  • Author: Yahyapour Marzieh
  • Information about the author:

    Yahyapour Marzieh, PhD in Philology, Leading Research Fellow, Professor, University of Tehran, Engelab Sq., 16 Azar St., 1417935840 Tehran, Iran.

    ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8195-6909

    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  • Author 2: Karimi-Motahhar Janolah
  • Information about the author 2:

    Karimi-Motahhar Janolah, PhD in Philology, Leading Research Fellow, Professor, University of Tehran, Engelab Sq., 16 Azar St., 1417935840 Tehran, Iran.

    ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6072-5797

    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  • Received: November 01, 2025
  • Approved after reviewing: January 17, 2026
  • Published: March 25, 2026
  • Issue: 2026 Volume 8 No. 1
  • Pages: 322-333
  • DOI: Visit Website
  • EDN:

    https://elibrary.ru/UEEDJP

  • UDK: 821.161.1.09"19"; 821.22.0
  • Publication Type: Research Article

References

Berdnikov, G. “Chekhov v sovremennom mire” [“Chekhov in the Modern World”]. Voprosy literatury, no. 1, 1980, pp. 65–97. (In Russ.)
Karimi-Motakhkhar, Dzh. “ʽDorogoi, ty govorish’ na nashem iazyke’ (O vliianii tvorchestva A. P. Chekhova na proizvedeniia sovremennykh persidskikh pisatelei” [“ʽDear, You Speak in Our Language’ (About the Influence of Anton Chekhov’s Work on the Works of Modern Persian Writers)”]. Russkaia slovesnost’, no. 8, 2006, pp. 19–20. (In Russ.)
Kataev V. B. Literaturnye sviazi Chekhova [Chekhov’s Literary Connections]. Moscow, Moscow State University Publ., 1989. 261 p. (In Russ.)
Keshavarz, K. Pamiati akademika Ignatiia Iulianovicha Krachkovskogo [In Memory of Academician Ignatius Yulianovich Krachkovsky]. Leningrad, Leningrad State University Publ., 1958. 252 p. (In Russ.)
Papernyi, Z. S. Strelka iskusstva: O Chekhove [Arrow of Art: About Chekhov]. Moscow, Sovremennik Publ., 1986. 254 p. (In Russ.)
Skorokhodov, M. V. “Simvolika vishnevogo sada: mezhdu kommercheskim proektom, usadboi i dachei” [“The Symbolism of the Cherry Orchard: Between a Commercial Project, a Manor and a Dacha”]. Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 6, no. 3, 2024, pp. 196–215. https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2024-6-3-196-215 (In Russ.)
Talebi, F. The Recognize of Akbar Radi. Tehran, Ghatre Publ., 2004. 749 p. (In Persian)