Museums of Chekhov in Russia

In this review you can read about all the Chekhov museums in Russia. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is one of the greatest writers in Russia. His work is recognized all over the world, and his books have been translated into dozens of languages. There are museums in all the houses where he lived.

Chekhov Museums in Russia:

House of Chekhov in Taganrog
Grocery of Chekhov in Taganrog
Chekhov Literary Museum in Taganrog
Melikhovo Estate
House of Chekhov in Yalta
House of Chekhov in Gurzuf

Museum House of Chekhov in Taganrog

In the center of the city is the most famous house of Taganrog, which is called the Museum the House of Chekhov. In this small house in 1860, the great Russian writer Anton Chekhov was born. His work has received recognition not only in Russia, but also around the world. The Chekhov family lived in this house for three years until March 1862. Then they moved into a more spacious house. The museum in the house where Anton Chekhov was born was created in 1910, on the initiative of Evgeny Garshin, Anton Chekhov`s brother.

A small house was built in 1850 on the territory of the estate of merchant A.Gnutov. This adobe house with whitewashed walls is typical for the southern regions of Russia. A.Gnutov rented out such houses, and in 1859 a merchant Chekhov and his family settled here. The area of Chekhov`s house is 30.5 meters. There is a bedroom, a children`s room, a living room (also a dining room), and a tiny kitchen.  

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Museum Grocery of Chekhov in Taganrog

The Museum the Grocery of Chekhov is located in the former shop of the merchant Moiseev. Pavel Chekhov, Anton Chekhov`s father, rented it from 1869 to 1874. Downstairs there is a grocery store and a dining room, and on top are located the living rooms where the Chekhov family lived. The museum was opened here in 1975. The rooms have recreated the atmosphere of the 19th century, as during the life of the Chekhovs. 

On the Chekhov`s Grocery there is a sign "Tea, coffee, sugar and other colonial goods". In front of the entrance there is a monument to Thick and Thin – the heroes of one of Chekhov`s stories. In addition to groceries, there was a pharmacy, and they also sold alcoholic beverages: wine and vodka. Previously, there was a sign at the entrance "Takeaway and drinking", but now it is not there. 

Anton traded in his father`s shop from an early age, when it became possible. Then he remembered: "As a child, I didn`t have a childhood at all." There is a desk near the window. Anton had to know where the goods were in the shop, take money for the goods sold and make an entry in the sales book. On the second floor of Chekhov`s Grocery there are living rooms. They are more spacious, in comparison with Chekhov`s House.

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Chekhov Literary Museum in Taganrog

Chekhov Literary Museum is located in the building of the men`s classical gymnasium, where he studied from 1868 to 1879. Almost all the houses where Anton Chekhov lived have museums, but the Chekhov Literary Museum is the largest museum in Russia dedicated to his work. Here you can see the manuscripts and personal belongings of Chekhov. It describes all the stages of his work, as well as the chronology of the events of his life.  

Anton Chekhov studied at this gymnasium for 11 years. He entered the gymnasium at the age of 8 and began writing short stories during his studies. teacher who taught the Law of God at the gymnasium was one of the first to see Chekhov`s literary talent and named him Antosha Chekhonte. Later Anton Chekhov signed many of his works with this pseudonym. 

The school in the gymnasium building worked until 1975, and in 1980 a museum was opened here. School classes of the 19th century have been recreated here, Chekhov`s report cards have been preserved. Chekhov had bad grades in some subjects. Immediately after graduating from the Gymnasium in 1879, he left for Moscow. 

Chekhov Literary Museum has his personal belongings and original manuscripts Here there are his first stories, and well-known works published in huge circulations. In 1890, Chekhov spent almost a year on Sakhalin. This journey had a huge impact on his work. Alas, the difficulties of the trip undermined his health. He fell ill with tuberculosis and then was treated for all subsequent years. 

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Chekhov Museum in Moscow

The Chekhov Museum in Moscow is located in a small two-storey house on the Garden Ring. Chekhov`s family lived in this house from 1886 to 1890. Chekhov`s work began to flourish here, he began to write not only humorous stories, but also great novels. Anton Chekhov became a famous writer. 

In 1876, Chekhov`s father went bankrupt. This forced him to sell his Shop in Taganrog and move to Moscow to hide from creditors. They lived in Moscow from 1876 to 1892. During these years, the Chekhov family changed 12 apartments, until in 1886 they settled in an apartment on the Garden Ring. It was the most comfortable housing where the Chekhov family lived for 4 years, until 1890.  

Anton Chekhov decided to go on a big trip to Sakhalin in 1890, and the family moved to another less expensive apartment. After returning from Sakhalin, Chekhov briefly settled in another apartment, and in 1892 moved to the Melikhovo Estate in the south of the Moscow region. According to the memoirs of relatives, Anton Chekhov fell ill with tuberculosis when he was still living in an apartment on the Garden Ring, and a trip to Sakhalin only aggravated the disease.  

On the ground floor there are rooms dedicated to the works of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. There are many documents, manuscripts and magazines where Chekhov`s stories were published. A large exhibition is dedicated to Chekhov`s friends and colleagues who were with him during his work.  

On the second floor, the furniture of the apartment where the Chekhov lived in the 19th century has been completely recreated. Here you can see Anton Chekhov`s study and bedroom, the rooms of Mikhail, Evgenia and Maria Chekhovs, as well as the dining room and living room where the whole family gathered. On the second floor there is an exhibition where many of the writer`s personal belongings, original manuscripts, photographs, autographed books and much more are collected.

Museum of Chekhov in Melikhovo Estate

The Melikhovo estate, located 60 kilometers to the south from Moscow. In 1890 he returned to Moscow and settled down in the house in Malaya Dmitrovka. However, he didn’t like urban life very much, so he bought the Melikhovo estate in the near Moscow in 1892. For about a year he and his family put very much effort in its development. They moved there as soon as it became suitable for permanent dwelling. 

The big Berlin poplars are the first thing you see when approaching the main house of the Melikhovo. They were planted by the father of Chekhov 120 years ago. The main house was turned into an interesting museum. Now it looks like it did in the lifetime of Chekhov. To the left of the main house is an orchard and to the right of the main house is a vegetable garden called the «south of France.» Near the bath-house is a fallen but still alive 120 year old willow. The Alley of Love running around the estate begins at this tree. 

At the orchard you can see a small outhouse where Chekhov liked to write his literary works, as well as received his patients. On the outhouse is a plate with the following inscription: «My house where "The Seagull" was written». Totally, Chekhov wrote 42 plays and short stories at Melikhovo, including «Uncle Vanya», «Ward No. 6», «Sakhalin Island», «The House with a Mezzanine», «My Life», «The Man in a Case», «Gooseberries», «About Love», «Peasants» and many other works. 

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Museum House of Chekhov in Yalta

The Anton Pavlovich Chekhov House-Museum in Yalta is located 2 kilometers from the sea in a dense urban development.  From 1892 to 1899, Chekhov lived in the Melikhovo estate in the Moscow region, but doctors strongly recommended that he move to the Crimea, where the climate and air were more suitable for his weak lungs. 

Anton Chekhov sold the rights to his works to the book publisher Adolf Marx in 1899. Having received 95 thousand rubles from him, he bought land on the outskirts of Yalta, in the village of Outka. He built there a large two-storey house made of white stone, which the locals called the White Cottage.  

In the early years, there were practically no trees growing around Chekhov`s house in Yalta. His white cottage was visible from afar. Anton Chekhov personally planted trees around the house and created a garden. These days, all trees have grown and completely hidden the house. Chekhov moved here in 1899 and has lived in this house for the last 6 years. The writer died in 1904 in the city of Badenweiler in Germany. 

In those years, Chekhov was a famous writer, so many guests came to his house in Yalta. To hide from them, he bought a small house on the seashore in Gurzuf, and now the Chekhov Museum in Gurzuf is also open there. 

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Museum House of Chekhov in Gurzuf

House of Chekhov in Gurzuf is a cottage with four small rooms. However, its main advantage is its location on the edge of a secluded cape on the Black Sea coast. In front of the cottage there is a veranda and a garden with southern plants. Anton Chekhov bought a house in Gurzuf in 1900, and it became his favorite vacation spot. 

The climate of Yalta had a positive effect on Chekhov`s health, but he could not rest in his house. In those years Yalta had already become a popular resort and many people wanted to "visit" Chekhov. As a result, every day he had to receive guests, including those whom he did not know. This made Anton Chekhov very tired, especially since in 1900 he began dating Olga Knipper. In 1901, she became his wife. The writer compared the house in Yalta to a prison. 

Having bought a house, Chekhov wrote to his sister: "I bought a piece of the shore with swimming and Pushkin rock near the pier and park in Gurzuf. The whole cove belongs to us now." Chekhov came here alone and with his wife Olga Knipper. The rocky shore of Gurzuf in this place is very picturesque. Under the sound of waves in a cozy veranda, Chekhov worked on his famous play "Three Sisters".

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