Category Archives: Lika Mizinova

Contribution to “Chekhov’s Letters”

I have written a chapter titled “Burned Letters: Reconstructing the Chekhov-Levitan Friendship” for the newly published Chekhov’s Letters: Biography, Context, Poetics. The editors also asked me to contribute to a section in the book in which the anthology’s authors describe … Continue reading

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Sweet Lika

While researching Antosha & Levitasha, I read the letters of Anton Chekhov and Lika Mizinova. I was primarily interested in their relationship with Levitan and in how the three of them played off each other to heighten a romantic rivalry … Continue reading

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Levitan’s Last Visit to Yalta

Levitan arrived at Chekhov’s newly constructed “White Dacha” in Yalta on December 24, 1899 to celebrate Christmas and the dawn of a new century. One day during his visit, Levitan was sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace … Continue reading

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Sergei Morozov’s 2,000 Rubles

When Levitan found out in early May 1897 about Chekhov’s coughing up of blood and 15-day stay at a Moscow clinic, he himself was on his way to the brine baths of Bad Nauheim in Germany for treatment of his … Continue reading

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Origins of “The Seagull”

While Chekhov and Levitan were renewing their friendship in January 1895, Lika Mizinova sat alone and despondent in Paris caring for her two-month-old infant. Frustrated by Chekhov’s rejection of her love, she had started an affair with the writer Potapenko … Continue reading

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