Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov

Reading notes

• To N. M. Yezhov and A. S. Lazarev, 13–14 August 1887. Babkino. §5 Ezhov

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Ezhov, another young Moscow humor-magazine writer in Chekhov's circle. This letter is his and Gruzinsky's joint invitation into Chekhov's mock-bureaucratic scheme: Chekhov needs to know which eye is bothering Ezhov and to whom a medical certificate should be addressed, so that he can arrange to have it certified.

• To N. M. Yezhov, 5 October 1887. Moscow. §3 Nikolai Mikhailovich!

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Ezhov, a young Moscow humor-magazine writer in Chekhov's circle (see, August 1887, for their earlier joint mock-legal correspondence about a medical certificate).

• To N. A. Leikin, 7 October 1887. Moscow. §13 Yezhov

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, a young contributor to the Moscow humor magazines in Chekhov's circle, mentioned here as a frequent and welcome visitor.

• To N. A. Leikin, 26 February 1888. Moscow. §8 Yezhov is coming along well with his verses.

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Ezhov, a young contributor to the Moscow humor magazines in Chekhov's circle around Leikin's "Oskolki".

• To N. A. Leikin, 21 June 1888. Sumy. §4 Ezhov

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Ezhov, the second of the two engaged "Oskolki" contributors named alongside Lazarev; not to be confused with the fictional "Yezhov" of an unrelated Chekhov play.

• To N. A. Leikin, 21 June 1888. Sumy. §9 Ezhov

  Ezhov again, paired with Lazarev; the praise for talent that follows falls on Lazarev specifically, though both men are named together.

• To A. S. Lazarev, 26 June 1888. Sumy. §4 If you should see Yezhov, pass along my heartfelt congratulations to him. You and Yezhov are marrying at the same time

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Ezhov, a young contributor to the Moscow humor magazines in Chekhov's circle around Leikin's "Oskolki"; note for translators/readers: this section addresses Lazarev directly ("you") throughout while discussing Ezhov as a separate, third party who is also getting married -- the congratulations in this sentence are for Ezhov, to be relayed through Lazarev, not a description of Lazarev himself. Keep the two men and the direction of address distinct across the section.

• To A. S. Lazarev, 31 August 1888. Sumy. §6 Yezhov

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, a young writer in Chekhov's Oskolki/"New Times" circle whom Chekhov has recommended to the Suvorins alongside Lazarev; not to be confused with "Yezhini" in section 7, an unrelated courier whose name differs by only a letter or two in Russian (Ежов vs. Ежини), or with any fictional Yezhov character elsewhere in Chekhov's fiction.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 10 October 1888. Moscow. §12 the teacher Yezhov

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, the young teacher and humor-magazine writer already well established in this corpus (see, and others from 1887). This letter documents Chekhov acting as Yezhov's literary patron, submitting and vouching for one of his stories to Suvorin at "New Times" -- consistent with his established role in the earlier letters; reuse the existing entity rather than treating this as a fresh mention. Note the disambiguation at \S7: Yezhov is called "the teacher" here in his own right and is unrelated to the two Chekhov brothers discussed earlier in the letter.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 10 October 1888. Moscow. §13 My protege would be wounded

  Chekhov's closing appeal on Yezhov's behalf, explicitly naming him "my protege" ("мой протеже") -- confirming the literary-patron relationship documented across \S12-13 and the earlier 1887 letters mentioning Yezhov.

• To A. S. Lazarev, 20 October 1888. Moscow. §5 Yezhov

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, a young writer in Chekhov's Oskolki/"New Times" circle, previously recommended by Chekhov to Suvorin in the 31 August 1888 letter to this same correspondent; distinct from any other similarly spelled name elsewhere in the corpus.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 27 October 1888. Moscow. §3 Yezhov is no sparrow, but rather (to use the noble language of hunters) he's a puppy that hasn't yet gone wild.

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, the young protege already established in this corpus (see's and's headnotes); this hunting-metaphor character sketch is fresh to this letter, not a repeat of earlier language.

• To N. A. Leikin, 5 November 1888. Moscow. §9 Yezhov

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Ezhov, a young writer and Chekhov protege of the period. Leikin had apparently raised some complaint or question about Ezhov's conduct; Chekhov's reply is brief and elliptical -- the "school" he did not advise Ezhov to leave is Ezhov's teaching post, and the "service" he does not now advise him to return to is government service, per the source's own spare phrasing. No further biographical detail is given in this letter and none should be inferred beyond it.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 7 November 1888. Moscow. §7 Yezhov was just here. He's upset.

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, the young protege writer already established in this corpus; a further brief sighting, consistent with Chekhov's continuing mixed, faintly paternal assessment of him.

• To A. S. Lazarev, 10 November 1888. Moscow. §3 as Yezhov does

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, the young Oskolki/"New Times" writer previously recommended by Chekhov to the Suvorins alongside Lazarev in the 31 August and 20 October letters; invoked here only as an example of an author prone to melancholy over editorial cuts, not as a participant in this letter's events.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 17 December 1888. Moscow. §9 Be so kind as to give my sister the story of Yezhov's that was rejected.

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Ezhov, already established in this corpus (first appearance) as a younger writer in Chekhov's Moscow humor-magazine circle; reused here rather than newly catalogued, on the strength of the matching name and literary-circle context, though this letter itself adds no further identifying detail beyond the mention of a rejected story.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 23 October 1889. Moscow. §6 Yezhov

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, a minor writer just beginning to place work with Suvorin's "Novoye Vremya"; Chekhov is glad for him but stresses that Yezhov submits independently, without Chekhov reading the manuscripts himself, guarding against any implication that he is vouching for the work.

• To A. S. Lazarev, 23 November 1889. Moscow. §4 Yezhov

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, a minor writer/journalist of the Novoye Vremya circle whom Chekhov consulted ("in consultation with Yezhov") on where to place Lazarev's play.

• To V. A. Tikhonov, 11 October 1891. Moscow. §6 N. Yezhov

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, a Moscow journalist and short-story writer in Chekhov's circle of minor humor-press acquaintances, named here alongside Lazarev (Gruzinsky) as another possible contributor Chekhov might steer toward Tikhonov's journal.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 20 October 1891. Moscow. §11 N. M. Yezhov has sent you the story "Petty Natures."

  A brief postscript-like final section in Chekhov's recurring role as an informal go-between for younger writers in his circle, here reporting that Yezhov has submitted a story to Suvorin's \emph{Novoye Vremya} and relaying Yezhov's own anxious question about its fate -- the same pattern seen with Yezhov's other submissions in the corpus (cf. \S6).

• To M. N. Albov, 20 November 1891. Moscow. §8 Yezhov

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, a fellow writer in Chekhov's circle (entities.json, per the pinned spelling "Yezhov"). Chekhov here relays a request on Yezhov's behalf: since Albov has accepted a story of his, Yezhov asks that the proofs be sent to him so that he can polish it -- a small favor passed along rather than a matter of Chekhov's own writing.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 27 November 1891. Moscow. §3 I summoned Yezhov by telegram and told him what was needed.

  Continues Chekhov's ongoing mentorship of Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, the younger Moscow short-story writer in his circle (cf. \S6, where Chekhov first recommends Yezhov and Gruzinsky to editor V. A. Tikhonov, and \S11, where Yezhov's story "Petty Natures" is relayed to Suvorin). Here Chekhov takes a more active hand, summoning Yezhov specifically to coach him -- an evening's tutorial on how to break into journalism by writing on general-interest subjects with practical appeal, rather than simply passing along a manuscript.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 27 November 1891. Moscow. §8 Yezhov is a decent and sensible fellow, but he has to be kept on a rein and constantly steered now right, now left. Under such a regime he'll turn into a good worker.

  Chekhov's summary assessment of Yezhov after the evening's coaching described in \S3, and characteristically double-edged: encouraging about Yezhov's basic decency and sense, skeptical about his ability to work without close direction. Echoes the tone -- half-mentor, half-manager -- of his other reports on Yezhov's progress across the corpus.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 30 November 1891. Moscow. §4 Yezhov sees little and knows little, but do not be in a hurry to pass judgment on him.

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, a young Moscow humor-press writer in Chekhov's circle around Nikolai Leikin's "Oskolki"; here Chekhov defends him against what appears to be a skeptical remark of Suvorin's, pairing him with Lazarev (Gruzinsky) as a pair of younger writers whose prospects he is cautiously optimistic about.

• To V. A. Tikhonov, 30 November 1891. Moscow. §10 my friend N. M. Yezhov, the fiction writer, sent you a story

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, a young writer in Chekhov's Moscow literary circle out of the old \emph{Oskolki} orbit, whom Chekhov mentions here as having independently submitted a story to Tikhonov's \emph{Sever} the week before; Chekhov asks after its fate in this postscript, distinct from his own submission earlier in the letter.

• To N. M. Yezhov, 2 January 1892. Petersburg. §15 Generally speaking, in Peter they are very pleased with your literary activity. They express, among other things, regret that your stories lack polish and that you are often careless.

  A postscript continuing the letter's running assessment of Yezhov's progress, in the same double-edged register found elsewhere in the corpus (cf. \S8). 'Peter' (\Питер) is the familiar Petersburg colloquialism, distinct from the formal 'Петербург' of \S1.

• To V. A. Tikhonov, 10 January 1892. Moscow. §4 the 50 rubles I gave to Yezhov -- I did get them back

  Chekhov had evidently advanced 50 rubles to Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, the young writer in his Moscow humor-magazine circle who also contributed stories to \emph{Novoye Vremya} around this period (cf.,). The loan evidently passed through Tikhonov as intermediary -- the syntax here ("the 50 rubles I gave to Yezhov, I did get back") answers some prior query or arrangement of Tikhonov's not otherwise preserved in the corpus; Chekhov confirms curtly that the money has been recovered.

• To N. M. Yezhov, 28 January 1890. Petersburg. §3 Dearest Nikolai Mikhailovich

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Ezhov (1862--1941), a younger writer and journalist in Chekhov's circle whom Chekhov was mentoring in this period; addressee of this letter.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 20 February 1890. Moscow. §9 Прибавкой гонорара и высылкой газеты мой протеже Ежов тронут

  Chekhov's protege Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov has received a raise in his fee and a complimentary subscription to Suvorin's newspaper from Suvorin, and Chekhov reports the young writer's gratitude in a deliberately overblown mock-liturgical register ("stretching his hands to the heavens... for ever and ever, amen") -- a comic exaggeration of real, evidently earnest, gratitude from a young contributor dependent on Suvorin's patronage.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 4 March 1890. Moscow. §4 у него молодая жена заболела чахоткою

  Chekhov, himself a trained physician, reports Yezhov's wife's diagnosis of consumption (chakhotka, i.e. pulmonary tuberculosis) matter-of-factly, as period medical reality rather than euphemism or melodrama. The standard period remedy -- removal to a warmer southern climate -- is treated here as an urgent practical necessity ("She must be taken south as soon as possible"), consistent with Chekhov's own later medical advice to consumptive correspondents and, eventually, to himself.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 4 March 1890. Moscow. §10 Ежов своими слезами испортил мне настроение. Напомнил мне кое-что

  Chekhov closes by returning to Yezhov's visit (section 4), admitting the scene affected him more than his brisk, businesslike tone through the rest of the letter suggests: Yezhov's tears "reminded him of something" left unspecified, and he acknowledges outright pity for his younger protégé's situation -- a rare direct admission of emotional impact from Chekhov, whose letters to Suvorin more often keep feeling at arm's length behind irony or brevity.

• To A. S. Lazarev, 13 March 1890. Moscow. §5 У него горе: жена его больна

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov's household troubles recur across Chekhov's letters from this window: nine days earlier, in (\S4, 4 March 1890), Chekhov reports Yezhov in tears at his place because his young wife had come down with consumption (chakhotka) and needed to be taken south urgently. This letter's brief, undramatized "his wife is ill... but he does not lose heart" reads as a continuation of that same situation rather than a new development -- Chekhov's tone has settled from the acute distress of the earlier report into a steadier, ongoing concern.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 15 March 1890. Moscow. §4 Быть может, будет приложен рассказ и Ежова

  A tentative mention of a possible third manuscript, by Yezhov, that may or may not be enclosed with this same parcel -- part of the same ongoing traffic in young writers' manuscripts through Chekhov to Suvorin seen across this window of letters (cf., where Chekhov forwards Filippov's and Yezhov's stories together nine days earlier).

• To A. S. Suvorin, 1 April 1890. Moscow. §6 Yezhov is a bit coarse. He's a plebeian, not very well educated, but not stupid and decent.

  "Плебей" ("a plebeian") is Chekhov's own blunt social label, marking Yezhov as lower-born and lacking polish relative to the literary circle around Suvorin -- not a slur, but a real class judgment rendered here at full accuracy per the corpus's no-softening policy, exactly as the translator flagged it. The sentence structure is characteristically double-edged: the class dismissal ("coarse," "plebeian," "not very well educated") sits directly beside genuine, unhedged respect ("not stupid and decent"), and Chekhov goes on to track Yezhov's improvement year over year and to value his sobriety and decency above his present literary polish -- the whole passage reads less as contempt than as an unsentimental patron's ledger of a young writer's real assets and real limitations, delivered without any impulse to flatter him in absentia. "As a workman Yezhov is worth five kopecks now" (later in this section) extends the same transactional, appraising register: Chekhov is pricing Yezhov's present market value as a contributor, explicitly betting that value will rise.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 1 April 1890. Moscow. §7 Yezhov's wife is ill with consumption, she needs to be taken south

  Chekhov discusses her illness and the family's finances with the same frank, unsentimental directness he brings to Yezhov's character assessment: the 100-rouble advance is weighed explicitly against the literal difference between second- and third-class rail travel for a sick woman, and Chekhov's proposed intervention -- withholding the money from Yezhov himself until the eve of departure -- is justified in the same breath by the risk that he would otherwise "spend it on nonsense" and leave his wife to travel third class. The passage's ethical shape is worth preserving plainly: Chekhov is not moralizing at Yezhov but quietly managing around his profligacy on the sick woman's behalf, a practical kindness delivered without a word of sentiment.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 1 April 1890. Moscow. §7 not now, but on the eve of his departure

  Chekhov proposes to personally control the timing of Suvorin's 100-rouble advance to Yezhov, holding it back from Yezhov until just before he leaves to escort his wife south, specifically to prevent it being frittered away beforehand. The arrangement casts Chekhov in a paternal, gatekeeping role toward his young protege that recurs across the Yezhov correspondence of this period, where Chekhov repeatedly manages Suvorin's patronage of Yezhov -- relaying requests, vouching for his character, and here directly intervening in the mechanics of a cash advance.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 18 August 1891. Bogimovo. §8 Yezhov's story "The Torture"

  Nikolai Mikhailovich Yezhov, a young writer in Chekhov's circle around the Moscow humor magazines; his story "Pytka" ("The Torture") is judged crude but promising here.