person

Prince Alexander Ivanovich Urusov

Prince Urusov

also: кн. Урусов, Kн. А. И. Урусов, Prince A. I. Urusov

Alexander Ivanovich Urusov (1843-1900), prominent Moscow lawyer (присяжный поверенный), literary and theatrical critic, and man of letters, who became one of Chekhov's acquaintances in the following years; here Chekhov has only read a secondhand mention of him and asks Alexander to look into it.

Reading notes

To Al. P. Chekhov, 31 January 1887. Moscow. §6 Prince Urusov
Chekhov's first mention of Alexander Ivanovich Urusov, the Moscow lawyer and literary critic who would later become a genuine acquaintance and correspondent; at this point Chekhov has only seen a secondhand reference to him and is passing the item along incuriously.
To A. P. Lensky, 8 December 1888. Petersburg. §7 the lawyers Andreyevsky and Prince Urusov
Prince Alexander Ivanovich Urusov, matching the existing corpus entity (first established in letter), a Moscow lawyer and literary/theatrical critic, here paired with Andreyevsky as one of the "implacable dialecticians" Chekhov expects to face at the Literary Society reading.
To M. V. Kiseleva, 3 December 1889. Moscow. §4 some goose from Prince Urusov
Prince Alexander Ivanovich Urusov, Moscow lawyer, critic, and man of letters, here the publisher of an unnamed hunting journal; he does not appear in person, only through an unnamed emissary Chekhov mocks as a "goose."
To A. I. Urusov, 9 November 1891. Moscow. §3 Alexander Ivanovich
Prince Alexander Ivanovich Urusov (1843-1900), the prominent Moscow lawyer (a celebrated defense attorney) and literary/theatrical critic, addressed here directly by name-and-patronymic. The corpus's entity is reused rather than duplicated; he last appears by name in this correspondence at (1890), where Chekhov, sending Suvorin's editorial office his play "The Wood Demon," names Urusov (alongside Merezhkovsky) as one of the few readers who had so far been indulgent toward it rather than dismissive.
To A. S. Suvorin, 3 December 1891. Moscow. §5 Prince Urusov
Prince Alexander Ivanovich Urusov (1843-1900), Moscow lawyer and literary/theatrical critic, previously known to Chekhov only by secondhand mention; here he pays a long evening visit, talking about French writers until half past midnight.
To A. I. Urusov, 31 January 1892. Moscow. §1 31 January 1892. Moscow.
A brief, hurried invitation to Prince Alexander Ivanovich Urusov, the Moscow lawyer and literary-theatrical critic, sent about a year after the two 1891 notes in this corpus; no reply or record of the evening's meeting survives.
To Ye. M. Shavrova, 22 February 1892. Moscow. §3 Prince A. I. Urusov called on me
Alexander Ivanovich Urusov, the well-known Moscow barrister, literary and theatrical critic; here Chekhov reports his visit and an office (chairman, he believes) that Urusov holds in a Musical-Dramatic Society whose exact name Chekhov admits he does not know.
To Ye. M. Shavrova, 22 February 1892. Moscow. §4 Urusov is a well-known barrister
"присяжный поверенный" -- sworn barrister/attorney, Urusov's actual profession, vouched for here as Chekhov reassures Shavrova of his respectability and interest as a man, apart from the Society business.
To Ye. M. Shavrova, 24–25 February 1892. Moscow. §3 Urusov himself
Prince Alexander Ivanovich Urusov, the Moscow barrister and critic who first told Chekhov about the society in question; Chekhov redirects Shavrova to him directly for the details he himself lacks.
To A. I. Urusov, 6 February 1891. Moscow. §1 6 February 1891. Moscow.
As far as the surviving correspondence shows, this brief cover note is Chekhov's first direct letter to Prince Alexander Ivanovich Urusov, though the two had already met socially the previous year in Suvorin's Petersburg circle, where Urusov held forth on French literary men (cf. the Feb. 1891 letters mentioning him to Suvorin).
To A. I. Urusov, 6 February 1891. Moscow. §7 his own house
"Собственный дом" on the envelope confirms Urusov owned the Nikolsky Lane property outright rather than renting -- a routine but telling marker of the prosperous legal career (присяжный поверенный, sworn attorney) that funded his parallel life as a theater and literary connoisseur.
To A. I. Urusov, 17 February 1891. Moscow. §3 dear Alexander Ivanovich
Prince Alexander Ivanovich Urusov, the Moscow lawyer and literary/theatrical critic; this brief note of thanks follows eleven days after Chekhov's previous surviving letter to him (6 February 1891), which sent a different, unspecified parcel.
To A. I. Urusov, 22 February 1891. Moscow. §7 Arbat, Nikolsky Lane, own house
The same address given on the earlier cover note to Urusov, confirming his residence on Nikolsky Lane off the Arbat in his own house.