place
N--- Almshouse for the Incurable and the Aged
the almshouse
also: N-ский приют для неизлечимо больных и престарелых
An anonymized provincial charitable institution (per the period convention of blanking real place names with an initial) housing the indigent chronically ill and elderly, where Sasha's grandfather lives out his last years.
Reading notes
- At the Almshouse for the Incurable and the Aged §2 N--- Almshouse for the Incurable and the Aged
A charitable institution housing the indigent chronically ill and elderly, common in Imperial Russian provincial towns; Chekhov blanks the town's name to the period convention of an initial ('N---'), signaling this is Anytown, Russia.