Severny Vestnik

Reading notes

• To V. V. Bilibin, 1 February 1886. Moscow. §12 "Severny Vestnik"

  Severny Vestnik (The Northern Herald), a St. Petersburg monthly journal of literature, science, and politics, in whose fourth or fifth 1886 issue Korolenko's "Vagrants" appeared.

• To N. A. Leikin, 30 July 1886. Babkino. §9 "Severny Vestnik"

  "Severny Vestnik" ("The Northern Herald"), a St. Petersburg literary-political monthly; its two-page notice mixed a gloomy forecast of Chekhov's future with ultimately favorable praise -- a review whose harsher companion piece, by N. Mikhailovsky, Chekhov describes elsewhere as the most venomous he received.

• To N. A. Leikin, 11 September 1887. Moscow. §11 Severny vestnik

  "Severny vestnik" (The Northern Herald), a St. Petersburg literary and political monthly, in which Chekhov had evidently read a review -- likely of his own work -- that he judged more clever than partisan.

• To M. V. Kiseleva, 13 September 1887. Moscow. §4 "Severny Vestnik"

  "The Northern Herald," a St. Petersburg literary monthly; Chekhov is reading its review of his new collection with the ironic detachment typical of his letters about his own press notices.

• To Al. P. Chekhov, 10–12 October 1887. Moscow. §8 Severny Vestnik

  A St. Petersburg literary monthly, also courting Chekhov's work; see the entity note at for its history and Korolenko connection.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 1 January 1888. Moscow. §10 Severny Vestnik

  The St. Petersburg "thick journal" (literary monthly) that would go on to publish "The Steppe"; Chekhov calls it a literary "house of widows," a wry dig understood by Pleshcheev, who worked there as an editor.

• To V. G. Korolenko, 9 January 1888. Moscow. §7 Severny Vestnik

  The Northern Herald, a St. Petersburg literary and political monthly with which Korolenko was closely associated; it would go on to publish Chekhov's novella "The Steppe" in March 1888.

• To D. V. Grigorovich, 12 January 1888. Moscow. §8 Severny Vestnik

  The St. Petersburg literary monthly that would go on to publish "The Steppe" later in 1888; Chekhov asks his friend, the poet and editor Alexei Pleshcheyev, who worked there, to set aside an offprint for Grigorovich.

• To Ya. P. Polonsky, 18 January 1888. Moscow. §9 "Severny Vestnik"

  Severny Vestnik ("Northern Herald"), the St. Petersburg literary monthly, edited with Korolenko's encouragement, in which "The Steppe" would appear in March 1888.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 19 January 1888. Moscow. §7 "Severny Vestnik"

  The St. Petersburg literary monthly ("Northern Herald") where Pleshcheev worked as an editor and where Chekhov hoped to place his steppe novella; it would indeed publish "The Steppe" in March 1888.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 22 January 1888. Moscow. §7 Severny Vestnik

  The St. Petersburg literary monthly for which Chekhov was finishing a manuscript -- the novella that would become "The Steppe," referenced again in section 10.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 3 February 1888. Moscow. §8 the "Herald"

  Severny Vestnik ("The Northern Herald"), the St. Petersburg literary monthly where Pleshcheev served on the editorial staff and which would publish "The Steppe."

• To D. V. Grigorovich, 5 February 1888. Moscow. §3 "Severny Vestnik"

  The St. Petersburg monthly journal to which Chekhov had just sent "The Steppe," hoping for its March issue; the novella did in fact appear there in March 1888.

• To M. V. Kiseleva, 9 February 1888. Moscow. §2 an advance of 500 rubles from "Severny Vestnik"

  The payment Chekhov had asked for as a firm condition -- "money in advance" -- when he wrote to Kiseleva six days earlier about the novella ("Steppe") he had just finished for the journal's March issue; this note reports that the advance duly arrived.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 9 February 1888. Moscow. §3 "Severny Vestnik,"

  "The Northern Herald," the St. Petersburg literary monthly where Pleshcheev worked on the editorial staff and which was about to serialize "The Steppe."

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 9 February 1888. Moscow. §4 "Severny Vestnik" gives me 500 a printer's sheet

  Chekhov insists he set no conditions on payment and will accept whatever Severny Vestnik offers, whether generous or modest.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 9 February 1888. Moscow. §9 not to "Severny Vestnik,"

  Chekhov anticipates that his hoped-for novel, unlike "The Steppe," would be unsuitable for a censored publication like Severny Vestnik, given its planned length and frankness.

• To G. M. Chekhov, 9 February 1888. Moscow. §6 "Severny Vestnik"

  "The Northern Herald," a St. Petersburg monthly literary journal; it would carry Chekhov's new novella -- the work that became "The Steppe" -- in its March 1888 issue.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 10 February 1888. Moscow. §8 Severny Vestnik

  The St. Petersburg literary monthly where Pleshcheyev worked as an editor and which had just advanced Chekhov 500 roubles.

• To F. O. Shekhtel, 10 February 1888. Moscow. §4 "Severny Vestnik"

  "Severny Vestnik" (The Northern Herald), the Petersburg monthly "thick journal" that published Chekhov's novella "The Steppe" in its March 1888 issue -- the advance mentioned here.

• To Ya. P. Polonsky, 22 February 1888. Moscow. §5 "Severny Vestnik"

  Severny Vestnik ("Northern Herald"), the serious literary monthly then serializing "The Steppe"; Chekhov jokes that its earnest circle would be scandalized to learn he also writes light vaudevilles.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 23 February 1888. Moscow. §5 поместить его рассказик в "Северном вестн"

  Chekhov asks whether Pleshcheev, on the editorial staff of Severny Vestnik, might place Khlopov's short story there.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 6 March 1888. Moscow. §6 "S v"

  Severny Vestnik (The Northern Herald), the journal for which Chekhov was then writing and from which he awaited a fee before traveling to Petersburg.

• To N. A. Khlopov, 22 March 1888. Moscow. §4 'Severny Vestnik'

  The Petersburg "thick journal" (Severny Vestnik, "The Northern Herald") then publishing Chekhov's own novella "The Steppe"; Pleshcheyev reports its backlog of short fiction makes near-term placement of Khlopov's story unlikely.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 31 March 1888. Moscow. §16 Severny Vestnik

  The Northern Herald, the St. Petersburg journal for which Chekhov was drafting "The Steppe" and, here, a shorter tale he feels is faltering.

• To V. G. Korolenko, 9 April 1888. Moscow. §7 Severny Vestnik

  The St. Petersburg literary monthly for which Chekhov was preparing the story a young lady read and pronounced dull -- a separate piece from the suicide story sent to Korolenko earlier in the letter.

• To K. S. Barantsevich, 14 April 1888. Moscow. §3 "Northern Herald"

  The St. Petersburg monthly edited by A. M. Evreinova, which had been preparing its own Garshin memorial collection separately from the one Barantsevich's circle was organizing -- the disagreement Chekhov addresses through the rest of the letter.

• To Al. P. Chekhov, 18–24 April 1888. Moscow. §7 "Northern Herald"

  Severny Vestnik ("The Northern Herald"), the St. Petersburg literary monthly for which Chekhov is finishing a story.

• To V. G. Korolenko, 2 May 1888. Moscow. §4 "Severny vestnik"

  The St. Petersburg literary monthly to which Chekhov had just sent a story and from which he received a 500-ruble advance.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 3 May 1888. Moscow. §4 I've sent a story to "Severny Vestnik."

  "The Northern Herald," a Petersburg literary monthly; the story Chekhov sent it here and is embarrassed by is generally identified as "The Lights" ("Ogni").

• To Al. P. Chekhov, 1888. Sumy. §11 "Severny Vestnik"

  Severny Vestnik ("The Northern Herald"), a ninth periodical Chekhov will supply with a review copy personally, kept separate from the eight editorial offices listed in section 5 -- likely because of Chekhov's closer personal connection to this journal's circle.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 30 September 1888. Moscow. §3 Сев вестника

  "Severny Vestnik" ("The Northern Herald"), the Petersburg monthly Chekhov had begun writing for; Pleshcheyev was on its editorial staff, which is why Chekhov reports his progress to him directly.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 27 October 1888. Moscow. §13 Thank you for placing my little articles.

  The venue implicitly meant is Suvorin's own newspaper "Novoye Vremya" (not directly named in this section), where Chekhov's short pieces ran under Suvorin's editorial latitude -- distinct from "Severny Vestnik", the journal under deadline pressure discussed two sections earlier in \S9 for "The Name-Day"; the two publications must not be conflated even though both are discussed in close proximity in this letter.

• To A. S. Lazarev, 10 November 1888. Moscow. §5 "Sev. Vestn."

  Abbreviation for "Severny Vestnik" ("Northern Herald"), the St. Petersburg literary journal organizing the Garshin memorial collection.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 2 January 1889. Moscow. §5 I would send it to the \"Severny Vestnik\" in January or February

  The Petersburg journal Pleshcheyev edited, to which Chekhov here proposes sending a revised "Ivanov"; consistently abbreviated "Sev vestnik" in the Russian source.

• To A. M. Yevreinova, 8 February 1889. Moscow. §4 a story for "Severny Vestnik"

  "Severny Vestnik", the journal Yevreinova publishes and edits, already established in this corpus (first appearance); Chekhov here anticipates setting playwriting aside for Lent and returning to prose fiction for the journal.

• To L. N. Lenskaya, 15–16 February 1889. Moscow. §3 "Severny Vestnik"

  The St. Petersburg journal that sent Chekhov the proofs of his play, requiring him to rush them off by courier train and so miss the Maslenitsa bliny visit to the Lenskys; the play is almost certainly "Ivanov," under discussion in neighboring letters of this period, though not named explicitly here.

• To M. V. Kiseleva, 17 February 1889. Moscow. §3 the "Severny Vestnik,"

  "Severny Vestnik" (\emph{Severny Vestnik}, "The Northern Herald"), the Petersburg monthly then serializing Chekhov's play "Ivanov"; the editorial staff's piecemeal delivery of proofs through Maslenitsa (Butter Week), ahead of the March issue's press deadline, is the domestic grievance that opens the letter.

• To P. A. Sergeyenko, 6 March 1889. Moscow. §4 Severny Vestnik

  The Petersburg "thick journal" Pleshcheyev edited, to which Chekhov is forwarding Sergeyenko's verses, and in which Chekhov's own "Ivanov" had just appeared (\S6).

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 7 March 1889. Moscow. §11 asking that I forward them to the "Severny Vestnik"

  "Severny Vestnik", already established in this corpus (first appearance); Pleshcheyev, the letter's addressee, was an editor there, so Chekhov's forwarding of Sergeyenko's verses "to Severny Vestnik" is in effect a request that Pleshcheyev himself pass judgment on them, sharpening the joke of Chekhov having already predicted the author's "complete fiasco."

• To A. M. Yevreinova, 10 March 1889. Moscow. §9 Severny Vestnik

  The journal Yevreinova edited; the comic scheme of buying up and shuttering every rival "thick journal" to leave only this one standing is pure fantasy, not a real business proposal.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 9 April 1889. Moscow. §14 Severny Vestnik

  The St. Petersburg literary journal where Pleshcheyev himself served as an editor, already established in this corpus (first appearance); Chekhov's dismissive remark here ("I simply would not have looked at it") is a pointed, teasing jab at the addressee's own publication, sharpening the letter's closing joke.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 7 May 1889. Sumy. §3 in the Russian translation ("Severny Vestnik")

  "Severny Vestnik" ("The Northern Herald,"), the St. Petersburg literary journal in which the Russian serialization of Bourget's novel appeared; previously established in this corpus as the outlet edited by Pleshcheyev, e.g. as the venue discussed in.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 26 June 1889. Sumy. §13 I congratulate "Severny Vestnik" on the return of Protopopov and Korolenko.

  "Severny Vestnik" ("The Northern Herald"), the Petersburg journal Pleshcheyev edited, previously established throughout this corpus; reused here rather than re-catalogued.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 5 December 1889. Moscow. §4 this is between us

  Renders "это между нами" -- marked confidential in the source itself (not an editorial gloss). Chekhov flags his complaint about Severny Vestnik's financial difficulty and slow payment as private gossip not to be repeated.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 28 August 1891. Bogimovo. §12 the Severny Vestnik

  The Severny Vestnik ("Northern Herald"), a St. Petersburg literary-political journal that had by 1891 begun actively courting Chekhov as a contributor -- he notes here that he has "already had two letters from them" -- making it a live alternative outlet for a story Suvorin's telegram had apparently discouraged.

• To M. N. Albov, 30 September 1891. Moscow. §3 "Severny Vestnik"

  "Severny Vestnik" ("The Northern Herald"), the St. Petersburg literary-political monthly already established in this corpus (e.g.). By 1891 it was a subscription censorship-liable ("podtsenzurnoe") publication -- pre-publication review by the state censor, as opposed to the more limited post-publication liability of an "uncensored" ("бесцензурное") periodical, the distinction Chekhov relies on for his whole plan in this letter. Mikhail Nilovich Albov became the journal's official editor in 1891, which is the occasion for this letter being addressed to him rather than a previous editor.

• To M. N. Albov, 22 October 1891. Moscow. §5 the story which you want without fail to have from me for the January issue

  The January issue in question is "Severny Vestnik"'s, the journal Albov edits (see, where Chekhov first promised a story for it). With the original novella shelved as uncensorable, Chekhov here commits to writing a replacement piece from scratch to meet the same editorial slot -- the plan he elaborates in the following section (loc 6): a new story, currently moving "sluggishly," which he hopes to finish before or during his early-November visit to Petersburg.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 30 October 1891. Moscow. §4 "Sev Vestn"

  "Severny Vestnik" ("The Northern Herald"), abbreviated here. Chekhov reports the novella promised to the journal is now finished -- but cf. (22 October 1891, to the journal's editor M. N. Albov), where a different novella intended for "Severny Vestnik" was withdrawn as uncensorable just eight days before this letter. The "Sev Vestn" novella reported ready here is most plausibly the replacement piece Chekhov told Albov he was writing "though...moving along sluggishly" -- this letter would then mark its completion, faster than the sluggish pace described a week earlier suggested.

• To M. N. Albov, 14 December 1891. Moscow. §4 Severny Vestnik

  The St. Petersburg literary journal ("Northern Herald") at which Albov was an editor; the intended venue for Grekov's tale, and the recurring subject of this whole run of letters to Albov.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 10 February 1890. Moscow. §5 "Severny Vestnik"

  "Severny Vestnik" ("The Northern Herald"), the St. Petersburg literary journal where Pleshcheyev worked as an editor; Chekhov's decision to place "The Wood Demon" there follows Pleshcheyev's own wish ("Let your wish be done!"), making this letter the direct sequel to the play's failed "Artist" placement.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 27 March 1890. Moscow. §3 the news of the death of "The Northern Herald" made a crushing impression on me

  Five days earlier, in (22 March 1890, to Suvorin), Chekhov reported the same news at much greater length and with much sharper personal grievance -- there he calls the journal's collapse a fresh wound to his own Sakhalin travel finances ("No shares have ever fallen as low as my Sakhalin ones") and describes Pleshcheyev's own mournful letter breaking the news, with Pleshcheyev cursing the editress Yevreinova "with the ardor of a young poet." Writing back to Pleshcheyev himself here, Chekhov strikes a more measured, reflective note -- "it's strange... a journal perishes helplessly and for nothing" -- registering the loss as a symptom of something wrong with Russian literary life in general (too few journals, yet one folds anyway) rather than reprising his own financial complaint, which he had already aired to Suvorin.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 13 May 1891. Aleksin. §3 the "Northern Herald" is the grave of him

  "Sev vestnik" (Сев вестник), Chekhov's clipped shorthand for "Severny Vestnik" (Северный вестник, "The Northern Herald"), the St. Petersburg monthly that Lyubov Gurevich had just taken over as editor in 1891; Chekhov predicts the journal will be the ruin ("могила," literally "the grave") of her editorship.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 18 May 1891. Aleksin. §11 the "Northern Herald"

  "Sev vestnik" (Сев вестник), Chekhov's clipped shorthand for "Severny Vestnik" (Северный вестник), the same journal discussed in near-identical terms in his letter to Suvorin of five days earlier.