To N. A. Leikin, 28 April 1885. Moscow.

Written from Moscow on April 28, 1885, this is another business letter to Nikolai Alexandrovich Leikin, editor-publisher of the Petersburg humor weekly Oskolki ("Splinters"), for whom the twenty-five-year-old Chekhov was by this point a steady contributor of stories and captions. The letter opens with a flare of anxiety typical of their correspondence: Chekhov presses Leikin to confirm receipt of a long story, "Abolished!," sent by registered mail the week before, worried it has gone astray in the post.

Much of the rest is shop talk and household news intertwined. Chekhov accepts a standing arrangement to supply the Petersburg Gazette with stories, explains an advance he has taken from the rival Budilnik, and asks that a copy of the Gazette be forwarded to him. He describes, at some length and with characteristic wit, his early move to a rented summer house on Kiselev’s estate near Voskresensk (New Jerusalem) outside Moscow – the same estate where he would return in later summers and which fed directly into stories and plays. He complains about an unreliable staff artist, praises a book of stories dedicated to him ("Azure Flowers"), and closes, as often, pleading poverty before signing off with a wish that Leikin keep well. The letter is a vivid snapshot of Chekhov’s working rhythms and finances just as he was settling into what became one of his most productive rural retreats.