To K. S. Barantsevich, 30 March 1888. Moscow.

1 Written from Moscow on March 30 – the source manuscript itself gives the year as "2888," an evident slip for 1888, which this edition preserves as written rather than silently correcting – this short letter goes to the writer Kazimir Stanislavovich Barantsevich, a fellow contributor to the Petersburg literary scene. Barantsevich had proposed a memorial collection in honor of the recently deceased writer Vsevolod Garshin, and had also written to Chekhov asking him to look in on business with the publishers Werner (who handled money matters on Barantsevich’s behalf in Moscow).

2 The bulk of the letter is Chekhov’s warm endorsement of the Garshin memorial volume, framed less as literary tribute than as an argument for solidarity among Russian writers, who he describes as a small, scattered, and largely solitary "brotherhood." He promises a contribution but hedges about its quality, pleading overwork, and asks practical questions about deadlines and whether previously published pieces are eligible. A postscript-like close adds brisk business notes: a nudge on the collection’s print run and a query about whether Barantsevich has yet written to Vladimir Korolenko.