To F. A. Fedorov, 8 January 1889. Moscow.

1 A business letter of 8 January 1889 from Moscow, addressed directly to the theatrical figure Chekhov has been calling simply "Fyodorov(-Yurkovsky)" throughout the surrounding correspondence and repeatedly asking Suvorin to identify by name and patronymic. This letter is itself the answer: its salutation gives the addressee as "Fyodor Alexandrovich," finally supplying – via the letter’s own address line – the first name and patronymic that Chekhov’s running joke ("What is Fyodorov’s name?") had left unresolved across three prior letters. The subject is the revision of the role of Sasha in "Ivanov" now that Maria Savina has agreed to play her.

2 After the double dateline (1-2) and a salutation split across two short lines (3-4), Chekhov explains that Savina’s agreement to play Sasha has prompted him to substantially rework a role he had originally written without much care, and asks Fyodorov not to rush the copying-out of the parts but to send him a copy of the play as quickly as possible, laying out a precise timetable for returning his corrections once he has it in hand (5). He reassures Fyodorov that all corrections and variants will be duly passed by the censor without delay on his end (6), gives his Moscow address for the copy to be sent, with Suvorin as an alternate forwarding route (7), and closes with a formal sign-off split across two lines, "Respectfully yours, / A. Chekhov" (8-9).