To Ye. K. Sakharova, 13 January 1889. Moscow.

1 A New Year’s reply of 13 January 1889 from Moscow to Elizaveta Konstantinovna Sakharova, apparently the wife of a provincial painter seeking Chekhov’s help in bringing a picture to Moscow for exhibition. The bulk of the letter is practical brokering – introductions, venues, timing – wrapped in Chekhov’s characteristic self-deprecation about his own influence, followed by a run of quick, unrelated personal notices before the sign-off and envelope.

2 Chekhov thanks Sakharova for her letter, which he calls a "New Year’s surprise," and notes wryly that many of his old acquaintances have proved the kind of people Lermontov described as having betrayed their cause and sold their swords (a two-line quotation, given as its own section, from Lermontov’s poem "Borodino"). He then turns to business: though he disclaims real influence in Moscow art circles (claiming close acquaintance only with the painter Levitan and a handful of dilettantes, and calling himself a stranger in Moscow who merely poses as a doctor there), he offers concrete help – advising that the husband bring the painting to Moscow in person, ideally exhibiting during Lent, and recommending a hall belonging to the Society of Art and Literature in the Malkiel house on Tverskaya Street (formerly the Pushkin Theatre). He directs the husband to the actor A. P. Lensky, a friend of his close to the Society, who can make the introduction; if Chekhov himself is not in Moscow (he leaves for Petersburg on the 19th to stage his play), the husband should apply instead to Chekhov’s sister Maria Pavlovna, or, failing her, to "the student Misha" – almost certainly Chekhov’s youngest brother Mikhail, then a university student. Chekhov promises newspaper notices will be arranged.

3 The letter then breaks into a string of short, disconnected personal items, written in evident haste (he explicitly apologizes for writing "incoherently" as he rushes to a rehearsal of Suvorin’s play "Tatyana Repina"): he has never visited Kharkov and dislikes the city, whose newspapers he says abuse him mercilessly; he reports the family’s summer plans (near Sumy or in Poltava province) and asks after Sakharova’s sisters; he jokes that his vaudeville "The Bear" ought to be renamed "The Milch Cow" for how much money it has earned him, exclaiming over the paying public; and he notes that the previous day was Tatyana’s Day (the Moscow University founding anniversary, traditionally marked by heavy student and alumni drinking), adding that his hands are still shaking from it. He closes by restating that the husband must come to Moscow in person, sends good wishes, and signs off, followed by the envelope address to Sakharova in Kharkov.