To I. M. Kondratyev, 7 March 1890. Moscow.

1 Dating and addressee. Written 7 March 1890 in Moscow, shortly before Chekhov’s departure (in April 1890) on his journey across Siberia to Sakhalin Island. The addressee is Ivan Maksimovich Kondratyev (1849–1904), a playwright, historian of Moscow, and functionary of the Society for Russian Dramatic Writers and Opera Composers, of which Chekhov was a member. The salutation "Многоуважаемый Иван Максимович" (rendered "Dear Ivan Maksimovich") matches Kondratyev’s name and patronymic given in the source title.

2 A short, businesslike letter concerning the Society’s royalty/performance-fee accounting. Chekhov asks Kondratyev to prepare a financial statement ("счет") for him ahead of a Committee meeting, or to mail it if the meeting is not imminent. He then itemizes specific gaps he has found in "Rassokhin’s lists" — apparent omissions of performances in Vyazma, Vladimir, Kostroma, and Kronstadt, plus unrecorded performances in Novocherkassk (2 January), Serpukhov (15 January), Tiflis (30 January), and possibly Simferopol. He closes with a general observation, drawn from his own long experience publishing both lithographed and typeset matter, that lithographed editions are inherently prone to misprints and omissions while triple-proofread printed matter is not. The letter ends with a brief personal note — Nemirovich-Danchenko and Sumbatov (i.e., playwright/critic Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and playwright Prince Alexander Sumbatov-Yuzhin) have arrived [in Moscow] — followed by a conventional closing and signature.