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The Two Volodyas
*Illustrated
*Includes Table of Contents
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) may have suffered an untimely death, but he squeezed the most out of his 44 years of life. Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be one of the greatest writers in history, particularly in the genre of short stories.
Chekhov’s major innovation near the end of the 19th century was in what became known as “stream-of-consciousness” writing, in which he eschewed common traditional story structure and simply wrote as though he was thinking aloud. Renowned writers like James Joyce and William Faulkner would eventually run with this theme, producing classics in the same vein. Chekhov was one of Russia’s most famous and popular writers in his time, producing well-received works like The Lady with the Dog and The Bishop.
This edition of Chekhov’s short story, The Two Volodyas, is specially formatted with a Table of Contents and is illustrated with over a dozen pictures of Chekhov.
*Includes Table of Contents
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) may have suffered an untimely death, but he squeezed the most out of his 44 years of life. Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be one of the greatest writers in history, particularly in the genre of short stories.
Chekhov’s major innovation near the end of the 19th century was in what became known as “stream-of-consciousness” writing, in which he eschewed common traditional story structure and simply wrote as though he was thinking aloud. Renowned writers like James Joyce and William Faulkner would eventually run with this theme, producing classics in the same vein. Chekhov was one of Russia’s most famous and popular writers in his time, producing well-received works like The Lady with the Dog and The Bishop.
This edition of Chekhov’s short story, The Two Volodyas, is specially formatted with a Table of Contents and is illustrated with over a dozen pictures of Chekhov.
41 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1893
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About the author
Anton Chekhov
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Antón Chéjov
(Spanish)
Dramas, such as The Seagull (1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.
Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.
"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.
In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.
Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.
Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.
In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.
The failure of The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.
Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion." Because he objected that the paper conducted against [a:Alfred Dreyfu
Dramas, such as The Seagull (1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.
Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.
"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.
In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.
Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.
Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.
In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.
The failure of The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.
Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion." Because he objected that the paper conducted against [a:Alfred Dreyfu
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 29, 2025
Big Volodya and Little Volodya by Anton Chekhov
10 out of 10
While novels take hundreds of pages to explore human feelings, events and do that most often by including no essential hubris and when we are not talking magnum opera, the writers waste the readers time with indifference, Anton Chekhov - ‘the father of the modern short story’ – is glorious in that he uses a spectacular scintillation apparatus and what we have is the Very Essence, the most important aspects of love, religion – incidentally, they appear to be the fundamental, paramount themes of this particular tale – human exuberance, despair, devotion, brilliance, misery, magnanimity and so much more.
You can read this, all the short stories, plays and other works of Anton Chekhov and so many more splendid writers online, for works that are older than seventy years, there is a general rule – which has exceptions – that you can find them at the Gutenberg.org address, or at librivox.com for the audiobooks that are read by volunteers…this tale is here http://www.dominiopublico.gov.br/down...
Sofya Lvovna is the main character of the narrative and she is a dashing, brave, inouie, young woman -‘Let me; I want to drive myself! I'll sit by the driver!" – as she drives through the snow, in a troika, she sits – when she is not there, on the box, with the driver, a stand that seems to be quite extraordinary, preposterous gesture, in a époque when women were supposed to be bland, sit in the back, have no initiative and wait for men to do…well, almost everything – with her husband Vladimir Nikititch aka Big Volodya and Vladimir Mihalovitch aka Little Volodya…the latter had been a friend since childhood and when they grew up, Sofya Lvovna has fallen in love with the young man, but he has shown no interest.
Indeed, the woman is quite upset that Little Volodya had been less than forthcoming, but once she has married, which is only two months ago, Vladimir Mihalovitch has shown a change of attitude and in the sledge, he is stepping on her feet and pressing her hand…Sofya Lvovna has an interesting mind set, with a complicated psychology, for she seems to think, or she is even convinced that ‘She felt genuinely gay and triumphant’ I spite of the fact that she is aware that there might be a different take on the reason why she has married Colonel Yagitch, accepting him ‘from worldly motives and, as it is said, par dépit…’
The man is not just her senior, but considerably older, at one point, some years back, the colonel was a suitor of her aunt – people said he had ruined the aunt that often came crying to meals - and he is two years older than her father, which has its advantages, for ‘older men were nowadays a thousand times more interesting than the young’ – what a pleasure it is to read that, at the ripe or young age of fifty-seven – and the girl – or better said woman now – is now in a position to spend a thousand rubles if she wants to, for the husband is filthy rich and in contrast, Little Volodya still lives with his father, has no money of his own, tempting the newly wealthy friend to say "If you are poor, you should stay at home”
Sofya Lvovna has never told Little Volodya that she had loved him and as they sit together in the sledge, she is beginning to be less enthusiastic and elated with her state of affairs – this appears to be a common trait of Russian characters, as presented by the great authors they have, Gogol, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Turgenev, Anton Chekhov, Mikhail Bulgakov, Ivan Goncharov and more recently, Viktor Pelevin and Victor Serge – experiencing changes of mood that fluctuate between exuberance, enchantment, ecstasy to extreme sadness, melancholy, depression and she may arrive at the conclusion that her ‘conviction’ that she loves her husband may just be the effect of intoxication…she has had some drinks
Impulsive as she is, Sofya Lvovna decides to take a detour, return the sleigh and go visit Olga, a young woman who is a nun now and whose status provokes a dispute, when the other woman passenger in the troika declares that the nun chose the monastery ‘par dépit’, she is contradicted by Vladimir Mihalovitch, who says it was simply horrible, if you like…Her brother Dmitri was sent to penal servitude, and they don't know where he is now...And her mother died of grief."
The meeting with Olga is causing introspection, the heroine starts thinking about religion, if there is a God and the decision that the recluse had taken…Olga is now ready, if anything happens, although if there is no God, then her life will have been wasted – here we can note the confirmation we could get from a luminary, one of the most important psychologists of all time, Nathaniel Branden, author of the classic The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, which writes in The Psychological Effects of Religion about how pernicious, indeed catastrophic belief can be and to refer to the case of Olga in particular, albeit it is such a worldwide phenomenon, going through millennia, the idea of dedicating one’s life to god, with the expectation that this life is just transitory and ultimately unimportant when compared with eternity, only to find that this is it and there is no other life is making religion a very noxious concept, if there is no God
In conversation with superficial Little Volodya, Sofya Lvovna is quite worried and haunted by the encounter with the nun, thoughts of god, but also the misery of seeing that her marriage is not really what she wanted it to be and she is not in love with the man who is considerably older and with whom she would have to spend the rest of her life, unless of course circumstances change…she is right to worry, for studies show that married people are happier than divorced and single ones, but the most unhappy are those trapped in marital relationships that are conflictual and do not work – the permanent quarrels are the equivalent of going through a car crash every single day, in terms of the psychological damage they do to those who are still married by fight daily – we should say day and night really – with their consorts "Show me how to do what Olga has done…Of course, I am not a believer and should not go into a nunnery, but one can do something equivalent. Life isn't easy for me," she added after a brief pause. "Tell me what to do. . . . Tell me something I can believe in. Tell me something, if it's only one word."
Sofya Lvovna is trying to tell the man she used to love and perhaps still does that she wants a new life, to escape the trap she is in, though we could argue that she is to blame at least in great part for her decision, prompted by a dissatisfied love…when she confesses to him that she had loved him for so long, Little Volodya proves to be…well, rather little in spirit, treating her with what looks like patronizing contempt, talking to her as if she is a child and using her as a sex toy and then discarding her…
10 out of 10
While novels take hundreds of pages to explore human feelings, events and do that most often by including no essential hubris and when we are not talking magnum opera, the writers waste the readers time with indifference, Anton Chekhov - ‘the father of the modern short story’ – is glorious in that he uses a spectacular scintillation apparatus and what we have is the Very Essence, the most important aspects of love, religion – incidentally, they appear to be the fundamental, paramount themes of this particular tale – human exuberance, despair, devotion, brilliance, misery, magnanimity and so much more.
You can read this, all the short stories, plays and other works of Anton Chekhov and so many more splendid writers online, for works that are older than seventy years, there is a general rule – which has exceptions – that you can find them at the Gutenberg.org address, or at librivox.com for the audiobooks that are read by volunteers…this tale is here http://www.dominiopublico.gov.br/down...
Sofya Lvovna is the main character of the narrative and she is a dashing, brave, inouie, young woman -‘Let me; I want to drive myself! I'll sit by the driver!" – as she drives through the snow, in a troika, she sits – when she is not there, on the box, with the driver, a stand that seems to be quite extraordinary, preposterous gesture, in a époque when women were supposed to be bland, sit in the back, have no initiative and wait for men to do…well, almost everything – with her husband Vladimir Nikititch aka Big Volodya and Vladimir Mihalovitch aka Little Volodya…the latter had been a friend since childhood and when they grew up, Sofya Lvovna has fallen in love with the young man, but he has shown no interest.
Indeed, the woman is quite upset that Little Volodya had been less than forthcoming, but once she has married, which is only two months ago, Vladimir Mihalovitch has shown a change of attitude and in the sledge, he is stepping on her feet and pressing her hand…Sofya Lvovna has an interesting mind set, with a complicated psychology, for she seems to think, or she is even convinced that ‘She felt genuinely gay and triumphant’ I spite of the fact that she is aware that there might be a different take on the reason why she has married Colonel Yagitch, accepting him ‘from worldly motives and, as it is said, par dépit…’
The man is not just her senior, but considerably older, at one point, some years back, the colonel was a suitor of her aunt – people said he had ruined the aunt that often came crying to meals - and he is two years older than her father, which has its advantages, for ‘older men were nowadays a thousand times more interesting than the young’ – what a pleasure it is to read that, at the ripe or young age of fifty-seven – and the girl – or better said woman now – is now in a position to spend a thousand rubles if she wants to, for the husband is filthy rich and in contrast, Little Volodya still lives with his father, has no money of his own, tempting the newly wealthy friend to say "If you are poor, you should stay at home”
Sofya Lvovna has never told Little Volodya that she had loved him and as they sit together in the sledge, she is beginning to be less enthusiastic and elated with her state of affairs – this appears to be a common trait of Russian characters, as presented by the great authors they have, Gogol, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Turgenev, Anton Chekhov, Mikhail Bulgakov, Ivan Goncharov and more recently, Viktor Pelevin and Victor Serge – experiencing changes of mood that fluctuate between exuberance, enchantment, ecstasy to extreme sadness, melancholy, depression and she may arrive at the conclusion that her ‘conviction’ that she loves her husband may just be the effect of intoxication…she has had some drinks
Impulsive as she is, Sofya Lvovna decides to take a detour, return the sleigh and go visit Olga, a young woman who is a nun now and whose status provokes a dispute, when the other woman passenger in the troika declares that the nun chose the monastery ‘par dépit’, she is contradicted by Vladimir Mihalovitch, who says it was simply horrible, if you like…Her brother Dmitri was sent to penal servitude, and they don't know where he is now...And her mother died of grief."
The meeting with Olga is causing introspection, the heroine starts thinking about religion, if there is a God and the decision that the recluse had taken…Olga is now ready, if anything happens, although if there is no God, then her life will have been wasted – here we can note the confirmation we could get from a luminary, one of the most important psychologists of all time, Nathaniel Branden, author of the classic The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, which writes in The Psychological Effects of Religion about how pernicious, indeed catastrophic belief can be and to refer to the case of Olga in particular, albeit it is such a worldwide phenomenon, going through millennia, the idea of dedicating one’s life to god, with the expectation that this life is just transitory and ultimately unimportant when compared with eternity, only to find that this is it and there is no other life is making religion a very noxious concept, if there is no God
In conversation with superficial Little Volodya, Sofya Lvovna is quite worried and haunted by the encounter with the nun, thoughts of god, but also the misery of seeing that her marriage is not really what she wanted it to be and she is not in love with the man who is considerably older and with whom she would have to spend the rest of her life, unless of course circumstances change…she is right to worry, for studies show that married people are happier than divorced and single ones, but the most unhappy are those trapped in marital relationships that are conflictual and do not work – the permanent quarrels are the equivalent of going through a car crash every single day, in terms of the psychological damage they do to those who are still married by fight daily – we should say day and night really – with their consorts "Show me how to do what Olga has done…Of course, I am not a believer and should not go into a nunnery, but one can do something equivalent. Life isn't easy for me," she added after a brief pause. "Tell me what to do. . . . Tell me something I can believe in. Tell me something, if it's only one word."
Sofya Lvovna is trying to tell the man she used to love and perhaps still does that she wants a new life, to escape the trap she is in, though we could argue that she is to blame at least in great part for her decision, prompted by a dissatisfied love…when she confesses to him that she had loved him for so long, Little Volodya proves to be…well, rather little in spirit, treating her with what looks like patronizing contempt, talking to her as if she is a child and using her as a sex toy and then discarding her…
October 20, 2023
I suppose the point is that even an extra-marital intrigue can be quite monotonous. This story is not worth reading but in Chekhov’s defense, the form we have it in now was altered significantly by the editors of the magazine- Русские Ведомости- in which it was published. Chekhov himself found these retractions and changes unacceptable and disavowed the story as it appears.
April 24, 2018
Chekhov dear u can do better than this
December 23, 2024
Interesting concept and as per usual, quite tragic however its clearly not Chekhov's best, also not his worst tho.
2.5/5
2.5/5
June 29, 2025
add it to the anthology of reasons I hate men! Brutally accurate
October 1, 2025
I guess it's a story about how we all use each other - for wealth, for lust, for appearances. That's how the world works, and if you don't participate then you give your life to God.
December 5, 2025
A Russian love story!
February 20, 2026
Wonderfully moving.
August 17, 2015
A woman starts to realise that her marriage for money doesn't compare to her childhood first love over a period of a few days. Not the best Chekhov short story I've ever read, but filled with his usual emotional precision.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2018
Sofia Lvovna isn't happy with both Volodyas. Big Volodya is wealthy, but she doesn't love him. She loves Little Volodya but he always plays around with married women. What an awkward situation :s
June 26, 2021
"Uninteresting, dreary, and sometimes even tormenting."
August 16, 2021
im sure its great but i didn't really read it yet
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews