The house on Sadovo-Kudrinskaya Street in Moscow, on both floors of which the Chekhov’s family lived in 1886–1890, is considered one of the most famous buildings in the capital associated with Russian literature. At that time, it belonged to Dr. Korneev. Here Anton Pavlovich wrote many of his immortal works. The house is a witness to the formation of Chekhov as a writer. It was during the period of his residence here that Antosha Chekhonte became Anton Chekhov. Famous writers, artists and actors, who came to Sadovo-Kudrinskaya, noted that the mansion is somewhat like a castle. The drawings on the stand below, made by Mikhail Pavlovich Chekhov, depict the writer’s office and bedroom in this Moscow house.

The house on Sadovo-Kudrinskaya, according to Chekhov himself, was the most suitable for living. The family had changed many Moscow addresses before this one. Moreover, many of them were in areas with a dubious reputation. Frequent change of residence was associated with a lack of funds. Even the head of the family did not have enough money to pay for such apartments. Often, they had to move out immediately - landlords simply put insolvent tenants on the street.

In 1886, Anton Chekhov moved to this house with his mother, sister Maria and younger brother Mikhail. The father lived with his son Ivan in another apartment but visited the family every day. By that time, brother Nikolai lived separately, but he also often saw his relatives. Aunt Fedosya and her son Alexei were frequent guests in this house. And finally, it was not a shame to invite friends to this house. ‘Come on Sunday evening to the “drawer”- we will have fun” - this is how Chekhov invited his friends. And there were a lot of guests in the house, the family knew how to receive visitors hospitably and cheerfully.

A group photo in the top row of the stand captured Vladimir Davydov, Pavel Svobodin, Anton Chekhov, Alexei Suvorin. Davydov by that time had acquired all-Russian fame as an actor. Anton Pavlovich called him “the greatest artist” and often attended performances at the Korsch Theater with his participation. He was the first to play the main role in Chekhov’s ‘Ivanov’. The writer had a long-standing friendship with Svobodin. And with Suvorin it continued for 17 years. In the company of Alexei Sergeevich, the writer could afford to be frank to the end.

In the last months of his residence on Sadovo-Kudrinskaya, Anton Pavlovich was preparing for a trip to Sakhalin. A group photo in the second row of the stand captured Chekhov surrounded by relatives in the courtyard of Korneev’s house shortly before departure for the Far East in 1890.