Chekhov Gymnasium
Encyclopedia
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
on Ulitsa Oktyabrskaya 9 (formerly Gymnasicheskaya Street) is the oldest gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in the South of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Playwright and short-story writer Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
spent 11 years in the school, which was later named after him and transformed into a literary museum. Visitors can see Anton's desk and his classroom, the assembly hall and even the punishment cell which he sometimes visited.
History of the school
The Boys Gymnasium was founded in 1809 and this building was completed in 1843 by the plans of the Italian architect Francesco BoffoFrancesco Boffo
Francesco Carlo Boffo was a Sardinian-born Neoclassical architect who designed more than 30 buildings in Odessa between 1818 and 1861, including the famous Potemkin Stairs....
. Students of the Boys Gymnasium benefited from various grants, most of them being introduced by the Greek-Russian merchant and benefactor Ioannis Varvakis
Ioannis Varvakis
Ioannis Varvakis , also known as Ivan Andreevich Varvatsi , was a distinguished member of the Russian and Greek communities, national hero, member of the Filiki Eteria and benefactor of the places where he lived.-Origins, early life:...
(1745–1825). In mid 1870s a school church was made in the same building, and the cross may be seen on some old postcards.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
and the following Civil War, the building housed a cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
school (6th Cavalry College), frequently visited by Semyon Budyonny
Semyon Budyonny
Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny , sometimes transliterated as Budennyj, Budyonnyy, Budennii, Budenny, Budyoni, Budyenny, or Budenny, was a Soviet cavalryman, military commander, politician and a close ally of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.-Early life:...
, Klim Voroshilov and Efim Shadenko.
During the Occupation of Taganrog in 1941-1943 used by the Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
as Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
headquarters.
In 1975 opened as The Literary Museum named after Anton Chekhov, more commonly known under the short name Chekhov Gymnasium.
January 29, 2010 President of Russian Federation Dmitri Medvedev held a meeting with representatives of the Russian and foreign theatrical communities in Taganrog at the stateroom of the Chekhov Gymnasium literary museum.
School years of Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog (1866-1868), and at the age of eight he was sent to the local grammar school (Gymnasium) where he proved an average pupil. Rather reserved and undemonstrative, he nevertheless gained a reputation for satirical comments, for pranks, and for making up humorous nicknames for his teachers. He enjoyed playing in amateur theatricals and often attended performances at the Taganrog Theatre
Taganrog Theatre
The Taganrog Drama Theater named after Anton Chekhov and decorated with Order of Honor was established in 1827 by governor Alexander Dunaev. The theater was subsidized by the Taganrog's City Council since 1828, and its first director was Alexander Gor...
. As an adolescent he tried his hand at writing short "anecdotes," amusing or funny stories, although he is also known to have written a serious long play at this time, "Fatherless," which he later destroyed. He received an annual grant of 300 rubles which had been introduced by the Taganrog City Council after the failed assassination attempt on the tsar Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
.
After the business of Anton Chekhov's father failed, the whole family left for Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1875-1876. Anton was left in Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
to care for himself and finish school. The future world-famous playwright survived selling off household goods and tutoring younger school students at the Boys Gymnasium. In 1879, Chekhov passed his final exams and joined his family in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where he had obtained scholarship to study medicine at the Moscow University.
The maths rating on Chekhov's school-leaving certificate was signed by Edmund Dzerzhinsky, father of the revolutionary Felix Dzerzhinsky. Dzerzhinsky gave lessons of mathematics in two of Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
's gymnasiums - the Girls Gymnasium of Empr. Maria
Mariinskaya Gymnasium
The Mariinskaya Gymnasium in Taganrog on Chekhov Str. 104 - currently school No. 15 of the North Caucasus Railway – originated from two oldest educational establishments in the South of Russia: the Mariinskaya Gymnasium for Girls and the Railway Vocational School.- History of Gymnasium :The...
(Мариинская женская гимназия) in 1868-1873 and in the Boys Gymnasium from 1873 until late seventies. Another contemporary instructor was Fyodor Pokrovski (Федор Платонович Покровский), who taught Chekhov theology and gave him the famous nickname Antosha Chekhonte (Антоша Чехонте).
Other famous graduates
- Nikolay Chekhov, artist
- Mikhail Chekhov, writer
- Alexander ChekhovAlexander ChekhovAlexander Pavlovich Chekhov , , was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and memoirist, and the elder brother of Anton Chekhov.-Biography:...
, writer - Nikolay SherbinaNikolay SherbinaNikolay Fyodorovich Shcherbina - Russian poet of 19th century.Nikolay Shcherbina was born on December 2, 1821 in Mius district of Don Cossack Host in the mansion of his mother. His father was of Ukrainian descent, and his mother of Greek descent. The parents of Shcherbina moved into the city of...
, poet - Ivan MartosIvan MartosIvan Petrovich Martos was a Russian sculptor and art teacher of Ukrainian origin who helped awaken Russian interest in Neoclassical sculpture....
, sculptor - Alexander Leonidovich Vishnevsky
Alexander Leonidovich VishnevskyAleksandr Vishnevsky was a Russian actor and one of the founding members of the Moscow Art Theatre.Vishnevsky studied at the Taganrog gymnasium where he befriended the young Anton Chekhov. From 1883 he took part in the performances of the Taganrog Music and Drama Society. Later he acted in the...
, Russian and Soviet actor - Valentin ParnakhValentin ParnakhValentin Yakovlevich Parnakh was a Russian poet, translator, choreographer, and musician who is best remembered as a founding father of Soviet jazz.- Early years :...
, poet, founder of the Soviet JazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music - Konstantin SavitskyKonstantin SavitskyKonstantin Apollonovich Savitsky was a Russian realist painter born in the city of Taganrog in the village Frankovka or Baronovka, named after former governor Otto Pfeilizer-Frank. Today this area is occupied by Taganrog Iron and Steel Factory TAGMET....
, artist - Vladimir BogorazVladimir BogorazVladimir Germanovich Bogoraz , best known under literary pseudonym N.A. Tan was a Russian revolutionary, writer and anthropologist, especially known for his studies of the Chukchi people in Siberia....
, anthropologist and writer - Samuel MaykaparSamuel MaykaparSamuil Moiseevich Maykapar was a Russian romantic composer, pianist, professor of music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and author of outstanding piano practice pieces that became international grand classics....
, composer - Sergey Dmitrievich Balukhatiy, bibliographer, academic
- Nikolay Apollonovich BelelyubskiNikolay Apollonovich BelelyubskiNikolay Apollonovich Belelyubski was a Russian scientist and the leading designer of bridges in the Imperial Russia.-Biography:...
, scientist, famous designer of bridges - Alexander Korsun, writer
- Osip NotovichOsip NotovichOsip Notovich was born into a Jewish family in the city of Taganrog, studied at the Taganrog Boys' Gymnasium, graduated from the law faculty of the Saint Petersburg University. In 1873-1874, he was the publisher and editor of the newspaper Novoe Vremya...
, writer - Andrei Grechko
Andrei GrechkoAndrei Antonovich Grechko was a Soviet general, Marshal of the Soviet Union and Minister of Defense.-Biography:Born in a small town near Rostov-on-Don, the son of Ukrainian peasants, he joined the Red Army in 1919, where he was a part of the legendary “Budyonny Cavalry”...
, Soviet general, Marshal of the Soviet UnionMarshal of the Soviet UnionMarshal of the Soviet Union was the de facto highest military rank of the Soviet Union. ....
(graduate of the Cavalry College) - Ivan GolubetsIvan GolubetsIvan Karpovich Golubets was a Soviet sailor with the Black Sea Fleet. He was posthumously made a Hero of the Soviet Union.-Biography:...
, the first Hero of the Soviet UnionHero of the Soviet UnionThe title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
in the Black Sea FleetBlack Sea FleetThe Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.... - Zinoviy VysokovskiyZinoviy VysokovskiyZinovy Moiseevich Vysokovsky was a Soviet and Russian theater and movie actor and variety performer. In 1978 he was awarded the People's Artist of the RSFSR. He was born in Taganrog, USSR.-Biography:...
, actor - Sergey ZvantsevSergey ZvantsevSergey Zvantsev was a Soviet writer, playwright and feuilletonist.- Biography:Born as Alexander Shamkovich on November 2, 1893 in the city of Taganrog in the family of doctor Isaak Shamkovich. His father studied at Taganrog Boys' Gymnasium in the same class with Anton Chekhov and shared the same...
, writer - Victor DyominVictor Dyomin-Biography:Victor Dyomin was born in the city of Taganrog in 1937. Graduated from Chekhov Gymnasium and VGIK. Bachelor of arts . Since 1986 — secretary of the board of the Union of Cinematographers of USSR. In 1987, he was a member of the jury at the 37th Berlin International Film Festival. Chief...
, Soviet cinema critic, editor, writer - Kuzma GalitskyKuzma GalitskyKuzma Nikitovich Galitsky was a Soviet army general who earned the title Hero of the Soviet Union.-Biography:Kuzma Galitsky was born on October 24, 1897 in the city of Taganrog into a worker's family. He studied at the Taganrog Boys Gymnasium, which he graduated from in 1912, and worked at the...
, Soviet army general - Boris Rivkin, Soviet mayor-general of aviation
- Ivan Kupin, Soviet mayor-general
- Vladimir Dvorkovich international chess arbiter, chairman of the judge board of Russian Federation, father to Arcady Dvorkovich
Museum
Today the Gymnasium is open to public as The Literary Museum named after Anton Chekhov (Литературный музей А.П.Чехова). After the famous Pushkin HousePushkin House
The Pushkin House is the familiar name of the Institute of Russian Literature in St. Petersburg. It is part of a network of institutions affiliated with the Russian Academy of Sciences.- Establishment :...
museum in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, this is the second-largest literary museum in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
both in terms of space and unique funds. The exhibition includes the library that consists of the antique books of the time and books later sent by Anton Chekhov, his personal belongings, photographs, documents, autographs by Chekhov and other famous people - friends of the writer.
See also
- The Girls Gymnasium in TaganrogMariinskaya GymnasiumThe Mariinskaya Gymnasium in Taganrog on Chekhov Str. 104 - currently school No. 15 of the North Caucasus Railway – originated from two oldest educational establishments in the South of Russia: the Mariinskaya Gymnasium for Girls and the Railway Vocational School.- History of Gymnasium :The...