In this book, I have attempted to reanimate Anton Chekhov’s great stories by pulling them gently and sometimes vigorously into the present, in part by substituting for his nineteenth-century Russian characters more contemporary figures. In acknowledging those who have helped me, inspired me, or sat patiently while I went on impatiently, I would like to reverse the process, and convert their modern names back to Russian. To Galina, and Danil, and Jasha, and Lavrik, and Borbala, and Leonid, and Arkady, and Iurosh, and Ludmila, and Igor, and Modliboga, and Kalisfena, and Gavril, and Pchuneia, and Nikolena, and Vyacheslav, and Lazzek. O 
.