Behind the counter: «Other literature» by A. P. Chekhov in the context of social history

Chekhov’s work is considered in the article in the context of Russia’s social history of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, and primarily in the context of those aspects of the history of the social ranks that were associated with the new trends reflected in Chekhov’s writing: education, family income, a person’s position in the post-reform Russian secular society. «Shop life», that occupied an important place both in the writer’s work and in his biography, is studied on the basis of Chekhov’s letters and short stories.