A Doctor’s Visit

March 27, 2026 · 29 min

About this episode

The episode explores Anton Chekhov's journey to document the conditions of a penal colony and his story 'A Doctor’s Visit'.

“And so it appears that all these five blocks of buildings are at work, and inferior cotton is sold in the Eastern markets, simply that Christina Dmitryevna may eat sterlet and drink Madeira.” In 1890, Anton Chekhov made what was surely an uncomfortable six-week journey across Siberia. His destination: Sakhalin Island, a penal colony established by imperial Russia to house criminals and political prisoners. For reasons not entirely understood, Chekhov, a medical doctor by day and prolific writer by night, set out to rigorously document the squalor and depravity of the conditions to which the prisoners were subjected. Why might a talented young man decide to do such a thing? Chekhov had a deep sensitivity to the plight of humankind and was compelled to treat it and bring it into the public consciousness. This wiring led him to create detailed studies, in situ, of nearly 10,000 prisoners who lived among such an infestation of bugs and cockroaches, “that the walls and ceilings seemed to be covered in funeral crape, moving as if in a wind.” It also inspired dozens and dozens of insightful short stories that are heavy on pathos and short on sentimentality. His hit rate is truly…

People in this episode

Host: Ruby Love

Topics covered

medical ethics
literature
prison conditions
19th century Russia
Chekhov's writings

Keywords

Anton Chekhov
Sakhalin Island
medical doctor
prisoners
19th century literature

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Sakhalin Island, Siberia, Moscow