Nikolai Alexandrovich Leykin (; December 19, 1841 – January 19, 1906) was a Russian writer, artist, playwright, journalist and publisher.

Biography

Leykin was born in Saint Petersburg into a merchant family. The merchant class was the subject of the majority of his fiction. His popular work ''Our Folk Abroad'', set in Paris, which went through twenty-five editions, was a light satire on the ignorance and boorishness of Russian business men.Handbook of Russian Literature, Victor Terras, Yale University Press, 1990. From 1882 to 1905, Leykin was the publisher and editor of the comic magazine '' Fragments''. It was in this magazine that

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

began his literary career. Chekhov contributed over two hundred stories to ''Fragments'' from 1882 to 1887. Leykin met Anton Chekhov and his brother

Nikolay Chekhov Nikolai Pavlovich Chekhov (; May 23, 1858 – June 29, 1889) was a Russian painter. He was a brother of Anton Chekhov. Biography As a child Chekhov showed talents for art and music. He attended the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Arc ...

in October, 1882. Chekhov was paid by the line for his weekly contributions, and was allotted a quarter of the magazine's weekly length. Nikolay Chekhov provided centerfold and cover pictures. Leykin was Russia's most prolific author of comic sketches, which were widely read. As an editor he was known for his tough stance with the censors. He drew major writers to ''Fragments'', including

Nikolai Leskov Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (; – ) was a Russian novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and journalist, who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, and held ...

.Anton Chekhov: a Life, Donald Rayfield, Northwestern University Press, 1997.

References

1841 births 1906 deaths Russian male novelists Russian male dramatists and playwrights Russian male short story writers Russian male journalists Publishers (people) from the Russian Empire Writers from Saint Petersburg Humorists from the Russian Empire 19th-century novelists from the Russian Empire 19th-century dramatists and playwrights from the Russian Empire 19th-century short story writers from the Russian Empire 19th-century male writers from the Russian Empire {{Russia-writer-stub