This tour will introduce you to the life and the works of the famous Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. You can see on the Embankment the Chekhov statue and the statue of a Lady with a Little Dog, the personage of Chekhov's story of the same name.

The Chekhov House-Museum often called the White Dacha. Anton Chekhov lived here for his last four years until his final illness. He was very fond of gardening and you will see some trees, planted by Chekhov himself in a small garden around the house. In Yalta the famous Russian dramatist wrote his famous plays "Three Sisters" and "A Cherry Orchard" as well as numerous stories. Documents, photos, and the writer's personal belongings are displayed in the museum. To enhance the charming atmosphere of the house a concert of chamber music, lyrical songs and romances of the 19th and 20th centuries will be offered for your enjoyment. A glass of chilled local and "champagne" will be served to you before the concert.

A.P. Chekhov came in Yalta for the first time in 1888 and 10 years later settled here for constant living. On the former outskirts of Autka he had bought a small lot, where by the project of architector Shapovalov in September 1899, building of the house was completed. Its national and harmonic volumes were conditioned by "modern" style.

Plays: "The cherry garden", "Three sisters", the story "In the gully", and miscellaneous narratives, had been written by Chekhov here. Being guests of the authors Kuprin, Bunin, Gorkiy had been working on their productions, here came Levitan, Shaliapin, Rachmaninov and other agents of culture. In 1921 Chekhov's house was pronounced as museum and the author's sister Maria Pavlovna Chekhova, who had been living with him constantly, was appointed the Life keeper of the house. She managed to preserve the legacy of A.P. Chehov also in the time of the Fascist occupation.

On January,1900, Chekhov has got a new dacha in Gurzuf. So he wrote to his natives: "I have bought a plot of the coast with the bathing near he quay and the park in Gurzuf. The whole bay belongs to us now. A boat can stay there. The house isn't quite well, but it is covered by a tile. There are four rooms and large passage. One big mulbry-tree". In the summer of that year Chekhov's mother Eugeniya Yakovlevna, his sister Maria and the brother's Ivan family had a rest here. In July and August the wife of the writer - Olga Knipper was here. Later the younger brother Michail will spend here the summer months, the eldest brother Alexander will visit the dacha.

In August 1900, Chekhov, searching a creative solitude will spend here some days working on the first act of the drama "Three sisters". Not all of Chekhov's friends knew about the Gurzuf dacha. Only V.Komissargevskaya and I.Bunin visited it during the owner's life. Chekhov had presented the actress his photo with an inscription: "To Vera Fyodorovna Komissargevskaya, August 3, on rough day, when the sea was rustled, from silent Anton Chekhov". In 1900 and April 1901 Bunin was twice in Chekhov's dacha.

Under the will made by Anton Chekhov on August, the 3, 1901, the Dacha in Gurzuf was given to his wife Olga Knipper, who spent here the summer months except war time. During the civil war the actors of the "Kachalov Group" lived here going on tour on the south of Russia. Later S.Rechter, N.Dorleak, I.Koslovsky, O.Efremov visited this dacha. The family of the well known researchers of the Pushkin creative activity B.Tomashevsky and I.Medvedeva were the neighbours of Olga Knipper. Not far from the Chekhov's dacha the composer Leo Knipper got a small dacha. He was the author of the famous song "Polyushko-pole". Last time O.Knipper came here from Moscow in 1953. After her death the house was support of a House of creative activity of the artists after K.Korovin. You can get there by direct flight to Simferopol or through Kiev or Odessa.