Andy McLarnon’s Humanist Hero is Anton Chekov, Russian playwright and writer, and physician.

Anton Chekhov

I was in the doctor’s waiting room, surrounded by the tools of his trade – pill bottles, medical instruments. The details of his life were on display here, in his surgery and living areas of the house. As I examined displays in the practice, an education was unfolding. The physician in question is best known for his other profession, being one of the greatest writers in literary history. His name is familiar to millions the world over – Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.

His Moscow home today is a museum displaying information about this fascinating man’s life. In this piece I will not dwell on the overtly humanist themes in his novels, plays and stories – there are many better qualified to do this than I. It is acknowledged that he was not a religious man and would argue the case for atheism with his Christian-thinking contemporary, Leo Tolstoy, during their numerous back porch meetings (of which there is a portrait in the museum). However, Chekhov was an active humanitarian and it is about this aspect that I wish to write.

As a youth, Chekhov developed a scepticism of organised religion from the hypocrisy of his father, who was a devoted Orthodox Christian, but also a brutal, violent tyrant. His writing career began when, as a medical student in Moscow, he needed to support not just himself, but also his parents and siblings. He earned money from writing articles and sketches in satirical magazines. Having qualified as a physician, Chekhov established a medical practice in Moscow. Poor Muscovites would receive free consultations and he spent his own personal wealth on medicine to distribute at no cost to those who could not afford it. Such activities continued long after his success as a writer and in spite of his own worsening health. Chekov increasingly suffered from tuberculosis.

During a severe outbreak of cholera, Chekhov took on the role of coordinator of the relief effort, supervising the building of specialist medical facilities, whilst overseeing and participating in the provision of treatment. In addition to his medical activities, he supervised and part-funded the building of schools in rural areas in order to promote education for the masses. Ill-health forced Chekhov to move to the Crimea for a spell, but despite his own weakness, he still managed to help the local branch of the Red Cross, provide medical care for the local poor and raised money to help those affected by a famine that was scourging the Russian heartland. He also welcomed aspiring writers at his home and gave advice on their manuscripts.

He used his status as a famous playwright to obtain a special commission from the Russian government in order to report on the conditions of exiled prisoners living on the penal colony of Sakhalin Island, located off the East coast of Russia. He was concerned about the inhumane treatment of exiles, many of which were political prisoners. Despite himself suffering from tuberculosis, Chekhov undertook an arduous eleven week journey across Siberia, travelling at times by horse and cart, sledge, rowing boat and on foot in freezing conditions. On the way he spoke to people living in remote regions in order to learn about their lives in these harsh climates.

Once on Sakhalin Island, Chekhov set out to discover the hardships of existence for the exiles, and provided medical services to inhabitants – both natives and prisoners. He published his report in stages, initially without objection from the authorities, but later chapters were banned. He decided to publish the complete volume anyway which provoked considerable discussion. It had a huge impact on Russian society, and during the next decade contributed to changes in policies that brought about improvements in the lives of exiles. It is entitled Sakhalin Island and still published today.

Chekhov is my humanist hero, not only because he had such a huge impact on the world of literature, but he went to enormous lengths to help the poor, underprivileged and mistreated sections of society. His humanitarian activities are very much overshadowed by his literary achievements, but were nevertheless immense and came at great cost to his own health and finances. These efforts were motivated not by a need to appease a deity, or for status within a religious culture, but simply a desire to help his fellow man. I feel, therefore, that his life was a shining example of humanist values.

Chekhov’s legacy to the literary world is doubtlessly immense, but his dedication to humanitarian causes, to medicine, to education, to aspiring writers and artists, to the poor and to charity is truly inspirational.

This post is part of a series written by members, friends and Distinguished Supporters of the British Humanist Association about their own “humanist heroes”.

You can find out more at www.humanism.org.uk/humanism/humanist-tradition/heroes

Andy McLarnon is a cancer research scientist in Birmingham, UK.