February 2, 2009: on January 29, 2009 the cultural community celebrated the 149th birth date of the great Russian playwright and short-story writer
Anton Chekhov. The citizens of Taganrog traditionally gathered at the foot of the Chekhov Monument to lay down flowers.
"There are many places on earth that are associated with life of Anton Pavlovych Chekhov" - told Mayor Nikolay Fedyanin at the opening ceremony. "But the first and the most important place will always be our home city Taganrog, where the great writer was born and lived 19 years out of his 44-year long life. The city forever remained in his memory and thoughts. Taganrog impressions penetrated the pages of his works, and his care for the home city transformed into a lifelong commitment and spiritual necessity. We always keep this in mind when we are striving to make this city more beautiful, comfortable and attractive. We also try to carefully preserve this special spirit that surrounded and inspired the future world-known writer since his childhood."
Only one year is left until the 150th birth anniversary of Anton Pavlovych Chekhov. The full-scale preparations for celebrations are underway in Taganrog. The downtown Taganrog has become the special event hub of the region, drawing visitors to book festivals, theater and cinema festivals, scientific conferences with participation of popular writers, actors, directors, playwrights, critics and scientists. In 2008 were inaugurated two new sculptural compositions "Egyptian pyramid" and "Romance with the Double Bass" dedicated to Chekhov stories, and
the monument to the actress Faina Ranevskaya. The monument to
Anton Chekhov was renovated, with reconstruction of the Chekhov Square. The Gorky Park of Culture and Recreation now has a new roller coaster, and the new "Green Theater".
Of course, the above list of transformations within the framework of preparations for the anniversary celebrations is not complete. Reconstruction of the central municipal public library system, the Chekhov Gymnasium, Tchaikovsky house, Alexander I Palace are still underway.
