About the author: Juras T. Ryfa holds a PhD from Indiana University. Presently he is an Assistant Professor at The George Washington University, where he teaches Russian language and literature and culture, and literatures of the Western Slavic nations. Dr. Ryfa’s scholarship and writing encompass a wide range of topics in Russian and Polish literatures, including the monograph The Problem of Genre and the Quest for Justice in Chekhov’s ‘The Island of Sakhalin’ published by Mellen in 1999.
1999 0-7734-8172-9 This study presents a newly detailed account of Chekov's trip to Sakhalin, draws together scarce secondary material concerning the book, and offers new insights into the problematic aspects of genre in light of the most recent critical and theoretical developments. Meanwhile, following Chekhov's remarkable story, the author connects the past to the present in a variety of spheres, including Russians' attitudes towards governance and the continuing geopolitical sensitivity of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.