Lev Philippovitch Wolkenstein

He was born as Isaak-Leib Fishelevich Wolkenstein (Russian: Исаак-Лейб Фишелевич Волкенштейн) at 1858 presumably in Taganrog. Lev Wolkenstein was brother of Michael Philippovitch Wolkenstein who also was a Russian lawyer. Lev Wolkenstein studied at Taganrog Classical Male Gymnasium (Russian: Таганрогская классическая мужская гимназия) at the same time as Anton Chekhov. When Chekhov was at seventh grade and Wolkenstein was at undergraduate eighth grade, all students at Wolkenstein's class except Wolkenstein rejected to write essay prescribed for them. This caused conflict between Wolkenstein and his classmates. One of them called Wolkenstein as "zhyd" and Wolkenstein slapped him in the face. For this assault and battery Wolkenstein had been expelled from gymnasium. After that Chekhov had induced classmates to write a collective statement that all of them will leave gymnasium if Wolkenstein will not be reinstated. That had effect and he was reinstated and then graduated from gymnasium.[2]

Then Wolkenstein studied at faculty of law of Saint Petersburg State University.[2] In 1888 he was a lawyer assistant (Russian: помощник присяжного поверенного) and took part in a trial on case of poisoning. Maximenko (Максименко) has been accused of poisoning her husband but she had been acquitted. A famous Russian lawyer Fedor Plevako and prison doctor Mark Krasso (Марк Крассо) also took part in that trial.[2]

Revenue house of Lev Wolkenstein (2015)

In the 1890s Wolkenstein became a lawyer of Novocherkassk court board (Russian: Новочеркасская судебная палата) and juror lawyer.[2] In 1890 he bought a house in Rostov-on-Don at corner of Staro-pochtovaya street (now Stanislavskogo street) and Kazansky lane (now Gazetny lane) and made great repair of it. From the mid 1890s Wolkenstein lived in this house with his wife Sofia Efremovna Wolkenstein (Russian: Софья Ефремовна Волкенштейн) (?—1940),[3][4] his daughters (Alisa and Olga) and his young son Yuri/Georg Wolkenstein (1892—?; then he became a Paris lawyer).[2]

Chekhov was coming to this Wolkenstein's house and (possible) discussing with Wolkenstein about staging of Chekhov's vaudevilles and plays in theatres of Rostov-on-Don.[5] According to Chekhov, at 1896 Wolkenstein also had dacha in Kislovodsk.[2]

Some rooms in house in Rostov-on-Don Wolkenstein could lease so this house at Staro-pochtovaya stret/Kazansky lane became a revenue house. Revenue house of Wolkenstein building still exist and now it is a regional architectural monument.[6]

Wolkenstein and Chekhov both liked performances. Asmolov theatre founded by Vladimir Ivanovich Asmolov was biggest and most famous theatre in Rostov-on-Don at that time. In 1910 Vladimir Asmolov has sold this theatre to Lev Wolkenstein and Iosif Moiseevich Fain (Russian: Иосиф Моисеевич Файн).[2][7] Wolkenstein had been writing scripts for several theatrical performances, for example, Hussars and Doves (Russian: Гусары и голуби) vaudeville.[2]

Also he was working as jurist for Priazovsky Kray newspaper.[5]

Then Wolkenstein had emigrated from Russia. He spend last years of his life in Paris and wrote for Illustrated Russia (Russian: Иллюстрированная Россия) magazine. In this magazine at 1934[2] he published his own memorials about Anton Chekhov.[5][1]

20 May 1935 Lev Wolkenstein died in Paris.[3][8] His widow Sofia Efremovna Wolkenstein lived several years more, then 4 January 1940 she died in Vulaines and had been buried at Nouveau Cimetiere de Neuilly.[4][3] The son of Lev Wolkenstein, George Wolkenstein was the founder of the French branch of the family, Alexis Wolkenstein, his son, Pierre Wolkenstein and Marie-Sophie Wolkenstein, his grand children and Paul, Louis, Héloïse and Simon Wolkenstein, his great grand children living in Paris.

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  Lev Philippovitch Wolkenstein
• 
  On the left: Lev Wolkenstein, on the right: Mikhail Wolkenstein and his nephew Yuri (Georg), the son of his brother Lev.
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  Lev Wolkenstein with son in Berlin

• Варламова, Ирина (2010-01-28). "Вера, Чехов, любовь". Российская газета (in Russian) (5096).
• Волошинова, Вера (2010-01-22). "Чехов и Ростов-на-Дону" (PDF). Молот (in Russian). Ростов-на-Дону (7–8).
• Волошинова, Вера (2012-06-08). "Ростов-на-Дону: дом Льва Волкенштейна". Молот (in Russian). Ростов-на-Дону (77–78): 6.
• Волошинова, В. Ф.; Волошинова, Л. Ф. (2009). "Гимназический друг и театрал". Ант. Чехов и Ростов-на-Дону : литературно-краеведческое исследование ростовского круга А. П. Чехова (in Russian). Ростов-на-Дону: Странник. ISBN 978-5-902477-66-2.
• Габибова, О. В. (2015-10-15). "Чеховский Ростов". Копилка уроков (сайт) (in Russian).
• В. Н. Чуваков, ed. (1999). Незабытые могилы : российское зарубежье : некрологи 1917-1997 : в 6 т. (in Russian). 1: А-В. Москва: Пашков дом. p. 604. ISBN 5-7510-0169-9.