Satirical recipe and "spiritual medicine" in works by A.P. Chekhov

The article deals with genres of a satirical and a "spiritual" medical textbook, aswell as their fragments and derivatives that are present in A.P. Chekhov worksall through his literary career. The artistic function of these genres is revealed, together with the literary tradition that Chekhov used, and which went back tothe Russian Middle Ages (XVI-XVII centuries) is investigated. The conclusionis made that Chekhov's irony is philosophical in depth, it is akin to the ancient Russian culture of popular laughter, and introduces epicism and historicism into Chekhov's works.