The Steppe: The Story of a Journey () is a novella by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. In a narrative that drifts with the thought processes of the characters, Chekhov evokes a chaise journey across the steppe through the eyes of a young boy sent to live away from home, along with several companions, including his parish priest and his uncle, a merchant.
The novella was first published in March 1888 by Severny Vestnik. With minor changes it was included in the Stories (àðÃÂÃÂúð÷ÃÂ, 1888) to be reproduced unchanged in all its 13 editions (1889âÂÂ1899). In a revised version it was included by Chekhov into Volume 4 of his Collected Works published in 1899âÂÂ1901 by Adolf Marks.
In 1887, exhausted from overwork and ill health, Chekhov took a trip to Ukraine, which reawakened him to the beauty and vastness of the steppe. On his return, he began the novella-length short story, which he called "something rather odd and much too original", and which was eventually published in Severny Vestnik (The Northern Herald).
Michael Finke has called The Steppe a "dictionary of Chekhov's poetics", suggesting that it represented a significant advance for Chekhov, exhibiting much of the quality of his mature fiction and winning him publication in a literary journal rather than a newspaper.
The novella was made into a Mosfilm movie in 1978, directed by Sergei Bondarchuk.