Gusev

"Gusev" is an 1890 short story by Anton Chekhov.

According to Chekhov's 9 December letter to Alexey Suvorin, the story was partly based upon the real life incident, the burial at sea which he had witnessed on board the ship, when returning from Sakhalin.

The sad truth of this contemplative tale is that millions of people around the world experience the message of "Gusev" every day, breathing their final breaths in apparent meaninglessness, amidst highly-varying degrees of concern from others (be it from family or hospital room mates, who show little to no concern), and in a wide range of mental states (passive, aggressive, delusional, angry, etc.). "Gusev" portrays just a small sampling of two such men doomed to die soon aboard a meaningless Russian boat.