How would you describe Anton Chekhov's time (1860 - 1904)?

Chekhov wrote a lot about the fall of the old Renaiisance splendor and the dispossession of the old families. Russia was still under the authority of the Czar, but the poor were growing discontent, and the power of the army was dwindling. Remember he also wrote comedies like The Marriage Proposal which centered on the humor of property claims and the poorer farmers. 15 years after this, 1919, the Russian Revolution would displace the Czar and mark the rise of Communism.