How did Anton Chekhov criticize nonresistance to evil in “Ward Number Six”?

In his 1892 short story "Ward Number Six", Anton Chekhov critiques the doctrine of nonresistance to evil—a philosophy he had previously explored but ultimately rejected—by illustrating its destructive consequences.1

The story features Dr. Andrey Ragin, the director of a provincial mental asylum, who adopts a philosophy of ignoring injustice and suffering rather than attempting to remedy the appalling conditions of his ward. Chekhov portrays this passivity as a moral failure; by choosing to view the ward's problems from a distance, Ragin neglects his duty and allows evil to persist.21

The critique culminates when Ragin is himself committed to the asylum. Through this experience, he realizes the fallacy of his detachment and finally understands that evil must be actively confronted. By depicting the doctor's eventual incarceration, Chekhov demonstrates that nonresistance is not a virtuous path but a dangerous form of negligence that leaves both the victim and the practitioner vulnerable to the very injustices they refuse to oppose.21