Pavel Andreievich Chekov, (Cyrillic: ), played by Walter Koenig and Anton Yelchin in the remakes, is a Russian Starfleet officer in the fictional Star Trek universe.Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry stated for the series' 25th anniversary special that he created Chekov's character in response to a Pravda article that noted that although the Soviet Union was a leader in space exploration, the international crew of the Enterprise lacked a Russian character. Including someone from Russia, the United States' long-time Cold War adversary, matched well with Roddenberry's vision of an ideal future in which the people of the Earth were united. (This story had actually been published in TV Guide after the character was introduced.)Evidence suggests that Pravda never published such an article, and the story that it did and that this inspired the character is believed to be a publicity stunt and a fabrication by either Roddenberry or an overzealous publicity agent. However, Roddenberry did write a letter to Mikhail Zinyanin, editor of Pravda, on 1967-10-10 (reproduced on pages 343344 of Inside Star Trek) informing him of the introduction of the character, and an NBC press release announcing the character at the time did state that it was in response to a Pravda article. Koenig always denied the Russian origin story and said the character was added in response to the popularity of The Monkees' Davy Jones, and the character's hairstyle and appearance are a direct reference to this.Chekov first appeared in Catspaw , the first episode produced for the second season, making him the last of the original core Star Trek characters to appear. The episode Amok Time , which was the second episode aired during the second season, was Chekov's first television appearance ( Catspaw would be aired a month later to roughly coincide with Halloween). Due to budgetary constraints the character did not appear in Star Trek: The Animated Series.Although the character is intended to be Russian, the name Chekov () is not an authentic Russian surname. However, the surname Chekhov () is well-known in Russia, being especially famous as the surname of the playwright and author Anton Chekhov.Pavel Andreievich Chekov is a young and na Show less «