In 1884 he graduated from the Faculty for History and Philology at the Saint Petersburg University.

This further led to creation of the memorial museum Birth House of Anton Chekhov in 1926, following the municipal acquisition in 1915.

It is noteworthy that before moving to Taganrog, Garshin criticized earlier works by Anton Chekhov.

Though living in his home city he became one of Chekhov's fans and made a lot to commemorate the writer.

Garshin is known for his books Novgorod Antiquities (1892), Russian Literature of the 19th century (1891), Social Importance of the Archaeology (1888), Three Poems (1889), Children-Crusaders (1891) and many more.