 It soon became clear that Polovtsov, who had a reputation for being a sophisticated aesthete, preferred social relations with young men (Andreev in particular, who Polovtsov was very close to) instead of his wife, Sofia Panina, who left Polovtsov and retook her maiden name and original title.As Polovtsov's secretary, Andreev bought a house for him on his behalf in Tashkent from Tashkent merchant Nikolai Ivanovich Ivanov.Andreev restructured the house significantly in an oriental style.