On the History of the Literary Arbitration Court in the Case of V. V. Krestovsky and A. A. Izmailov

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Aleksandrov, A. S., and E. K. Aleksandrova. “On the History of the Arbitration Literary Court in the Case of V. V. Krestovsky and A. A. Izmailov.” Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 7, no. 4, 2025, pp. 272–303. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2025-7-4-272-303
Abstract:
Based on archival materials, the article covers the history of the literary arbitration court of 1913−1914 in the case of Vl. Vs. Krestovsky and A. A. Izmailov. The critic was summoned to court by the writer’s son for the article “Byl’, a ne legenda,” in which he resurrected rumors from the 1860s about the authorship of “Peterburgskikh trushchobу.” Izmailov claimed that the novel was written based on the manuscript of N. G. Pomyalovsky. This work traces the historiography of the issue, considering the works of predecessors — specialists in the works of Pomyalovsky and Krestovsky — and analyzing the plagiarism case for the first time from the perspective of Izmailov, the incident’s initiator. The arbitration proceedings that followed the publication of the article generated a number of unique materials, which are important evidence of the literary life of the era. The story of the accusation is told “from the inside,” taking into account all available archival documents, including previously unpublished business correspondence, witness testimony, and newly discovered personal diary entries of Izmailov.
Keywords: A. A. Izmailov, V. V. Krestovsky, N. G. Pomyalovsky, arbitration court, plagiarism, feuilleton, newspaper, criticism, reception.
Author: Alexandr S. Alexandrov
Information about the author:
Alexandr S. Alexandrov, PhD in Philology, Senior Researcher, Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Makarova Emb., 4, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8611-6490

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Author 2: Elmira K. Alexandrova
Information about the author 2:
Elmira K. Alexandrova, PhD in Philology, Senior Researcher, Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) Russian Academy of Sciences, Makarova Emb., 4, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3009-1794

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Received: June 22, 2025
Approved after reviewing: September 30, 2025
Published: December 25, 2025
Issue: 2025 Volume 7 No. 4
Department: Russian Literature of the 18th–19th Centuries
Pages: 272-303
DOI: Visit Website
EDN:
https://elibrary.ru/PBQBHV
UDK: 821.161.1.09"19/20"
Publication Type: Research Article

References

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