Two centuries of the Russian classics Two centuries of the Russian classics 2686-7494 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2025-7-4-272-303 Research Article Articles On the History of the Literary Arbitration Court in the Case of V. V. Krestovsky and A. A. Izmailov Alexandr  S.  Alexandrov red@rusklassika.ru Alexandrova Elmira K. red@rusklassika.ru 25 12 2025 7 4 272 303 A. A. Izmailov V. V. Krestovsky N. G. Pomyalovsky arbitration court plagiarism feuilleton newspaper criticism reception Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 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of the accusation is told “from the inside,” taking into account all available archival documents, including previously unpublished business correspondence, witness testimony, and newly discovered personal diary entries of Izmailov. 1. Aleksandrov, A. S. “O plagiate v nachale XX v. i parodii A. A Izmailova ʽGordik i ego synov’ia: (Ne iz Mitskevicha)’.” [“On Plagiarism in the Early 20th Century and A. A. Izmailov’s Parody ʽGordik and His Sons: (Not from Mickiewicz)’.”] Russkaia literatura, no. 3, 2025, pp. 64–86. https://doi.org/10.31860/0131-6095-2025-3-64-86 (In Russ.) 2. Aleksandrov, A. S., and E. K. Aleksandrova. “Pozitivisty vs. simvolisty (K istorii vospriiatiia odnogo blokovskogo stikhotvoreniia)” [“Positivists vs. Symbolists (On the History of the Perception of one Blok Poem)”]. Filologicheskie nauki: Nauchnye doklady vysshei shkoly, no. 5, 2015, pp. 33–41. (In Russ.) 3. Viktorovich, V. A. “Vsevolod Krestovskii: Legendy i fakty” [“Vsevolod Krestovsky: Legends and Facts”]. Russkaia literatura, no. 2, 1990, pp. 48−52. (In Russ.) 4. Izmailov, A. A. Perepiska s sovremennikami [Correspondence with Сontemporaries], comp. and introd. article by A. S. Aleksandrov, preface, texts prep. and notes by A. S. Alexandrova, E. K. Alexandrova, and N. Yu. Gryakalova. St. Petersburg, Pushkin House Publ., 2017. 728 p. (In Russ.) 5. Orlov, M. M. Iazyk N. G. Pomialovskogo [N. G. Pomyalovsky’s Language], part 2. Rostov on Don, [S. n.], 1959. 250 p. (In Russ.) 6. Orlov, M. M. Razyskaniia v oblasti slovarnogo sostava sochinenii N. G. Pomialovskogo [Research in the Field of N. G. Pomyalovsky’s Works’ Vocabulary: DSc Thesis, Summary]. Leningrad, 1974. 23 p. (In Russ.) 7. Iampol’skii, I. G. “Kommentarii” [“Commentaries”]. Pomialovskii, N. G. Polnoe sobranie sochinenii: v 2 t. [Complete Works: in 2 vols.], vol. 2. Moscow, Leningrad, Academia Publ., 1935, pp. 309−370. (In Russ.) 8. Iampol’skii, I. G. N. G. Pomialovskii: Lichnost’ i tvorchestvo [N. G. Pomyalovsky: Personality and Creative Work]. Moscow, Leningrad, Sovetskii pisatel’ Publ., 1968. 268 p. (In Russ.)