Abstract: The article examines the “literary behavior” of I. A. Krylov in relation to the famous playwright Ya. B. Knyazhnin and the image of a mediocre plagiarist Rifmokrad (Rhyme Thief) in the comedy “Pranksters” (1788). This character, who surprisingly closely resembled Knyazhnin, later appeared in Krylov’s “Mail of Spirits” (1789) and then in the “Spectator” journal, which was published after Knyazhnin’s death. On the one hand, Krylov’s attitude towards Knyazhnin directly reflects the confrontation between two literary circles that arose within the Sumarokov school, i. e., between Knyazhnin and Nikolev. It is not by chance that Krylov chooses Nikolev’s comedy “The Proud Poet” (1775) as a model for his “Pranksters.” On the other hand, Krylov also makes a literary attack against Knyazhnin in his journals, which continue the tradition of moralistic journals in the spirit of N. I. Novikov.
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