"HONEST CHARACTER AND PURE POETIC GIFT": CREATIVITY OF А. К. TOLSTOY IN F. E. PAKTOVSKY’S WORKS
The article presents a conceptual analysis of the essay by F.E. Paktovsky, dedicated to the creative work of A.K. Tolstoy. The relevance of this study is determined by the importance of the figure of the literary critic for the history of Russian criticism of the 19<sup>th</sup> and 20<sup>th</sup> centuries, the importance of his views on the creativity of the authors of Russian classical literature of the second half of the 19<sup>th</sup> century, and also for the history of Belgorod State National Research University, since the critic was one of the directors of Belgorod Teachers’ Training Institute. The study of the creative heritage of F.E. Paktovsky was carried out with the use of motivational-figurative, biographical and historical-literary methods. Turning to the works of A.K. Tolstoy, a literary critic considers them as the embodiment of aesthetic views on the nature of art, he focuses attention on socio-political motives that were relevant to contemporary Russian social life. F.E. Paktovsky analyzes the ideas and images of A.K. Tolstoy in the biographical aspect, without regard to their romantic conventions, he acts as a representative of the Russian utilitarian criticism of the late 19<sup>th</sup> century.