Abstract: In the article, in a historical and literary context, the obituary of the famous publicist, critic, and journalist at the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries M. O. Menshikov, dedicated to the outstanding Russian critic N. N. Strakhov, is analyzed for the first time.
The focus of the study is the interest of M.O. Menshikov to Nikolai Strakhov, which manifested itself at different stages of the publicist’s work, as well as the convergence of the creative and biographical traits of the two critics. The subject of the study is the attitude to the artistic and journalistic creativity of L. N. Tolstoy, Tolstoyism, critical realism and decadence.
This work makes possible the determination of the degree of interest of the “Week” critic in Strakhov’s work, to identify the biographical and creative similarities between the two critics, to compare their perception of L. N. Tolstoy’s story “The Master and the Worker” and their attitude to the artistic and journalistic heritage of the Yasnaya Polyana genius. The study substantiates the idea of Menshikov’s deep interest in the national issue, which was formed even before moving to the newspaper “Novoe Vremya”. The author noted that the obituary reflected themes characteristic of the publicist’s work, laid the seeds of his negative attitude towards the revolutionary movement, and indicated the ideological inconsistency and ambiguity of the publicist’s position in the 1890s. Using text analysis, the author proved that Menshikov conducted an ideological search in the field of traditional values in the 1890s, closely related to his gradual internal spiritual growth. The methodology of this study is based on the key principles of scientific philological knowledge: the principle of historicism, consistency, objectivity and systematicity. The author used comparative typological and historical genetic methods, as well as an integrated approach to text analysis.

Abstract: The subject of the study is the texts of the Russian publicist Mikhail Osipovich Menshikov on the development of domestic aeronautics, considered in the light of heterogeneous assessments of his work. The object is a reflection on the development of domestic aeronautics in the work of the famous Russian journalist of the early twentieth century M. O. Menshikov. The author considered various assessments of the work of the publicist. The most important part of the research is the analysis of M. O. Menshikov's journalistic texts on the development of aeronautics. Considerable attention is paid to the works of the publicist of the period of the Russian-Japanese war and the last years before the First World War, where the bureaucratic activities of officials are critically evaluated. The problems of timely supply of the army, flight safety on the first airplanes, and the technical lag of the Russian Empire from the West were also touched upon. The main conclusions of the work carried out are the assertion of the immutability of Menshikov's patriotic, state-oriented position regarding the development of domestic aeronautics and its ability to technical forecasting. In addition, specific "weak points" in the creative heritage of the publicist were identified: passion for an idea and lack of systematic university education. A special contribution of the author to the study of the topic is a comprehensive analysis of M. O. Menshikov's journalistic texts in the historical aspect. The novelty of the research lies in the identification of a combination of patriotic pathos and high idealism and the above shortcomings in the works of the publicist on aeronautics. The analysis of the texts of the chosen topic (the development of domestic aeronautics), covering the period from 1894 to 1918, showed that Menshikov's accusations of renegade and empty talk are untenable.