Abstract: The subject of the article is the activities of the “New World” journal in the 1950-1960s. The author examines the role of the magazine at the beginning of the reform of Russian literature; the position of the editor-in-chief of “New World” regarding the function of literature designed to reflect reality; the reasons why A. Tvardovsky was removed from the post of editorial director. The work indicates that A. Tvardovsky served as editor-in-chief of the “New World” for 16 years, but during his career he faced dismissal twice. The article reflects the direction and main ideas of liberal thought of the New World magazine, which in the 1950s and 1960s was under the leadership of the editor-in-chief A. Tvardovsky. When studying the problems associated with the magazine’s position on the need to provide literary creativity with a certain freedom. When considering the activities of the magazine and its editor in certain historical and sociocultural conditions, a comparative historical method was used. The main conclusion of the study is that A. Tvardovsky, through his activities as editor-in-chief of the publication “New World” and his principled position on the freedom of literary creativity, made it possible to outline the beginning of the Thaw period in the Soviet literary process. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the article systematizes information about the reasons for the removal of A. Tvardovsky from the post of editorial director and proves the role of the periodical in question in the process of making a turn in Russian literature towards the realistic tradition. A. Tvardovsky even published those works that were rejected by other leading journals due to the discrepancy between the author’s ideas and the ideas of the ruling party.