Russian historical and literary process of the XIX century is a complex, diverse typological phenomenon, in which the important role is given to folk literature. The subject of the monograph is the genesis of folk literature in the historical dynamics and genre of conditionality, typological features and features of prose of writers-nationalists. The specific character of folk fiction is noted, which consists in setting new social and social problems, which are at the center of political struggle in Russia. The work is based on the genre principle of considering the problem. To this end, the works of essay writers of the sixties have been analyzed (N. V. Uspensky, F. M. Reshetnikov, V. V. Vasilyevich, V. M. Pushkin, and V. V. Kovalev). A. Sleptsov, A. Levitov) and fiction writers (N. Naumov, S. Karonin-Petropavlovsky, P. Zasodimsky, N. Zlatovratsky, A. Ertel, F. Nefedov, G. Uspensky). The book is of interest to both literary scholars and folklorists, and historians.