The author of the present article demonstrates the role of the ovel in Russian literature. He characterizes it as a specific “Hassliebe” which became a paradoxical cause of its worldwide fame: under the impact of the psycho-so ciological factors connected with the newly functioning category ‘reader’ it was not possible to avoid the genre of the novel‚ but in Russia on the grounds of the unfinished process of secularization (especially this was the reason for the frequent assertion about the would-be religious character of Russian literature) the novel was perceived as an unwanted child. Its specific trajectory is being demonstrated on the exemple of some crucial works.