“Definitely comic talent!” This formula belongs to Gogol, who thus characterized the talent of the outstanding provincial actor Karpo Solenik (1811–1851). Gogol assumed that Solenik would play the role of Khlestakov at the premiere of the play “The Inspector General” at the Alexandrinsky Theater. If this had happened, we might know much more about him than we do now. His talent was highly appreciated by his contemporaries - Pletnev, Danilevsky, Shchepkin, Shevchenko. They wrote about the actor: “Performing roles from the works of Griboyedov, Gogol, Moliere, Solenik, regarding his merits in this case, stood, perhaps, on a par with these writers...” Why was the actor extolled? Why has it been studied so little so far? What is true comedy? And why has the provincial theater reached such a high level in Russia? The book offers answers to these questions. Yu.V. Mann is a literary critic, Doctor of Philology, author of many books on Russian literature and theater of the 19th century.