This article is an investigation of the forgotten novels by Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak such as «Birthday man» (1888), «Crowd favorite» (1898). The analysis of the novel`s problems connected with the lives of the intellectuals of the 1880s and 1890s, detection of the characters types and figurative language`s features are given in the text. Mamin-Sibiryak`s views are shown in comparison with  Saltykov-Shchedrin`s, Turgenev`s and Dostoevsky`s views. The main precedent text is a novel "Rudin" by Turgenev. The change of the character genetically and typologically associated with Rudin is described in the text. The plot-compositional similarities of Mamin-Sibiryak`s novels with the precedent text are indicated.