In this article one of the metapoetic principles of A. I. Solzhenitsyn is analyzed – ‘a dialogue with a classic writer’. In his sketch Immersing into Chekhov Solzhenitsyn renders the pleasure of aesthetic insights from the encounters with Chekhov, enters into a conversation with him, argues with Chekhov’s world outlook. Thereby Solzhenitsyn’s own ‘creative lab’ is revealed to the reader.