The biography and scientific work of the outstanding Russian historian S.F. Platonov continues to arouse the natural interest of modern researchers. But the years of his youth, the period when there was a process of folding ideological attitudes, professional preferences, youthful hobbies remain little developed. At the same time, the time, starting from the age of 13 and before entering the university, as it turns out, is filled with numerous poetic, prose, dramatic, even scientific experiments. They allow us to talk about great literary inclinations that found expression in specific works, some of them received high marks, but remain unknown. A critical review of an article dedicated to the work of N.A. Nekrasov is published, which traces the emerging mastery of writing such studies, the attitude of progressive youth to the work of the great poet of Russia. The appearance of the manuscript was the result of the acquaintance of the young reviewer with the published collection, where responses to the poet's death were collected, mainly published in provincial periodicals. This circumstance indicates the fact of S. Platonov's interest in the novelties of critical publications. He boldly, with patriotic fervor, defended the outstanding poet-democrat. He was deeply touched by the one-sided, and therefore unfair assessment of his work. Not always with the necessary skill, but argumentatively, the reviewer, drawing on his, as it seemed to him, irrefutable facts, rejects the unreasonable, as it seemed to him, assessment of the anonymous author. Already in this his fear of the reading public was manifested. It can be stated that the review, as the first experience of such creativity, turned out to be successful and well deserves the attention of specialists.