The article discuses little-known events of the life and literary career of Pavel Nikolaevich Medvedev (1892–1938), a member of the Bakhtin Circle. Gleaning facts from documents discovered in St. Petersburg’s archives, the critic’s own 1910s publications, reminiscences of his contemporaries and other materials with limited access, the article reconstructs the frst steps in literary criticism made by then a law student of Petersburg’s Herzen University, detailing Medvedev’s unique style and shedding light on his academic life and the circumstances of his expulsion. The authors analyse Medvedev’s editorship of Zapiski Peredvizhnogo Teatra and the role he played in the 1920s Petrograd’s/Leningrad’s literary, publishing and scholarly life. The article introduces a number of documents, including Medvedev’s student records, a 1929 autobiography, ‘Application to fll the position of an academic researcher,’ etc.