The article studies the phenomenon of small collectives as a crucial institution of intellectual and cultural life. Examining the materials of the Nevel Circle and M. Bakhtin’s early works, the author shows how the atmosphere of trust and regular dialogues stimulated the development of moral philosophy and a polyphonic communication model. Ensuring the safety of discourse, small collectives help remove social and ideological barriers and prepare an idea for a serious dispute with opponents. The study cites public disputes in 1918–1919 involving the Bakhtin Circle as examples of such an approach. The theoretical underpinnings of the phenomenon link it to Bakhtin’s concepts of dialogue, event, and polyphony; he saw a collective as a form of organized coexistence of multiple voices, distinct from both cacophony and censorship. The study provides additional examples from the Tartu-Moscow School of Semiotics and offers Y. Lotman’s perspective on small collectives. The author argues that, as a practical method of preserving culture, developing humanitarian thinking, and overcoming ideological pressure, the tradition of small collectives deserves a prompt resurrection.