A critical discussion of a selection of writings by different commentators (Ia. Neverov, V. Odoevskii, A. Rubinshtein, A. Serov, V. Stasov, V. Karatygin, L. Sabaneev, B. Asaf’ev, V. Belyi, L. Kulakovskii, A. Zhdanov, L. Mazel’, N. Briusova, L. Knipper, I. Nest’ev) issued between the 1830s and the 1950s, on the theme of music in Russia in connection with issues of modernity, artistic adequacy and excellence, originality and imitation, and national identity of (imperial and Soviet) Russia as mirrored by art music in its relatioship with folkmusic.