The authors of the article believe that it is important to study the deep essence of the writer’s works in order to understand the period of time that he depicts. D.I. Stakheyev contributed to the development of the genres of sketch and short story as he discussed new subjects and ideas through studying the life of the Russian province. In addition, the value of his works is that they touch upon a wide range of universal problems that are of great importance in our time. The article gives a broader idea of “small” forms of literary works in Russia in the mid-19th century. The interpretation of the images of the provincial merchants created by Stakheyev, the Russian writer of the second half of the 19 century, is of scientific interest to us. To understand the nature of provincial merchants Stakheyev goes his own way: he shows the essence of the merchant class through the problems of fathers and children, of crime and punishment, and of the “golden calf” influence on everyday life. The provincial town, marketplace, forest trade are elements depicting a long-established patriarchal world that is far from civilization and not affected by European style of life. The article was written to be used in the educational process. Studying the works of D.I. Stakheev within the framework of additional education, teachers and students of a modern school can discover pages of Russian literature, that were unknown for them, realize the moral problems that were faced by the previous generations.