Work is devoted to a question of reading literary classics and forms of its actual assessment in the modern public environment - both scientific and specialized, and connected with wide reader's audience. The Russian classical literature became object of consideration. Authors of article believe that in the Russian Post-Soviet society two tendencies determining nature of the attitude towards verbal art heritage of the past were shown. On one hand, inertia of former achievements has left, and the Russian public in general has stopped reading actively. On the other -in case of some improvement of living conditions the obvious social trend to being interested inbook and journal products was found. The classics on this background takes very modest place. However a noticeable factor of strengthening attention to it is attempt of its poly-variable interpretation today (scientific and creative, figurative). Exactly here the conflict gaining lines of public and ideological opposition between "conservatives" and "liberals" lies. The first take a guarding cultural position. Classics for them - is a form of preserving national memory, the life-meaning reference points, mental code, expression of world outlook and style harmony. The second perceive the classical text as the field for semantic experiments, bright innovations, verification of the next methodological programs. "Conservatives" reproach "liberals" with a "deconstructive" partition of classical, with withdrawal from its live, organic element, with substituting it by dead, mechanical beginning. "Liberals", in turn, blame "conservatives" of stagnancy, desire to refuse poly-cultural approach and establish the only correct, monistic view. It is clear, that the opposite interpretation of classics is only part of the general ideological conflict, even more precisely - that dialectic fight which can be designated as collision "old" vs. "new" (we use these terms without any estimation, in neutral sense). The truth, most likely, lies in the middle, as in the antique tragedy, each of the parties conducting dispute of right and wrong at the same time. From this it follows that the method of overcoming difficult situation is in that clashing friend's friend gossip, having shown the best psychological properties. Otherwise the classics will be replaced by one-sided ideological interpretation (irrespective of origin sources), and instead of authentic interest in the past in society there will be a feeling of discharge and fatigue
