Music and Time Annotation << Back Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgskiy and Nikola Salos M.V. Skuratovskaya The article is devoted to the second edition of the Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "The Maid of Pskov" (1876–1877), which was not published and was survived in the form of scattered hand-written autographs. The focus is on reviewing the image of the God’s fool Nikola Salos, his role in the dramaturgy of the opera, as well as the relationship with the another characters – Ivan Groznyi and Olga. In the course of work similar storylines in the operas "The Maid of Pskov" and "Boris Godunov" were considered: Ivan Groznyi – Nicola Salos and Boris Godunov – The God’s fool. An attempt was made to answer questions related to the reasons for the changes, which Rimsky-Korsakov did in the second and third editions of the "The Maid of Pskov". The work touches on the topic of M.A. Balakirev’s and M.P. Mussorgskiy’s influence on the works of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. On the example of operas "The Maid of Pskov" and "Boris Godunov" some conclusions were drawn in the field of composer’s processing of literary sources – the L.A. Mey’s drama and A.S. Pushkin’s tragedy. Appeal of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov to the Salos’s image considered in the context of religious line of his work. An analogue was made between Russian opera plots with a religious themes and similar motifs in the West European big historical opera. Keywords: Rimsky-Korsakov, editions of opera "The Maid of Pskov", Mussorgskiy, Boris Godunov, Nikola Salos. Contacts: E-mail: littleskur@gmail.com Pp. 49-55.