For the first time, we publish an unknown review written by Aleksandr Nikitenko, a member of Imperial Academy of Sciences, of the comedy by Alexander Ostrovsky "The Forest". This review was compiled on behalf of the commission that distributed Aleksey Uvarov’s awards for the playwrights after Alexander Ostrovsky submitted his play to the competition. Review by Aleksandr Nikitenko was read at a meeting of the commission; its copy has been discovered in his personal archive. Alexander Ostrovsky participated in the competition for Aleksey Uvarov’s award for more than 15 years, but he achieved success only twice: with his "The Storm" in 1860 and with the drama "Sin and Sorrow Are Common to All" in 1863. Aleksandr Nikitenko, himself a member of the academic commission, for several years was reviewing all the works that competed for the prize, and almost always gave negative conclusions about them. He reacted sharply negatively to "The Forest" as well. In the article, Aleksandr Nikitenko’s review is considered in t