The development of the genre story in the Mordovian literature of the beginning of the XX century is marked with nonstandard episodes characterized by different types of relations between epic genres and fiction essayist. The way of genre progress appears as a line string that consists of pieces of pure form (story) and multilayer synthesizing structures (essay, essay story, sketch story) that in its turn proves the urgency of studying the issue of genres development in their change, interactions, interpenetrations.