The author suggests the principle of combining the sources of public communication with a specific and uncertain destination and the method of multilateral situational analysis of problem situations. The work presents the results of the study of public sentiments on the peasant question in the Russian society in the first quarter of the XIX century. Based on the analysis of publications in the periodical press, investigative cases on the dissemination of rumors, petitions and projects, it has revealed the conceptions of Russians about possible scenarios for the abolition of serfdom in Russia.