The article shows how the historical development of Russia in the 17th century influenced the design of legal doctrine as a source of Russian law. When conducting the study, the author relied on the provisions of the historical school of law, whose representatives substantiated the important role of the “folk spirit” in the development of law, updated the issue of compliance of the adopted and current legislation with this “folk spirit”, including customs and traditions that develop in the process of life. Most clearly, this trend began to be seen in connection with the process of centralization of the state, while the existence of a single all-Russian legislative act played an important role. The author notes that the development of the legal doctrine in the period under review was associated with a general tendency towards the creation of a formula for the “best form of government”, to streamline the legal regulation of social relations. For the national legal system, the 17th century is of particular importance, since it was then that after overcoming the crisis of statehood, the formation of the estate structure of society, the formation of a class of owners, an increase in the level of its education, the emergence of new trends began in the law. Analysis of doctrinal sources of the 17th century allowed the author to assess the diversity of views that had developed by that time on the state and law, on the forms of government, on the relationship between state and society, law and legislation.