The image of law and power as a reflection of legal culture in the literary heritage of the XI-XVII centuries

The article deals with the problem of traditional values and attitudes for the Russian legal consciousness that were formed during the formation of the Russian state. The authors focus on the image of law and power as a reflection of the characteristics of legal culture in the public legal consciousness. Using the example of the study of the literary heritage of the XI-XVII centuries, represented in such genres as hagiography, word, prayer, etc., having socio-political, socio-legal, historical and cultural content, the main factors and features of those problems of legal culture, which were in the center of public discussion, are shown. The author reveals such traditional features of the Russian legal culture as the dominance of religious and ethical principles (based on Christian values and norms), collectivist attitudes in matters of responsibility of the people and the authorities for peace and order in society and the state, appeal to the ideal of justice and truth as the natural-legal principles of Russian legislation, the ideals of brotherhood and unity of the people in the face of external threats, paternalistic guidelines in matters of trust in the current government, implemented in the image of a ruler - a god-fighter and defender for the people. The significance of invariant foundations for the Russian legal culture as the leading guidelines of modern state policy and legal ideology is actualized.