The article examines legal activity in pre-Petrine Russia in the 17th century. A critical rethinking is proposed regarding the stereotype of the population's widespread «distrust» towards the judicial system, and full legal illiteracy of the «Muscovites». Recent research in the archives suggests some considerations concerning a significant underestimation of the scale of the people's needs during that period in protecting their rights and property in official judicial bodies. In the form of small essays, this study presents some facts about the continual appeals of the plaintiffs (victims) to various judicial bodies and about the struggle of the government agencies against the malicious litigation and intentional fraud in the field of legal acts. Based on the results of our research, it can be concluded that the level of legal activity of the Russian population's different strata representatives was sufficiently high for its time.
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