The writings of Archpriest Avvakum (1621-1682), the head of the Old Believers, an ascetic of Orthodoxy, are a significant and important phenomenon in the history of Russian literature of the 17th century. Having written the famous “Life” in conclusion, he described the religious contradictions in the society of that time, painted portraits of people of different classes: from the tsar to the peasants, - in fact, he created a literature of living, free figurative words, opened a new page of Russian confessional prose, showing himself to be an “excellent stylist “The book includes not only the sensational “Life”, but also excerpts from the “Book of Conversations”, “Book of Interpretations”, “Book of Reproofs” and the author’s epistolary heritage.