Annotation

The article is devoted to the study of the history of the development of domestic legislation in the field of culture. The study reveals that Russian culture developed almost without legal support until the reforms of Peter the Great, and the access of different segments of the population to culture, especially high culture, was not always equal. The article concludes that there is a need to reform the current Russian legislation on culture, which does not meet the modern requirements and needs of the state, society, and the population.