The article explores the issue of etiquette evolution in the Russian culture in the early 18Ith century. Using ideas and approaches of N. Elias (the idea of transformation of social decorum), J. Revel (the idea of the historical transformation of the boundaries between public and private space) and R. Lakoff (the distinction between the concepts of civility and politeness), the authors outline specifi city and innovative quality of etiquette standards and behavioural models. They are presented in the book «The Honourable Mirror of Youth». The authors come to the conclusion that the etiquette development in Russia followed non linear trajectory and was based not on changing the rules, but rather on the transformation of their meaning and their sociocultural functions.