ИСТИНА

The article examines the process of formation of ethnic stereotypes at the initial stage of Russian-French cultural interaction (XVII-XVIII centuries). Stereotypes are studied as units of discourse and linguistic culture. The object of the study is the ethnonyms les Russes (Russians) and les Moscovites (Muscovites) in the francophone discourse about Russia. The dynamics of the cultural content of ethnonyms is determined, taking into account the social aspects of the cultural ideas of the French about Russians.