Аннотация:This article commemorates the 800th anniversary of the Great Charter (Magna Carta) by reviewing the its study in Russia during the late imperial, soviet and contemporary periods. First, it gives an overview of the key publications and their topics arranged chronologically, second, it examines the interpretative paradigms, third, it presents the results of interpreting Magna Carta as a historic(al) document and as a myth in legal history. It is shown that the distinction between the historians' and the lawyers' interpretation of Magna Carta has not been clearly drawn in the past, and even today it is contingent upon the dominant ideology embraced by the researchers.