Based on the analysis of a variety of French and Russian sources, the article examines the initial period in the history of Russian-French relations. Considerable attention is paid to the imagological aspect of the topic — the problem of Russian perceptions of France at that time. In this aspect the topic is not very well studied (there are much more studies on the Russian-English and other Russian-European relations at the same era). Much attention is paid to the materials of I. Kondyrev’s and M. Neverov’s embassy to France (1615). One of the main conclusions is that Russian perception of France in the researched period was largely objective, devoid of obvious stereotypes or prejudices. Inaccuracies in the descriptions arise due to lack of knowledge and general incompetence, in particular, language difficulties. The same can be said about the French perception of the Russians in that period, which on the whole seems quite natural and objective, in any case, such an attitude in the sources is much more common than speculations on the image of the “barbarians”.