Аннотация:The study of ice events on rivers is of great importance, especially in our country where some rivers are covered by ice for months. The needs of shipping, the construction and operation of hydraulic structures, the study of channel deformations caused by ice phenomena and other purposes require knowledge of the ice regime of the rivers. The article explores the beginning of visual observations of ice phenomena and their consequences on the rivers of Russia in the XI-XVII centuries. The study is based on numerous annalistic sources describing the passage of high water, floods, and also indicate the dates of opening and freezing of rivers. It also analyzes notes of foreigners travelling throughout Russia in the 15th - early 18th centuries. The authors separately examined the observation of the passage of spring floods on the Moscow River in the second half of the 17th century.