The article examines the historical and cultural aspects of the processes of formation of artistic tradition in Russian decorative and applied arts and folk crafts from the XI to the middle of the XV century. Using the example of outstanding pieces of various types and directions of decorative art, the main periods and stages of the formation of the general stylistics of the masters’ creativity and the ways of spreading similar artistic and figurative solutions are determined. The examples given by the author touch upon issues directly related to the processes of integration of Russian traditional crafts and decorative art with the creativity of Byzantium, Scandinavia, Central Europe and the culture of the peoples of the European part of Russia, which were subjected to the expansion of the Northern Slavic tribes. The author defines the development of the Russian artistic tradition as the active introduction of individual elements and figurative solutions of various sources into the basic Slavic culture, based on the preserved monuments of architecture, art and printed writing. The research is based on the works of archaeologists, art historians and artists, which are fundamental works on the history and theory of decorative and applied arts (A.N. Kirpichnikova, M.A. Orlova, B.A. Rybakov, etc.). A comparative analysis of the current state of certain types of Russian decorative and applied arts, traditional and folk crafts, taking into account the influence of technological transformations on authentic techniques and materials. The author’s conclusions are based on many years of experience in studying decorative and applied arts as a factor in the development of professional competencies of students of art universities and institutions of additional education in the process of becoming independent masters and artists.