The article aims to review studies of various aspects of the Russian innovation system, which were conducted under the auspices of the leading sociological centers of the Russian Federation, in order to identify and compare the heuristic potential of the methodical and methodological approaches and models applied, as well as to conduct a secondary analysis of the empirical data obtained through them. Materials of research conducted at the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the National Research University Higher School of Economics, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Association of Innovative Regions of Russia are used in the present study. A secondary analysis of the considered empirical data and approaches to their analysis in the context of improving the heuristic potential of the narrative institutional analysis of the Russian innovation system is carried out. The paper demonstrates that the consistency of narratives and studied data, including indicators of official statistics, is ambiguous. The article considers the interrelation of indicators and narratives about certain problematic issues such as the volume and sources of innovation funding, the importance of intellectual property rights registration for the innovation implementation, the need for long-term planning for the implementation of innovations, the state's focus on stimulation of innovation, the most and least innovative industries and types of economic activities.