The article provides a primary analysis of the Russian corpus of illustration studies as a systematic theoretical understanding of illustration. The author emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of research on illustration as a sociocultural phenomenon. The presentation of the topic in Russian dissertation research, in periodical scientific and theoretical journals of various cultural and scientific institutions (universities, libraries, museums, research institutes), in thematic collections and monographs devoted to illustration as a media, artistic practice and visual research is studied. The necessity of studying and including educational projects and activities of independent researchers into the analyzed resources is additionally substantiated. The author draws attention to the ambiguity of the situation. On the one hand, there is a regular appearance of new events (exhibitions, conferences, articles, collections, dissertations) related to book, magazine and web graphics. On the other hand, most of the publications and studies are directed to historically remote objects, only a minimal number of scientists work with the present. The author records the disunity of the scientific community and weak interdepartmental communication in Russian illustration studies. The author also speaks about the need to create an interdisciplinary and international publication platform, uniting researchers of illustration of all forms of its modern existence, about the need for Russian specialized scientific and theoretical.