This article is dedicated to the study and publication of sources associated with the history of 17th century Ivangorod’s and Narva’s Russian merchants, and to highlighting the distinctive features of the Russian language of that region. A letter from the private correspondence of the Ivangorod merchant Parfeny Torchakov, which is deposited in the collections of the Estonian National Archives, is published in this article. The letter written by the merchant’s wife Fedosya Ivanovna (from about 1660) is presented in a transliteration that approximates the original and is translated into modern day Estonian. The author strives to ascertain the circumstances in which the letter was written and similarly to identify the individuals mentioned in the letter in order to further research this correspondence and to accentuate supplementary features of the living conditions of merchants in 17th century Narva.