The article considers several stories of Bessarabian writer O. Nakko (1840–1919) from the perspective of axiological methodology. According to the axiological approach, each of the ethnic and national cultures creates values of universal signifi cance. The Russians of Bessarabia are representatives of the middle and upper classes: landowners, offi cials, offi cers, engineers. These social categories shaped the urban cultural life of Bessarabia. Ethological stories of O. Nakko show us the world of the Russian family of Bessarabia of the 19th century. Family values of Russians belonging to the upper class – such as rich landowners (the story “Zina’s Joy”), representatives of the offi cer family (“Love or Compassion”) as well as civil servants’ family (“Not an eyebrow, but an eye”) are revealed. In these families, adults and children love and value each other in accordance with the canons of Christian morality. From an ethological perspective, using linear characters-images, O. Nakko showed the roles of family relationships, parents–children, husband–wife, such as they should be in the ideal version of a traditional Russian family. Taking as an example the analysis of O. Nakko’s characters relationship, the possibilities of using the axiological approach in cultural studies are demonstrated.