Psychological peculiarities of lie comprehension in Western and Russian cultures are discussed. Western definitions of lie usually mention the person who is lied to; the lie is considered to be one of the forms of violence -violation the rights of this person. Such a comprehension is called moral-legal one. Russian tradition sees in lie morally wrong action of a liar, and Russian dictionaries for the most part do not mention the person who is lied to. Such an altitude is reflected by the results of experimental study of Russian sample (286 persons). 90 participants included negative moral personal characteristics of a liar in their definition of lie. Statistically significant majority of participants think that white lie is the most common form, e. i. people lie in order not to morally damage another person; only 20 participants consider the lie as a means to protect one's own personal rights. Such an attitude is called subjective-moral one.