Historical time is one of the key categories of artistic time inSokurov’s work is investigated in this article. The focus is on the complexity andversatility of historical time as the basis for creating an artistic image. The authoris interested in the very method of representing the category of historical timedirectly in the structure and substance of films.The main goal of the work is to identify the ways of representing empiricaltime characteristic of the director in fiction and non-fiction films. The authorstrives for studying Sokurov’s films in terms of his treatment of history andhistorical figures. The article analyzes the expressive means allowing the directorto convey historical time in the picture. From the very start, the specific characterof Sokurov’s portrayal of the time atmosphere and spirit through the creation ofa special life space for the main characters of his films - a house, hometown,landscape, road and even the metaphysical space of historical memory, filledwith symbols of a particular era - is revealed. It is this complex discursive spaceof the hero’s life that becomes the main way of representing historical time inSokurov’s films.The author of the article dwells on details on “The Moscow Elegy” docu-mentary devoted to A.Tarkovsky’s life abroad. Such a view makes it possible tofind out the ways of representing historical time through creating a complex spaceembodied in the image of Tarkovsky’s house (almost all director’s apartmentsand houses related to his life) and now deserted without the owner.This research allows us to identify an important aspect in Sokurov’s cinema,the director pays exceptional attention to, i.e. the connection of historical timeand the space of a person’s life as the reflection of his inner world, the life of ahuman soul, their constant interaction and mutual influence.