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Abstract: The article deals with the spelling of unstressed vowels in the roots of Russian words in front of the -va- component (zabivat’, zashivat’, etc.). The study draws on the materials for the dictionary of the Old Russian on the written monuments described by I. I. Sreznevsky, uses spelling, etymological, explanatory, word-building, historical and dialectological dictionaries, as well as a number of spelling aids of previous centuries, analyzes vowel alternation in the roots of these words and identifiee the problems associated with the determination of the morphemic status of the consonants -v- and -j-, used in these words after the root vowels. The words with alternation (-е-) / -и- / -ø- in the root before the syllable -va- are considered in comparison with the words with the similar alternation (-е-) / -и- / -ø- in the roots, included in the rules of modern spelling guides. In the process of realization of the method of systemic analysis, the article substantiates the possibility of verification of unstressed vowels in the roots of Russian words in writing before the -va- component in accordance with the “spelling of alternating fluent -и- in the root” rule, presented in the 2006 Spelling Guide edited by V. V. Lopatin. The results of this study can be applied in teaching the Russian language at universities and secondary schools (an additional technique of checking the unstressed vowels -е-, -и- in verbs before the -va- component), and specifically while teaching Russian spelling to foreign learners. The article also contains materials on the history of the Russian language that may be of interest to students – and are included in the study courses of the Old Russian language or in special courses on the history of Russian spelling.