The purpose of this questionnaire survey of more than 1500 Soviet adolescents, aged 14 to 20, was to clarify the important and meaningful criteria for teenage friendships and to describe the actual forms and psychosocial functions of these friendships. The dynamics of friendship by age and sex, its place among other interpersonal relationships including the family, and differences between rural and urban youth are described. In spite of the widely held opinion to the contrary among sociologists, results suggest that adolescent friendship is not losing its significance or its exclusiveness. The need for further interdisciplinary research in this area is stressed.