The article deals with the problem of the stress-strain state of a rock mass around a vertical working of a circular cross-section. An exact formulation of the three-dimensional problem of the deformation of a half-space weakened by a deep cylindrical cavity is used. The stress-strain state of a half-space, as a three-dimensional body, strictly obeys the basic requirements of the three-dimensional linear theory of elasticity and is described by its corresponding equations and relations in a cylindrical coordinate system. The specific problem of rock mechanics has been solved, i.e. the considered rock mass works only in compression. The deformation process and stress state around vertical shafts of circular cross-section are expressed in terms of stress functions. Calculation formulas are derived for all nonzero components of the strain and stress tensors, taking into account the axisymmetry of the problem under consideration, represented in terms of stress functions.