Yes, but there's no 'proven' absolute minimum.

It also depends on what you want the thing to do, and what you call life. If you're just saying 'reproduction in an optimal environment', then the code could be pretty small if placed in a bath of ideal organic molecules.

That said, 1700 base pairs is pretty damned small, and a living environment (with all of its own mechanisms of production) probably is the most optimal environment.

Basically the plans for a virus vs that for bacteria are orders of magnitude in different complexity.

Virus: must have keys to a factory and plans that work in that factory to make more virii.

Bacteria: Must have plans for the entire factory.