The publication considers the issue of reflecting the relationship between Russia and Poland in the Russian intellectual society of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. The role of state discourse in formalizing the position of Russian enlighteners, N. I. Novikov, and A. N. Radishchev is revealed. The authors consider the views on the Polish question among the intellectuals of the first quarter of the 19th century: "young friends" - associates of the emperor, Decembrists and N. M. Karamzin.