The article examines the main problems of Russian-Polish relations of the XVII-XIX centuries in the light of modern Russian historiography. The authors focus on the translation of the German research by M. Rolf, devoted to the status of the Kingdom of Poland in the Russian Empire from the Congress of Vienna to the beginning of the WWI. The main content of the article is the analysis of the interpretations which are presented in this research and their comparison with the concepts of Russian historiography. Considerable attention is paid to the work of the Commission of historians of Russia and Poland, in particular, the conference «Russia in Polish Historiography, Poland in Russian Historiography» organized by this commission, which was held on June 23-25, 2015. The authors substantiate the idea that the study of Russian-Polish relations should be based on scientific interaction for objective research and the formation of a scientific understanding of the common history in public opinion, regardless of the political situation. The article highlights and describes the characteristic features of the main periods of Russian-Polish relations, starting with the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and up to the beginning of the XX century. The authors give a generalized description of the main historiographical interpretations of Russian and Polish researchers, compare them and explain the differences. The article also analyzes the views of historians on previously little-studied aspects of the uprisings of 1830−1831 and 1863−1864. The article deals with the issues of the ethnic and confessional policy of the Russian authorities in the territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth incorporated in Russia and the "issues" that arose in the Russian Empire after the incorporation of these territories. In conclusion, the authors note the dependence of historiographical interpretations on the political situation, and the desire of Russian historians, using a wide range of sources, to defend a more balanced position.