The article analyzes the comparative aspects of the interpretation of the largest Russian historians of the XVIII - early XX centuries. V. N. Tatishchev, N. M. Karamzin, V. O. Klyuchevsky - a topical controversial problem of the relationship between Russia and Europe. The evolution of historical research on this topic, the specificity and methodology of the historical and scientific approach to the analysis of the problem of “Russia - Europe”, the difference between this approach and philosophical and journalistic interpretations.
