Introduction. The article analyzes the works of Russian populists, which contain a socio-philosophical solution to the problem of moral autonomy of the individual. Theoretical analysis. The socio-philosophical ideal of populist thought was closely connected with the theory of organizing a fair society based on the pattern of social solidarity, which implies socially responsible behavior of citizens who respect other people’s rights and act in the interests of human liberation. Individual autonomy can be achieved through various methods of liberation: through labor activity and the practice of cooperation, socio-political activity in the direction of realizing the social ideal of conscious solidarity. The moral autonomy of the individual, therefore, does not imply moral nihilism, but, on the contrary, is aimed at finding a compromise between private and public interests. Theorists of populism develop the thesis of N. G. Chernyshevsky’s «reasonable egoism», according to which intellectually and morally meaningful individualistic (autonomous) behavior can correspond to collective interests. The moral autonomy of the individual, according to most populists, does not deny the possibility of socially responsible behavior. Conclusion. Populist thought becomes a kind of counterpoint to the development of liberating social thought in Russia, transforming the ideal type of carrier of liberating ideas: a morally autonomous nihilist turns into a socially responsible populist.