Behind the name of the Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu lies the author of a satirical novel that sparked a storm of debate. The name Charles-Louis de Montesquieu is firmly associated with the treatise "On the Spirit of Laws" and the idea of the separation of powers, without which the modern understanding of the state is unimaginable. But behind this monumental image lies another aspect - that of a bold satirist and intellectual provocateur, as he appears in his early novel "Persian Letters." This lecture is an attempt to look anew at Montesquieu as an author whose irony and insight still resonate today. "Persian Letters" is an epistolary novel in which, under the guise of Eastern travelers, sharp questions about religion, power, morality, and the hypocrisy of 18th-century European society are raised.