The evolution, technologies, and symbols of the protest movement in Belarus in 2020 are yet another confirmation of the multi-level nature of modern crises. Given the constant importance of internal problems (the grassroots level), the determining factor in the destabilization of the situation were the interests of external actors (the upper level), who used high-tech resources to moderate the behaviour of large masses of people. The article examines the dynamics of protest moods in the Republic of Belarus from the late 2019 to February 2021. The chosen chronological period has allowed us to study three main phases of the protests: the preparatory stage, the «surge» stage, and the process of fading, which is dangerous for turning into a «fire in the swamp». The main information and communication resource that allows us to identify technological practices of destruction, which were largely transferred to the Russian soil at the end of January 2020, became the opposition Telegram channels (primarily the NEXTA platforms).

The article analyzes the search of the political elite of Germany for the content and real limits of the partnership within western civilization, in the context of the reaction to the policies of US President Trump and the consequences of the social and political division of the country that remained after him. The author presents some hypoteses concerning the future of relations between the US and the EU.

Today the assessment of uncertainty of the prospects for world politics varies in the widest range: from the smallest to the highest. The coronavirus pandemic has created a «new normality» or, more precisely, a «new abnormality» in which countries find themselves, regardless of their geopolitical status and place in the international hierarchy. How long this uncertainty will last, what are the ways to overcome it, what are the features of this uncertainty in a particular country and in the world as a whole – these troubling questions became a cross-cutting theme of the book of Lionel Jospin.

In the second decade of the 21st century, India and Iran gained opportunities to rationalize the geographical structure of their foreign trade by creating a new international meridional trade route, despite the anti-Iranian US sanctions.

The article deals with the digital transformation of political parties. In the context of the crisis of political parties, digital communications are used to aggregate interests, political mobilization, implement deliberative democracy, and involve party members and supporters in the decision-making process. Depending on the features of the internal organization, the author distinguishes parties of network control and parties of network coordination. In the digital reality, parties must make the transition from electronic reception rooms to multifunctional media platforms, as well as abandon the policy of informing in favour of the policy of citizens involvement.

The proposed material provides a scientific and practical analysis of the information and political work implemented by so-called «Collective West» countries against Russia over the past decade. By the example of attempts to falsify the history of the Second World War, a destructive pseudoscientific course aimed at destroying the Russian national identity, largely based on historical memory, is revealed.

In recent years, the countries of the region have seen Brazil as their main economic partner in Latin America and as an alternative to the economic dictate of Washington. A solid foundation for such a partnership is the absence of Brazil’s colonialist past, the desire of the Brazilian ruling circles to build relations with the countries of the Guiana Triangle on an equal, partner basis. An additional factor contributing to the growth of Brazil’s authority in the region is the country’s participation in the BRICS, as well as the steady growth of the country’s economy demonstrated.

The paper presents the authors’ strategic and tactical vision of how to stop the “color revolutions” carried out under the auspices of the transition of democracy in the post-Soviet space. It, in turn, leads to a tendency for the authorities to change in an unconstitutional way with the participation of a non-regional foreign political entity. At the same time, the article presents a theoretical structure, which, according to the authors, will contribute to the consolidation of an institutional and procedural model of democracy in the region, albeit illiberal.

The article is devoted to the current issue of the use of «soft power» in the foreign policy of the Russian state. In particular, a separate aspect of this issue is analyzed – the system of higher education for foreigners. The history of teaching foreign students in the universities of the USSR and Russia is considered. The reasons for the lag of modern Russian higher education from leading foreign universities are analyzed.