On July 2nd, 2021 President V.V. Putin approved a new version of the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation. It reflects new risks and threats in the modern world and the ways to counter them, as well as those changes within Russia itself, thanks to which in recent years its position in global politics has been significantly strengthened and its role has increased not only in shaping the world agenda, but also in its implementation.

The article examines the problem of unilateral sanctions arbitrarily imposed by the United States, the European Union and other allied states against Russia. The author notes that only the UN Security Council is authorized, in accordance with the UN Charter, to make decisions on the establishment of sanctions regimes against countries that, by their actions, pose a threat to peace and international security. Any other such unilateral actions are a violation of international law and should be considered as a form of aggressive actions. Those unilateral sanctions are part of the tools of a hybrid war. The article notes that it is not necessary to count on the weakening of the anti-Russian sanctions pressure in the coming years, and the sanctions mechanism itself will acquire more and more sophisticated, insidious and immoral forms.

The article deals with the key issues of the use of national human capital institutions as instruments of power policy: functions, structure, types.

The relationship between Russia and China at the present stage has been repeatedly characterized as the most favorable over the entire period of bilateral relations. It is obvious that in many respects their current state and development is associated with the transition of the «fifth generation of leaders» of the PRC led by Xi Jinping to an active foreign policy, which required the introduction of new concepts, such as «The Chinese Dream», «Xi Jinping’s Thought on Diplomacy», «Community of a shared future for humankind», «Historical memory». The Russian expert community is faced with the task of further mastering the essence of many definitions coined by the PRC leaders.

The article deals with the main aspects of foreign policy interaction between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of security, with an emphasis on their participation in the Caspian region.

Recently, there has been a change in Turkey’s foreign policy vectors, its positions in the Middle East are being strengthened, the military presence in the post-Soviet space is being intensified, including the issue of creating the so-called «Army of Turan», into which it is planned to integrate the armed forces of the Turkic republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus, consolidated on national and religious identity, which in the long term may threaten the strategic interests of Russia.

The article analyzes interethnic contradictions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their impact on the process of forming national identity in the republic. The author notes a high degree of disunity among peoples in all spheres of society’s life, and, as a consequence, the destructive role of the course towards violent centralization. The conclusion is made about the possibility of establishing stability in the region, subject to progressive development based on a compromise of the parties, the absence of external diktat and strict observance of the constitutional principles of the Dayton Agreement.

The article analyzes statistical data on political science education in modern Russia. The authors focused their attention on the most pressing issues: the recruitment of applicants for budgetary and commercial places in universities, the preparation of graduate students and the defense of dissertations in political sciences, the status of the discipline «Political Science» in the university and secondary school.

In a review of the monograph by A.I. Podberezkin «Assessment and Forecast of the Military-Political Situation» the great work done by the author and the team headed by him to analyze the military-political situation and develop a scientifically grounded forecast of its development is noted. The paper considers the most probable scenarios of military-political situation as the most important basis for the development of the National Security Strategy of Russia, adequate and effective from the point of view of the existing and projected international situation.