Abstract: The research object is the policy of Russia’s cultural safety provision. The research subject is the role of the sports sphere in the provision of the country’s cultural safety. Special emphasis is put on the international component of the issue. Soft power is gaining more and more importance in the modern international arena; it consists in the country’s ability to influence international affairs without using military power or threat of it. One of the key components of soft power is cultural influence, and the international prestige in the sports sphere is one of its elements. Cultural influence, in its turn, is an essential component of the national cultural safety provision. In this paper, the author analyzes Russia’s cooperation with other countries during the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi and in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The author analyzes the doping scandals, associated with these sports events, the work of Media during these sports events, and their political aspects. The author compares the activities of Russia and Brazil, aimed at their international image promotion during the Summer Olympic games. The theoretical base of the work includes the studies of J. Nye, A. Wendt, S. Huntington, V.V. Kochetkov, and A.V. Torkunov. The author applies the methods of sources analysis, comparative analysis, introspection, and content-analysis of the relevant documents. The author concludes that significant expenditures for the country’s sports prestige maintenance are very important for Russia’s cultural influence. The author is the first Russian scholar who considers the aspects of international cooperation in the sports sphere. The author analyzes the current and the latest developments in this sphere. 

Keywords: national safety, sport, international cooperation, cultural aspects, cultural safety, international influence, national prestige, Soft power, International image, Olympic games

Abstract: The article offers a detailed analysis of Russia-Germany relations during the Ukraine crisis of 2013–2015. The Ukraine crisis has led to an unprecedented cooling in relations between Moscow and Berlin since the end of the cold war. The two countries hold diametrically opposed views on the ways to settle the situation in Ukraine. Germany's foreign policy towards Russia has become fully consistent with the unified approach of the Western countries, consisting in exerting pressure on Russia through economic sanctions.The research methodology is based on general scientific methods and approaches together with the complex approach, involving the wide range of social sciences. The scientific novelty of this research consists in the consideration of Russia-Germany relations in the context of the Ukraine crisis, taking into account that the relationship between Russia and Germany is of strategic significance for the both states. The author concludes that Russia and Germany have different political positions on the Ukraine crisis, which affect both the level of political communications and economic cooperation.

Keywords: diplomacy, Germany's foreign policy, international relations, Ukraine crisis, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, geopolitics, bilateral relations, foreign policy

Abstract: The paper considers the peculiarities and specificity of development of international activities of far-right parties of the European Union at the present stage, and its influence on the phenomenon of popularization of far-right political parties in these countries. The purpose of the research is to define the importance of international cooperation of European far-right political parties. The activity of the European Alliance for Freedom and the Europe of Nations and Freedom group can hardly be called the successful examples of cooperation, but the foundation of the PEGIDA group and its growing importance and popularization in the countries of the European Union gives reasons to identify this movement as a new form of cooperation of far-right political forces. The author considers ideological and institutional aspects of contemporary international cooperation of far-right parties of the European Union and the immigration problem in the European context, and analyzes the PEGIDA movement and its popularization in France and Britain. The growth of Euroscepticism and radicalism, and electoral successes of far-right parties in recent decades speak for significant strengthening of the positions of far-right parties in the contemporary Europe, and the immigration problem remains one of the most serious problems of the European Union. To achieve their goals, far-right political forces seek for new forms of successful international cooperation. 

Keywords: security, refugees, international cooperation , European parliament, Euroscepticism, PEGIDA, the National Front, the European Union, immigration, far-right parties

Abstract: The research subject is the tenth anniversary of the EU Black Sea Synergy initiative. The research object is the activities of EU in the Black Sea region after Bulgaria and Romania joining in 2007 and the EU’s border extension to the Black Sea. The author considers the results of 10 years of the Black Sea Synergy policy implementation. Its key provisions are contained in the Communication to the Parliament and the Council – a New Regional Cooperation initiative. The author gives special attention to the documents of the EU institutions - the European Parliament and the European Commission -, which contain specific data on successes and failures of the Black Sea Synergy policy implementation. In order to carry out a profound study and obtain reliable and objective results, the author uses the historical, logical, comparative and analytical methods of scientific cognition along with the system analysis, structural and functional analysis, modeling and prognostication. The author concludes that the absence of any significant results of the first decade of the Black Sea Synergy initiative implementation can be explained by the following reasons: the Black Sea Synergy policy and the Eastern Partnership policy haven’t been delimited; there’s no special body responsible for the Black Sea Synergy policy implementation; too few European Commission officers are responsible for the implementation of the Black Sea synergy initiative, as compared with the Eastern Partnership program; the abilities of three EU member-states – Bulgaria, Greece and Romania – to form energy, transport and environmental sectoral partnerships of the Black Sea Synergy have been overestimated; Russia and Turkey – the countries the Black Sea Synergy policy is focused on – try to undermine the EU’ influence in the Black Sea region and don’t support the European Commission’s efforts to implement the Black Sea Synergy policy; the leading international financial institutions are unwilling to support the Black Sea synergy projects. This paper is a comprehensive study based on the central idea; its results are particularly important for the formation of Russia’s policy towards the newly independent states of the Black Sea region, the EU member-states and the EU as a whole in the Black Sea region. The author detects shortcomings and gaps in the Black Sea Synergy policy, which must be eliminated by the EU for the Black Sea Synergy strategy to be more successful. 

Keywords: Ukraine, synergy, region, Black Sea, states, independent, new, Russia, European Union, energy

Abstract: The research object is the peculiarities of directions of the cultural and psychological methodology of international political studies. The author notes that the Russian political science hasn’t given appropriate attention to these directions until recently. The author describes the specialists’ approaches and considers the following directions of the cultural and psychological methodology of international political studies: the person-centered approach, the study of the influence of public opinion, the study of impact of personal and corporate interests, irrational manifestations and other psychological factors, an “operational code”; the “historical experience of generations” concept; the mental approach. The research methodology is based on the system approach. The author uses the historical-genetic, socio-psychological and comparative methods. The author proves that the cultural and psychological methodology of international political studies is aimed at the penetration into the “human dimension” of the world politics and international relations, into the mental sphere of a society, a group and a person in order to detect the determinants and prerequisites of particular decisions and actions in the mentioned sphere and to make more realistic forecasts. 

Keywords: mentality, psychology, culture, methodology, studies, foreign policy, international relations, person, political leader, public opinion

Abstract: The author studies the general provisions (objectives, principles, etc.) and the modern problems of the current communication (image/branding) policy ensuring the right of citizens to access to information resources and their interaction with public institutions in this context. The object of this research is the sphere of activity and social relations arising within the EU communication policy, which has its own specificity determined by the historical continuity and the modern humanistic democratic phenomena in some EU member countries. The purpose of the research is characterized by the analysis of the doctrinal position of mass media in the context of modern reality, by  the identification of the system-defined connections, which allow considering particular institutions as the institutions related to the subject of this study, and by the consideration of the basic components of the phenomenon under study. The author uses the methods of induction, theoretical and comparative-legal content-analysis, free writing, and other general and specific scientific methods. The author concludes that the EU’s image policy, based on the principles of transparency, objectivity and mutually open connection with society, should be focused on the aggregation of particular benefits and advantages of each national government if it supports the open communication channel with supranational structures and provides the Internet access for all EU members.

Keywords: right to access to information, national mass media, public opinion, supranational institutions, EU citizens, migration, image policy, communication policy, mass media, EU

Abstract: The research subject is Russia’s policy in the UN, particularly in the sphere of peacekeeping and international security in the 21st century in the context of formation of a polycentric international relations system. The author focuses on the analysis of a contractual legal framework regulating the participation of Russian citizens in international peacekeeping, and the activities of peacekeepers in the modern UN peacekeeping operations. The author analyzes the geography of Russian peacekeepers’ participation, detects the tendencies and problems in the context of the UN reforming and the formation of Russia’s foreign policy priorities. The research methodology is based on the principles and methods of political research based on the system approach. To study the evolution of participation of the Russian Federation in the UN peacekeeping activities, the author uses the general logical approach, which includes analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparison, generalization, and the method of critical analysis of documents (content-analysis). The scientific novelty consists in the attempt to comprehensively analyze the participation of Russia in the UN peacekeeping activities in the context of formation of a polycentric model of international relations. To effectively promote Russia’s foreign policy in the UN, the author believes it is reasonable to focus on peacekeeping activities. 

Keywords: Russia's foreign policy, armed conflicts, international security, national security, UN Security Council, UN peacekeeping operations, UN, polycentric model, multipolarity, peacekeeping

Abstract: The European Union, acting as a «normative power Europe», has been actively calling for the women’s rights protection both in its internal and foreign policy. If the EU domestic experience in this area has been extensive, in its foreign policy the EU is a much more reluctant and uneven actor. This is especially true for the women’s rights’ protection in armed conflicts, an area closely linked to security. This article looks at the ways the EU addresses «Women, Peace and Security» Agenda, which emerged in the early 2000s in the UN Security Council. By comparing different legal documents, main spheres of the EU policy-maing in this area are outlined. It is concluded that so far the progress in this area has been uneven, and this agenda is not yet seen as an integral part of EU Member-States policy-making.

Keywords: Security Council, defense, security, foreign policy, women's rights, peace-keeping, European Union, United Nations, international cooperation, international law

Abstract: The research subject is the internal policy crisis in Turkey in August 2014 – April 2017. Special attention is given to the process of overcoming the split on different levels of the political system: certain parties, the Parliament, the country. The author considers the results of the struggle of the Justice and Development Party against these problems, the peculiarities of formation of a stable political situation in Turkey, and the reasons for fundamental political reforms of 2017. The author evaluates the results of the referendum of 16 April, and makes forecasts about the future development of Turkey’s internal and foreign policy. The research methodology is based on the principles of system analysis, the comparative-historical and logical-intuitional approaches used as a whole. The scientific novelty of the study is connected with embedding internal policy process in Turkey into the foreign policy process of the country and the international political environment in the context of the constitutional referendum of 16 April 2017. The author analyzes the present and the possible behavior of internal and external actors. 

Keywords: Kurds, nationalist movements, JDP, political parties, referendum, constitutional process, Turkey, Erdogan, Yildirim, world politics

Abstract: The research subject is the policy of the USA and Western Europe in the countries of Eastern Europe. The author demonstrates the orientation of the USA and Western Europe towards strengthening and extending their influence in Eastern Europe, and the creation of a “sanitary cordon” around Russia in the post-Soviet political space. Special attention is given to the analysis of Western aspirations to use Eastern European countries for the creation of instability zones in the countries, bordering with Russia, and the processes of Euro-Atlantic integration of Eastern European countries. The research methodology combines the methods of political studies, source study, historiography, system analysis, retrospective and prospective analysis of the political situation. The author concludes that the USA and Western Europe use all possible methods, including those contradicting international law (Ukraine is an illustrative example), to involve Eastern European countries, and especially post-Soviet republics, into their sphere of influence. For their political interests, they are ready to make merely political decisions about the integration of countries, which don’t even meet the criteria established by the West, into Euro-Atlantic structures. 

Keywords: coalition politics, international politics, transnational politics, democratic institutions, integration of Eastern European countries, foreign policy, European influence of the USA, Eastern Europe, european geopolitical architecture, global politics

Abstract: The author studies the transformations of decision-making in the sphere of strategic weapons launched by American President Richard Nixon. The author studies the example of the missile defense program “Safeguard” and considers the modernization of the mechanism of functioning of the National Security Council and Henry Kissinger’s work aimed at this organization restructuring. Special attention is given to the formation of the tandem Nixon-Kissinger and the interaction between these politicians in decision-making in the sphere of missile defense. The author uses the historical-system, historical-comparative and historical-typological methods. To study H. Kissinger’s reforms as the National Security Advisor, the author applies the historical-comparative method. The work of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, considered in this piece, is a poorly studied area of Russian historiography. The author gives attention to this political tandem’s functioning and concludes about its primary role in decision-making in the sphere of missile defense of the USA in 1968 – 1971. 

Keywords: national security, President, political union, "Safeguard", missile defense, "cold war", Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon, decision-making, strategic weapons