Selezneva A.V. Psychological peculiarities of the Russian elite in terms of foreign-policy activity

Abstract: The article is based on the results of the study of the political elite in modern Russia. The subject of the study covers  psychological peculiarities of the political elite, important for the foreign policy. The key psychological components of the analysis are the political values as the central elements of politicians' consciousness and the style of interpersonal relations. Special attention is paid to the structure and the content of political values and degree of their representation in different groups of elites. The style of interpersonal relationships is considered in the context of the political leaders playing their political roles.Theoretical and methodological basis of the study includes the political-psychological approach which allows the author to explore the personal traits of the elite as a whole and of its individual members. The theoretical and methodological section of this article defines the nature and the specificity of selected psychological characteristics and outlines the methodological instruments of their study and interpretation. The results of the study show that the most important for foreign policy political values are the nationalist trend and intolerance. The most appropriate style of interpersonal relationships is extroversion with a high level of dominance. The case of S.V. Lavrov, presented in the article, illustrates the example of a balanced personality profile, appropriate for the role of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

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