Abstract. The chapter analyzes main international trends—2013, which influence Russian foreign policy-making and the perception of the country in the world. Among them: growing impact of domestic factors on national foreign policies, their ideologization along with degradation of normative democratic values; bigger role of non-predictable non-systemic factors and actors; de-westernization and regionalization of globalization. Also regional aspects of world politics are analyzed. The author comes to the conclusion, that in a new world order under formation Russia finds itself in a space in-between east and west, thus facing new challenges.