The article relates to the geopolitical rivalry in the Arctic unwound in the recent years between the United States and Russia. Both countries claim leading positions here considering the Arctic as a region where the commercial production of hydrocarbon resources is eventually possible. Climate change breaks new ground for the shipping development in the Arctic. It stands to reason that Russia and the United States have redoubled their attention to the Arctic merchant shipping development and are enhancing naval vessels commissioning. Russia and the United States have made significant progress in this regard. However, changes in world politics, growth of contradictions in the world economy have led to stepping up policy of Russia and the United States in the Arctic. To defend their interests, Russia and the United States adopted a series of documents indicating the Arctic policy avenues. The article examines both Russia and the United States approaches to the policy implementation in the Arctic, as well as the future challenges facing the countries. The author finds that the geopolitical rivalry between the leading Arctic states for the Arctic will continue. Being unable to establish commercial production in the Arctic, Russia and the United States will implement the increased focus on the military sphere. The creation of the necessary military infrastructure, the construction of new vessels will become a key objective for both states. In addition, Russia and the United States will expand support for Arctic shipbuilding, which is seen as the main instrument for promoting their economic interests.

The choice of the audience and content of Russia's humanitarian message calls into question the effectiveness of domestic humanitarian policy in the post-Soviet space. In domestic strategic planning documents, the target audience is the ruling elites of the post-Soviet states, compatriots, and the "Russian world". The choice of the elite as the addressee leads to the fact that Russia's humanitarian policy forms the dependence of interstate relations on maintaining the positions of the ruling elite, which forces us to sacrifice resources and, possibly, reputation to hold the status of a politician declaring a "pro-Russian" position. The appeal to compatriots, in turn, problematizes inter-elite interaction, arousing the concern of the post-Soviet elites, whose efforts to build nations and assert their legitimacy on a nationalist basis. The target audience's choice is reflected in the content of the humanitarian message, which seems situational and internally contradictory due to the specifics of the addressees. Overcoming these contradictions, according to the author, is only possible if the choice of the final addressees and the humanitarian message's content is revised, which requires a clear definition of the goals, forms, and methods of Russia's humanitarian policy in the post-Soviet space.

The paper is dedicated to the role of the Black Sea region in the security policy of Romania. Approaches, patterns and results of this area of the foreign policy of Romania are studied since the period after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The concepts and strategies of the national security and the strategies of national defense of Romania, adopted since 1994 are analysed. The key patterns and results of the security policy pursued by Romania in the Black Sea region are defined. The author concludes that this direction of Romania's policy is consistently based on the strategic partnership with the United States and solidarity with the approaches of the NATO and EU in the Black Sea region. The policy leads to the imbalance in the relations with the littoral states for which euro-atlanticism has not become an ideological basis for their foreign policy (Russia and Turkey). Amidst the absence of the search for a new model of relations with the littoral states, Romania's policy leads to the growth of the potential for confliction in the Black Sea region.

After the collapse of the USSR the Central Asian countries found themselves facing serious regional challenges that hinder constructive interstate cooperation. Among such challenges the problem of transboundary water resources should be highlighted. The lack of a coordinated policy for regulating water flows continues to put the Central Asian countries in a vulnerable position, negatively affecting their national security, socio-economic development and the environmental situation in the region. Throughout their sovereign development the countries of the region tried to solve transboundary water problems by combining external and internal mechanisms. However, a solution to the problem that would meet the national interests of all interested countries was not found.

Recently the ruling elites of the Central Asian countries have intensified the process of solving the water problem showing political will. They put forward a number of initiatives. A big role in reviving this issue belongs to Uzbekistan which has opened a new milestone in the settlement of water and energy conflicts in the region. Uzbekistan demonstrates a desire to solve the water problem constructively at the regional level. In this regard the proposals of the President of Uzbekistan Sh.Mirziyoyev acquired great importance in solving the transboundary water problems of Central Asia. In 2018 Sh. Mirziyoyev put forward the initiative to adopt a Regional program for the rational use of water resources in Central Asia. Shortly before that he expressed a desire to participate in the implementation of joint hydropower projects with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Analyzing the current shifts in the water and energy issue we can talk about increasing trust between the countries of Central Asia and the beginning of the formation of a new regional interstate model of relations on the distribution of transboundary water resources.

Water issues are traditionally one of the most complex and controversial issues in Central Asia. Over the 30 years since independence, the five republics have not been able to come to a single agreement on the use of water resources. Mainly because their interests do not coincide. The region is conventionally divided into agricultural and energy republics. Some need to irrigate their lands, others are interested in producing electricity. Each of the five republics strives to take into account primarily its own interests, sometimes disregarding the interests of its neighbors. The article deals with the problems of the development of water diplomacy between the states of Central Asia. It is noted that this problem is relevant for the region due to the peculiarities of the position and legal regime of transboundary rivers in Central Asia.

The article examines the Trump administration's policy to contain China in the field of technology. Particular attention is paid to the content of this policy, its reasons and impact on Sino-US relations. Since taking office, Trump has begun to regard China as a competitor of USA in the global science and technology field. The Trump administration has tried to prevent free technological exchanges with China. The United States’ containment policy has weakened the strategic mutual trust between China and the United States and has aggravated the tension in Sino-US relations. Despite the efforts of the United States, it failed to influence China's technological development. The conclusion of the article is that China continues to pursue an active technology policy to mitigate the negative impact of the US containment policy.

The coronavirus pandemic not only led to an economic downturn around the world and had a very direct impact on the state of energy markets, but also accelerated the global changes that had accumulated in society for years and decades, and served as a catalyst for global transformations, including the energy transition. The article examines the role of the coronavirus pandemic in accelerating the energy transition, shows its main components, analyzes the driving forces of this process and the main beneficiaries of its implementation. In order to answer the question of whether the energy transition is achievable within the announced time frame, the calculations of the human demand for primary energy in 2050 are carried out. Based on the need to significantly reduce the gap in per capita energy consumption of the population of developed and developing countries, the analysis of the main problems of the energy transition is made.

The article describes the internal processes in Romania after the collapse of the communist regime. The author attempts to determine the connection between the domestic and foreign policy of the country. This issue deserves attention since Romania's National Defence Strategy 2020–2024 prioritises the strengthening of the country's resilience and at the same time increasing international political weight. Having taken this into consideration, the author evaluates the domestic policy factors which have influenced the image of Romania in the international arena.

The collapse of the USSR resulted for Azerbaijan to pursue an independent foreign policy. Azerbaijan focused on establishing and furthering relations with Western states, primarily, with the United States. Official Baku considered the United States as an important partner to provide support for the economic development and production of hydrocarbon resources. On the other side, the United States also increased its focus on Azerbaijan due to the favorable geographical position of the Caspian state and the pro-Western attitude of its political elite. The US counted on taking advantage of Azerbaijan to change the flow of oil, which was supposed to be produced in the future. The United States played a decisive role in expanding Azerbaijan's cooperation with Western oil companies, which headed for the shores of the Caspian Sea. As a result, the Azerbaijani-American cooperation in the 90s of the XX century led Baku to chose the western direction in exporting its hydrocarbon resources as the principal one. In addition, under the US influence, Azerbaijan took a tough position on the international legal status of the Caspian Sea. Cooperation between the United States and Azerbaijan has had a great impact on the situation in the region, relations with Russia and the other Caspian states.