Problems of war and peace in the context of growing external threats to Russian sovereignty (2012–2022)

Importance . The purpose of the study is to consider the state of problems of war and peace in the dynamics of growing external threats to the sovereignty of the Russian Federation in 2012–2022. Among them, there is a special interest in war as a phenomenon that has once again become a radical tool for conducting interstate relations. Research Methods . The research is based on the principles of historicism, the unity of the objective and the subjective. Along with general scientific methods, such as analysis, dialectical method, case-study, elements of decisional, historical-comparative, retrospective and other methods from interdisciplinary knowledge were used. Results and Discussion . It is noted that the main reason for the escalation of the “hot phase” of the war is the actual refusal of the West to end the Cold War. The difference is given in the peculiarities of understanding modern war and its instruments in the goals and methods of international policy pursued by the United States using the examples of the actions of the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump, the Russian Federation under the leadership of President V.V. Putin. It is shown that the emerging trend towards the rejection of unilateralism, changes in the internal and external environment, was transformed into a radical political course of the United States under Barack Obama. The strengthening of the United States as a state, despite the contradictions between factions of the establishment, and its role as the center of the West, in the presence of acute inter-party discourse, under Trump is an instrument of the struggle for his global hegemony. While categorically rejecting the aggressive actions of Washington and NATO, the Russian leadership does not exclude the possibility of peaceful coexistence with the United States. Conclusion. The period under review was not only a fixation of trends launched by the West, but also seriously transformed Russia’s national security understanding. The concept of “hybrid warfare” seems to be the most productive to describe the current stage. In order to build a more stable international security system in the 21st century, it will be necessary to take into account changes in the nature of a number of international relations fundamental problems related to the war and peace problems.