THE SYRIAN CRISIS

The Humanitarian Crisis in Syria: How Human Tragedies Are Used for Political Purposes G. Gatilov... 1

The Causes of the Civil War in Syria N. Platoshkin... 13

France at a Syrian Impasse V. Chernega... 22

WORLD ISSUES

An Attack on Universalism in International Affairs A. Orlov... 35

Nonproliferation: Russian and American Policies K. Tarasov... 46

The Center That Is Melting Away E. Ananieva... 57

BRICS in a Multipolar World: From Technological Asymmetry to Catchup and Breakthroughs A. Biryukov... 69

Soft Power as a Means of Attainment of National Geopolitical Goals S. Vashchenkov, A. Kotyazhov... 84

Global Anti-Corruption Strategy: New Trends and Priorities Ye. Podolko... 90

POLITICAL PROFILES

The Eastward Vector of Yevgeny Primakov K. Barsky... 103

On Pope Francis' Addresses K. Dolgov... 125

COMMENTARY AND ESSAYS

Conflicts and Wars: Shifts at the Edge of the 21st Century K. Gadjiev... 137

The Islamic Challenge in the 21st Century: The Russian Dimension R. Yengibaryan... 151

Russia and the Baltic Countries: Contours of the Concept of Bilateral Relations V. Olenchenko... 157

The Role of Israel in Obama's Mideast Policy A. Polyakova... 173

Cultural Diplomacy as a Tool of Russia's Current Foreign Policy O. Lebedeva... 191

Russia-Slovakia: A Frank Dialogue... 199

VIEWPOINT

The World Order: Problems of Transformation Sh. Shakhalilov... 206

ENERGY SECURITY

Fighting for Our Share in the Oil Market Yu. Shafranik... 220

Gazprom vs. Competitors in Europe E. Kasayev... 225

HISTORY AND MEMOIRS

The Romanovs and the Jewish Question in Russia Yu. Bulatov... 235

Nine Days in One Year: The 60th Anniversary of Yukio Hatoyama's Visit to Moscow and the Signing of the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration A. Ilyshev-Vvedensky... 269

BOOK REVIEWS

R.V. Yengibaryan. The 21st Century: Islamic Challenge V. Berezko... 281

N.K. Kapitonova, E.V. Romanova. History of ...