All what is healthy and viable in the political and civil life of each country must be carefully nurtured and no reform caused by the requirement of the time should result in a sudden rupture between the past and the present. It should be realized gradually to become clear to the people and not have the character of a dangerous experiment.

S.D.Sazonov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire (1910-1916)The collapse of the Soviet Union meant the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the second half of the twentieth century. 14 new states appeared on the territory of former superpower Russia. Thousands of books have been written about this historical event. Explanation of the causes of this disaster and details of its course is beyond the scope of this article.We only note that, from the point of view of the author, and it was exactly Russia which was the Soviet Union. Russia was at the head the federation which consisted of 14 dependent countries - Soviet republics. Its administrative borders became international (which gave rise to hitherto unsolved problems). Russia found itself in the borders of the XVII century. The country entered a period of economic, social, military, demographic decline.The author analyzes the impact of the internal situation of Russia on the foreign policy of the country in general and its policy in the Middle East and North Africa, in particular.