On November 30, 2015, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted a scientific conference "The impact of the aggravation of contradictions between the West and Russia on the situation and the balance of power in Asia and Africa", which was attended by researchers, experts, and university teachers from a number of cities of the Russian Federation. Opening the conference, A. M. Khazanov noted that its goal is to formulate a vision of the current situation by the scientific community of Orientalists, Africanists and other experts, to identify the main factors that led to the redistribution of roles and regrouping of key players that created an extremely dangerous situation on the chessboard of world politics. L. I. Medvedko (IB RAS) in his report "Retribution after the test" expressed the opinion that the position on the chessboard of geopolitics is now determined not only in the system of geopolitics and geoeconomics, but also in the system of civilizational relations between the countries of the East and West. After the crash of a Russian airbus over Sinai, Russia announced an anti-terrorist operation "Retribution". After the downing of the Su-24 bomber by a Turkish fighter jet, the NATO bloc was de facto involved in this quasi-world war. Anatoly KHAZANOV-Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Chief Researcher of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. page 144According to the speaker, the peculiarity of the situation is that Russia is now at a dangerous fork in the "hybrid" war not only in Ukraine, but also with several NATO states. T. L. Deitch (IAfr. RAS) in her report "Aggravation of relations between the West and Russia: positions of the BRICS countries" noted that in the difficult situation that has developed in the international arena, the BRICS countries have supported Russia. None of them approved the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions by Western countries. In response to calls to exclude t ... Read more