«Dynamics of the hegemony crisis», a study written by Giovanni Arrighi, the professor of John Hopkins University has been a cause for the article presented to readers. Arrighi’s book is devoted to historical and conceptual problems connected with evolution of the world political and economic order. The people’s planet is undergoing not just a transformational but transitional situation when components of obviously different construction of the world emerge amidst diverse social transformers. However realities of the Modernity epoch are still present on the historical stage. The subject of the authors reflections presented in form of decrypted polemical marginalia on Arrighi’s book is the approach to recognition of mobile architecture of the global community which is to replace old forms of the «world order». The author also investigates subscriptions of the «design documents» of the forthcoming epoch, i.e. schemes and drawings of the contemporary or, rather, post-contemporary structures that are being constructed right before our eyes.

The author undertakes an attempt to understand the roots of the Russian statehood, its specific properties and define national peculiarities of Russia’s historical path and Russia’s national priorities. The author pays the particular attention to the Soviet period of the Russian history and to the current stage of the state and national building which «is sewn together rough-and ready». According to the author, the principal problem of the society at the present time lies in the «crisis of meanings» which goes on unabated, in overcoming of the Russian political thought reduction and fugacity that have become quite customary features, in necessity of the new statehood self-identification within the framework of more than 1000 years old Russian historical experience. A serious, detailed «talk of foundations», restoration of traditions of conceptual creativity, development of social and political philosophy, recognition of Russia’s genuine condition and horizons in the world of the 21st century, investigation of the rapid shifts that have occurred and still occur in political, social, cultural spheres, discussion of the civilizational situation that has emerged and of the entire global changes mechanics are equal requirements of the period

The author analyzes the present condition of Russia-the Russian Federation, its past and prospects for the future, the rapid changes that occur in political, economic, social and cultural domains, discusses the situation of civilization and mechanisms of change and traces their historical origins. The author focuses his attention on transformation of foreign (external) context as well as on dynamics of the social mentality, emergence of new social corporations and elite groups, transformation of the world order terminology which has been formed earlier. According to the author at the present the humankind resides in the transitory state when a new social agent is already present and active on the world arena and post-modern constructs of the world has already emerged while fundamentals of the Modernity epoch are still present.

The «great shakes» of the XXI cent. became not only the Russian’s property, but the property of the whole world. The current events, as well as the forecasts indicate the possible development of economical (and political) turbulences. One of the forecasts from the modern Pandora’s trunk has already been realized. The matter concerns the digital-economics crisis that is linked to the considerable overestimation of its assets. Another wildly discussed subject is the possible troubles in the field of the world finance. The third rider of the economical Apocalypses is the shadow of the global energetic crisis. In the modern situation politics have to deny the habitual models. Probably the brightest mistake is the idea of the explosive development of innovational processes on the edge of the third millennium. Russia is a peculiar geo-economical space; its economy unites in a paradoxical way the structural features of the row-material South as well as the highly technological North. The national project «Innovational Russia» is aimed at saving and developing the progressive element of Russian society — its creative ability as a solid resource of its economy. In case of a proper historical chance it will be able to alter the situation in the country in a healthy way. The elaboration of the «Innovational Russia’s» initiative as the base of the national strategy presupposes the number of additional actions about the development of the culture of «the new Russian class» whose life is closely linked to the post-industrial reality.

«…Ife», the para-poem performed in the end of April, 2004, at «Na doskakh» («On the planks») theater served as the cause for organization of the «roundtable». The chief of the creative center and the stage manager of the theater opened the discussion and indicated the problems to be discussed. Is the theater nowadays capable to create new forms of the social being? What phenomena, processes, events of modern Russia can and ought be reflected? What is the aim of such reflection? Can the theater form a new elite, identify a social stratum which has ability to unite itself and prevent the society from enthropy and disintegration? Social scientists, writers, lecturers of Moscow higher education institutions, librarians took part in the discussion.

Upon redistribution of the «material and technical basis of Communism» it’s high time to redistribute intangible resources of Russia, reconstruct its semantics, secure its long-term strategic orientation, define and privatize its social-cultural fields. The format of post-industrial redistribution implies a greater attention to the intellectual and management resources rather than to mere material wealth of «Russia Inc.». Gradually people are getting to understand relationships among social cultural, political economic and technological aspects of the new statehood construction. Prerequisites for actions in the sphere of value system and semantics of the national statehood that are aimed not at readjustment of its practical mechanics are emerging alongside with the plans for modernization reconstruction. An intriguing probability of appearance of new influential players including some version of an ambitious corporation and political organization of the «new class» also appears. One of the issues often repeated in discussion of the political landscape, and not just by the professional political scientists is the issue of the historical dynamics' vector. Dullness of the Russian political landscape poses the ultimate threat of collapse to the public politics' feeble and unstable political culture and to the very fundamentals of representative democracy. The issue of an alternative political independent agent able to carry out a cultural revolution and to express justified social ambitions in a long run is also debated. One more aspect of the problem is the matrix of social political and cultural construction marked with traits of a post-modernistic performance and pragmatic technologic mentality.

At the emerged turning point of epochs Russia experiences the crisis of meaning. Crisis of this type is one of the most dangerous for a social organism. This crisis finds its expressions in transitory nature of the suggested receipts of development, fragility of the social contract between the power and the governed, instability of the state’s position in the international community, and, finally, in lack of the elite «national corporation» which unites carriers of these meanings. The author considers preconditions for creation of the Russian system of strategic analysis and planning, describes modern systems and methods of forecasting, social and cultural foundations of the contemporary global situation. The author also expounds some considerations related to the current difficult external and internal situation of Russia as well as to Russia’s prospects for development. A great attention is devoted to phenomenon of the transnational elite’s new class («the fourth estate») which is genetically connected with intellectual production and, in particular, with formation of information and communication sphere. The strategic alliance of this social group with the mobile segment of the «third estate» predetermined the prevailing trends' character that, in their turn, are connected with formation of the geo-economic universe and making of the preventive global security system.

Fundamental, civilizational causes lie at the basis of the current global situation. The progress of history is the change of key situations, the change which has the inner meaning and teleology: the expansion of space for human freedom. The central revolution of the world history was the transition from traditional (pagan) systems to monotheism. The Christian outlook has become the supreme expression of monotheism. This outlook has generated the richness of the contemporary civilization. The Christian outlook has placed itself in the historical text in several cultural versions. Of these, the Protestant one has gained the dominance over the planet. In fact, this version has become the basis for the making of the modern world and its North Atlantic core. The 20th century was signified with social cultural revolution which set forth another version of the civilizational myth’s reading. Secularization which came forth as super-confessional form of the Christian outlook has created the cultural shell of global proportions and this paradigm has embraced not just Oikumene but the planet-wide Barbaristan too. The new age is characterized by completeness of spatial (communicative) space (this completeness has found its expression in globalization as well as by liberation a socially active personality from shackles of authoritarian structures (this second process has found its expression in the individuation, extreme condition of freedom a human being can attain on the earth. In result a social structure of global proportions is developed on the planet in parallel with its administrative and political embodiment, and this new social structure unites trans-boundary organized entities thus establishing the proactive and dynamic environment of the New world.

Crisis of the Modern civilization and the revolution in Weltanshaaung form the essence of the 20th century. The world was divided, secularized to a greater or lesser extent and nationalized. The author investigates the elites' impact on the surrounding world status, «the regal triad» («the elite — the club — the government») and the process of the world’s postmodernization. By 1970s ability of the elite to influence the course of events reached a new level or quality. From that time one may speak of the influence on processes of the global scale, i.e., about making of a new course of the history. A new and perspective subject of history is emerging: the postcolonial world. A «new class» is asserting itself in the society. This class is different from the elite of the past. The preliminary results of «the better future formation» process, i.e., outlines of a new global order are gradually getting visible. Russia deprived of the strategic planning system of its own as well as of conceptual intelligence finds itself to be a hostage to alien strategies, an object of the game played all over the global chess board.

Events of September 11, 2001 cast a brighter light on a new global situation forming the world ties' system. Besides that, these events became the trigger for systemic actions that, if one summarizes what is going on, constitutes the 'new imperialism', i.e., the active policy aimed at the events' outrunning. Thus it is a prototype of the US 'doctrine of preemptive actions'. Simultaneously with the USA rise horizons of development of another global subject, an economic universality of the New North, the product of universal economy subject to commands of high quarters and the process of elites' transnationalization becomes more and more visible. Coincident with that the sphere of what was previously considered as the South expands. Evaluations of the South diverge within a wide range: from «the source of life» supporting existence of the aging West to «the new barbarity» strangling the civilization. The world North and the world South acquire the global proportions. They exist on the same planet but represent increasingly different worlds that have different historical teleologies. Perhaps, nowadays two strategic scenarios of the development may be traced. One logical trajectory with a rather clear design is the peaceful completion of the geo-economic structure' construction or, to put it in simpler terms, creation of the global issue and fiscal system. However if the planet’s cataloging which has manifested itself proves to be an illusion of a kind (the origins of this illusion are to be sought in mechanistic notions of the Enlightenment) and, consequently, the world stumbles over arising perturbations with increasing frequency the strategy related to execution of preemptive actions in the global policies' sphere and with a dynamic system of processes management will strengthen and assert itself as a new social norm.