At the present moment Ukraine happened to stand on the very «fault line of civilizations» between the East and the West, Europe and Russia. Not just economic weakness of Russia but also lack of any universal cultural and civilization idea on the part of Russia may in the nearest future become one of the main factors prompting Ukraine and other European states of the post-Soviet space to aim at the European Union. Under these circumstances Ukraine would experience great difficulties in its attempts to vindicate its «peculiar identity» and national and cultural distinctiveness.

For many decades Rumania successfully employed methods of maneuvering in its foreign policy and, due to this success, gained the maximum advantages from discord between the world centers of power. Preconditions of the «peculiar line» emerged in the late 1950s and manifested themselves in Rumania’s departure from the position common for the WTO countries and in attempt to get rid of the petty, narrow-minded supervision of the USSR. Ideologically the «peculiar line» was based upon the theses that the «superpowers» performed negative role and the national interests had priority over the class ones. The «peculiar line» policy consisted of gaining specific economic and political advantages and benefits by means of traditional maneuvering between the centers of power involved in confrontation. Bucharest succeeded in achieving principal aims of this policy though many political dividends were left unutilized.

The author deals with the process of a parliamentary republic making in Moldova and the impact of the process on Moldova's foreign policy including relations with Russia and Transnistria (Dniester Republic) problem. Although the political life of all «post-Soviet space» except the Baltic republics is dominated by the presidential power strengthening, recent changes in Moldova's political system indicate that a parliamentary republic is in making. These changes have caused certain shifts in Moldova's foreign policy: development of relations with the European Union and the initiative of some Moldavian political parties to establish an intergovernmental union with Romania. This policy can undermine the balance of power in the region, system of the Russian regional interests in particular. Russia's policy towards Moldova is focused on the search of balance between president P.Luchinskii, Moldavian Communist party which has the biggest fraction in the Moldavian Parliament, and the government of Dniester Republic. Under new political circumstances the support Russia provides for the single political power in Moldova, the Communist party and its leader P.Voronin is neither effective nor realistic option. The relations between Russia and Transnistria can also become complicated by new political struggle in this Republic. Without the multidimensional approach which takes into due account all players and analysis of new political situation in this region Russia's ability to protect its own interests here will be seriously curtailed.