To what extent can Russian foreign policy and Russia's relation with the outside world provide favorable conditions for the modernization of Russia and assure it an adequate place in the world arena? As Russia enters the twenty-first century, after the collapse of her empire, influence, and economy, the alignment of forces at the world stage leaves Russia without many choices. All of them can be aligned in the spectrum from bad to worse. Nevertheless, fate gave Russia a chance to occupy a niche in the world community and to concentrate on settling domestic political problems. For the first time since the days of the anti-Nazi coalition, the United States and Russia both identified a common enemy and regarded it possible and desirable to unite in a struggle against world terrorism. With a cautious optimism in the actions of the Russian leadership and diplomacy it is possible to distinguish indications of a new paradigm of foreign policy, proceeding from the real and not "utopian" idea of the world situation and of Russia. The terrorist attack on the United States has made evident what has been brewing under the surface for quite some time, namely, that several new major threats to world security have emerged, stemming from ethnic conflicts, cultural intolerance, the weakening of the nation-state, and the polarization of nations into rich and poor.