The word "geopolitics" has firmly entered our lives. What are they - Russia's geopolitical interests today? What were they like before? Has anything changed in the intervening centuries? Using many historical examples known and little known to the general public, the author shows how the principles of geopolitics are implemented in practice. And the course of history immediately becomes clear, and the actions of statesmen, who were previously considered "inexplicable," are filled with logic and meaning.