In the IX issue of the yearbook on the material of historical sources, in a wide geographical and chronological context, various manifestations of latent barbarism are considered. Particular attention is paid to cunning, treachery, intrigue and provocation as essential properties of latent barbarism, the historical and modern forms of which can be described as "traps," "ambushes" and "abyss." What is the particular danger of hidden forms of barbarism? What is the historical conditioning of various forms of latent barbarism? What is the experience of confronting hidden forms of barbarism?