The full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine has caused significant geopolitical changes. New contours of a world divided into a conditional free democratic West and a predominantly authoritarian South have become more expressive and clear. Against the backdrop of global-scale threats, cooperation and coordination have intensified among countries that uphold classical Western values and fundamental principles. At the same time, it has been revealed that within these countries, there are political forces sympathetic to Russia and willing to appease the aggressor. Currently, these forces are concentrated on the extreme left and right flanks of the political system. Despite the vast ideological gap that separates them, right-wing and left-wing populists share very similar views on international politics. Inclined to harshly criticize the West, they simultaneously show leniency and understanding towards authoritarian regimes and Moscow’s motives for aggression. Populists actively undermine the greatness of the West from within and create a window of opportunity for the triumph of authoritarianism worldwide. Ukrainians have become accustomed to the ambiguous statements of former U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Russian aggression. However, at the end of August, the information landscape was shaken by far more radical and absurd pronouncements from another potential U.S. presidential candidate from the Republican Party – Vivek Ramaswamy. The young politician openly offered to give a part of Ukraine’s territory to Russian control in exchange for Moscow’s promise to stop relations with Beijing. Ramaswamy also spoke about the refusal to support Ukraine militarily and financially, promised to pay a visit to Putin, lift sanctions and return Russians to world markets. Ramaswamy somehow believes that authoritarian Russia can become a reliable ally of the West. This is a classic mistake made by many Western politicians. Russia has always treated the West with contempt and dreamed of ending the era of dominance of Western civilization in the world. Populist politicians fail to understand that for Russia, the West is a strategic ideological adversary. Putin’s dictatorship, in part, is sustained by actively promoting this image within Russian society. For Moscow, as a colonial empire, cooperation with authoritarian China appears entirely logical and natural. Thanks to this cooperation, the Kremlin also sees a theoretical chance to dismantle the world political system and establish the right of the strong in international relations. It does not matter that in the alliance between Beijing and Moscow, the latter will...