The article presents the theory of cultural-historical types of N. Danilevsky and explores the main milestones of the formation of a civilizational approach in the framework of the main work of the author "Russia and Europe". The prerequisites for the appearance of the theory in historical retrospective are considered. Particular attention is paid to the problem of the evolution of the theory of cultural-historical types.The paper considers the correlation of the new political paradigm put forward by the author with modern political and international trends. "Russia and Europe" by N. Danilevsky allows you to take a new look at the historical process, which previously seemed to be purely linear, becomes cyclical. N. Danilevsky was the first to create an integral theory of the civilizational approach to politics, this field of political science is actively developed by well-known names in the science of Western political thought, O. Spengler, A. Toynbee, P. Sorokin, S. Huntington, and in Russian, K. Leontiev, A. Panarin et al. The current state of international relations and the undisguised Russophobic policies of certain countries actualize and even constitutionalize the theory of cultural and historical types of N. Danilevsky at the universal level. The fashionable term, the achievement of modus vivendi, diplomacy of the last century loses its relevance in the current one, where the area of agreement is minimized and all issues are resolved by power politics, creating a vacuum on the opposite side of the scale, which can be filled by societies based on their civilizational specifics. Terminology of N. Danilevsky impresses with its content and accuracy, after a century and a half, it is also in demand and actively used by modern Russian diplomacy. The object of the article is the work of N. Danilevsky "Russia and Europe", the subject is the methodological potential of the author's ideas.
