In the 1990s, Russia's relations with Iran focused on common geopolitical interests at the global and regional levels and economic benefits. However, relations between the two countries have developed unevenly. The strengthening of pragmatic tendencies in Moscow's foreign policy since the beginning of the twenty-first century and its following in a "pro-Western" direction caused dissatisfaction on the Iranian side. The international crisis over Iran's nuclear program and Russia's accession to sanctions against it have worsened the situation. Nevertheless, the political establishment of both countries continues to emphasize the closeness of positions on the main problems of the Middle East and Central Asia and demonstrate interest in developing political and economic contacts. Keywords: Russian-Iranian relations, the Caspian problem, Bushehr nuclear power plant, sanctions against Iran. In recent years, many publications have appeared in Russia, Iran, and the West on various aspects of Russian-Iranian relations. The interest shown by the expert community in this area is explained by attempts to predict the development of relations between the two countries in the context of the ongoing international crisis over Iran's nuclear program and increasing destabilization in the Middle East. However, these studies consider only certain aspects of bilateral relations, and not the entire complex of international and regional problems that affect the level of contacts between Russia and Iran, including Russia's accession to the sanctions regime against Iran. The latter causes dissatisfaction on the Iranian side and reinforces the historically persistent distrust of the northern neighbor. This article will attempt to find out to what extent and in what aspects the geopolitical and national interests of Russia and Iran coincide, and on what basis relations between the two countries can develop in the future. Russia and Iran approached the beginning of the new century with a fairly ... Read more