The monograph by O. I. Eliseeva is devoted to one of the least studied aspects in the history of political thought in Russia in the 18th century. — the emergence and formation of foreign policy doctrines that had a significant influence on the development of Russian philosophical and political culture, as well as on international relations of the last two centuries. Second half of the 18th century. was marked by the emergence of large state projects that for the first time linked the benefits of political alliances, diplomatic and military actions with the natural geographical location of Russia. Among these projects, documents developed by His Serene Highness Prince Potemkin occupy a special place. His notes “About Crimea”, “About Poland”, “About Sweden”, as well as projects dedicated to the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia and Persia have not yet been studied. Meanwhile, it is in them that the ideas that became leading in the foreign policy of the second half of Catherine’s reign and ultimately laid the foundations for the entire subsequent geopolitics of the Russian Empire are concentrated