Russia in the Foreign Policy Concepts of Modern Slovak Social Democrats

The article analyses the features and dynamics of Slovak-Russian relations based on the foreign policy sections of documents and materials of two Slovak political parties for the first time introduced in Russian historiography: Direction – Slovak Social Democracy and Voice – Social Democracy, speeches by their leaders R. Fico and P. Pellegrini, program declarations and statements of the Slovak government headed by Social Democrats in 1999 ‒ early 2025. The article reveals the consistency of modern Slovak social democracy in the implementation of the multi-vector course of the Slovak Republic’s foreign policy, expressed in the need to focus “on the four corners of the world”, which implies the implementation of an attitude towards constructive pragmatism in relations with the Russian Federation. It is noted that the current course of the social democratic vertical of power towards a multi-vector foreign policy is misinterpreted by the Slovak opposition, as well as its Brussels and overseas counterparts. The expediency of Slovakia’s geopolitical vector in the conditions of termination of gas transit through Ukraine is highlighted. It is concluded that the foreign policy concepts of the Slovak Social Democrats during the period under review has remained dominant in their status as both ruling and opposition political forces in the National Council of the Slovak Republic.