Introduction. The article reveals the vectors of rethinking the strategy and mechanisms for ensuring the security of modern Russia as a state-civilization in the conditions of turbulence in the existing system of international relations in the 21st century. Attention is focused on the transformation in the understanding of the basic characteristics of the state and the maintenance of war and peace in the context of the increasing conflict potential of countries of Western and non-Western civilizations. The relevance of the study is determined by the theoretical and practical demand for identifying the dominant factors contributing to or minimizing the parameters of inter-civilizational confrontation (including the armed one). Methods and materials. The authors use various versions of the civilizational approach, which allow them to interpret the functional specifics of Russia as a state-civilization, including when analyzing real and potential risks and threats. In characterizing the current system of international relations, ideas expressed in the works of domestic and foreign scientists, including U. Beck, H. Kissinger, S. Huntington, M.M. Lebedeva, and others, are used. Conceptual approaches to understanding war and peace (C. Clausewitz, K. Lorenz, V.K. Belozerov, and A.I. Podberezkin) form the basis of the authors’ interpretation of the reasons, nature, and goals of military confrontation in the current century, the value perception of the world, and the prevention of armed conflicts. Analysis and results. The study interpreted the dominant conditions and factors that determine the strategy and methods of providing the security of Russian society and the state in the context of the aggravation of inter-civilizational confrontation in the 21st century. The main directions of transformation in understanding are identified and analyzed: the interrelation of war and peace; the goals, nature, types, etc. of armed and unarmed inter-civilizational confrontation; the values of the state of peace and security; and resources for their maintenance and reproduction. The relationship between the nature of modern armed conflicts and the priorities of ensuring the security of Russia as a state-civilization is traced. Authors’ contribution. S.A. Pankratov developed the theoretical and methodological basis of the study. S.I. Morozov analyzed the dominant trends in providing the security of Russia, interpreted data related to the transformation in the scientific discourse and public consciousness of the population of the country, and set goals for understanding war and peace. L.S. Pankratova identified the basic characteristics of Russia as a state-civilization and interpreted the dominant threats and risks in the conditions of modern inter-civilizational confrontation.