The concept of “multipolar world” is analyzed in the presented article; some perspectives of social-psychological research of forming multi-polarity in the present world are outlined. The students’ representations of multipolar world and of the countries-centers of influence in the modern world were analysed from the social representations theory perspective. 

The results of the study concerning the image of Russia are presented in this article. Representations of students from three countries which have been perceived as centers of influence in the modern world — Russia, USA and China — were analyzed. The data of all samples indicates the ethnocentrism tendency in the choice of influential countries. The image of Russia in all three countries contains geopolitical connotations. The culture does not play a key role in the representations, but it is an important element of the emotional part of the image of Russia. The largest cross-cultural differences are found in the analysis of representations of Russia as an international conflicts participant.