Features of transformation of the political positioning and the image of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in the system of regional security at the present stage

Within the framework of the article, the role of a political actor is attributed to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (hereinafter - CSTO) as a special political-military association. This study is looking for answers to a number of questions, such as what the political positioning of CSTO at this stage is, how it is evolving and what image CSTO is projecting. The author also questions whether the subject of politics perceived as a "shield of the Commonwealth", a variation of "post-Soviet NATO", a "donor of regional security", a "part of a Eurasian structure of collective defense", an intergovernmental international organization or something else. In order to answer these questions, relevant materials, placed on official online portals of the Heads of CSTO member-states starting from the year 2018 (when the “Velvet Revolution” happened and the process of substituting the CSTO Secretary-General Yuri Khachaturov on charges of overthrowing the constitutional order in Armenia started) to June 2020, are being analyzed. Through the analysis of utterances and official statements by the heads of CSTO member-states regarding this Organization, features of its political positioning and image are being identified. Discourse analysis and content analysis are used as research methods.