Modern Russian-Turkish relations: personal aspect

Relevance. The specificity of Russian-Turkish relations over several decades has been considered. It was determined that Putin, as well as Erdogan, headed the Russian Federation at a difficult moment: the internal socio-political situation in the country was characterized by destructive trends, the mood in society was also pessimistic, on the world stage of the Russian Federation it consistently lost its position of the state - successor of the USSR, a significant geopolitical center . Method or methodology of the work. The work used statistical, factor and structural research method. Results. The thesis was formulated that the activity, dynamics of bilateral relations - socio-political, foreign economic, in the field of military cooperation, etc. - always reveals a significant (in some cases - dominant) factor the specifics of personal relations at the level of heads of state, members of the government. The specificity of partnerships between V. Putin and R. Erdogan in the period up to 2016 is considered. Conclusions. The specificity of the parties to overcome this difficult stage of relations is considered. The content of the message of R. Erdogan to Putin was considered, and within the framework of which the provision was formulated that the Russian Federation is a friend of Turkey, its strategic partner. Novelty. The specifics of the positions of the parties regarding the incident with the Russian fighter shot down by the Turkish side were determined. It was noted that mutual misunderstandings developed into a phase of open conflict, which became the basis for the introduction of sanctions against Turkey by the Russian side.