The article is devoted to the emergence of historical prerequisites for the formation of science diplomacy tools in the Russian Federation. The article considers the main approaches to the concept of "science diplomacy" used in the modern world practice. Having proceeded from the peculiarities of each of the science diplomacy fields: diplomacy for science, science for diplomacy and science in diplomacy, the possibilities of their manifestation are analyzed with due regard to the historical experience of Russia. The authors outline six stages of the formation of science diplomacy based on the author methodological approaches to the allocation of periods using the following key indicators: indicators of the science diplomacy processes; indicators of qualification profiles of personnel engaged in science diplomacy; financial indicators; a group of institutional indicators (specifications of the regulatory framework providing for the implementation of activities considered in the science diplomacy, availability of specialized institutions and enterprises that coordinate the implementation of science diplomacy activities, etc.). The authors emphasize that the foundations of the science diplomacy mechanisms in the Russian Federation were laid as early as in the 17th - 19th centuries. An important role in this process was played by the establishment of the Academy of Sciences in 1724 and further complex expeditionary research. The geopolitical model of foreign policy developed during this period determined the nature and scope of events conditionally attributed to the modern term of "science diplomacy". The article authors emphasize the nature of negative processes that determine the course of science diplomacy development in the country: the emigration of scientists, abandonment of research areas, cessation of the activity of promising laboratories and the excessive ideologization of approaches to the notion of science diplomacy in the Soviet Union in the first half of the 19th century. Particular attention is paid to the current status of science diplomacy in the Russian Federation as a tool for implementation of national interests, formation of a positive image of the country and increase of its competitiveness in foreign markets.
