MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. The epoch of the unipolar world is over and the "golden billion" concept is giving way to a fairer and more sensible world order, said Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service chief.

"We are living in times of major change. We are witnessing tectonic structural shifts in the world order, the centers of power are shifting from the West to the East, and from the North to the South," Sergey Naryshkin, who also chairs the Russian History Society said, speaking via a video link to the opening of an international summer school in Tula, about 200 kilometers south of Moscow.

"The former hegemons, principally the US, are still clutching to their former privileges, sacrificing short-sighted allies, but even these desperate gestures cannot reverse the course of history," the Russian intel chief said.

To show interest in Russia, study its history, economy, and culture, which means to some great extent, to foresee the future, make a new world order closer, he said.

This year, the International History School is bringing together over 150 students from across the world, Naryshkin highlighted.

"I’m sure, good memories about days spent in Tula will live on forever," Naryshkin told the participants. One of the project’s objectives is to cultivate a close community of graduates, he said. Naryshkin added that he hoped that those participating would retain interest in Russian history and continue communicating with their Russian colleagues and friends after graduation, as well as embark on pursuing their own history projects.