The article proposes the author's position on the issue of relations with "unfriendly states" in the context of economic confrontation. The process of normative consolidation of the status of unfriendliness and its impact on Russian legislation is analyzed. The system of economic countermeasures aimed at protecting sovereignty and minimizing the consequences of sanctions pressure is investigated. Particular attention is paid to a pragmatic approach that allows selective cooperation in critical technological areas, such as nuclear energy, to be maintained. The phenomenon of unfriendliness is analyzed at several levels: political, legal, economic, cultural and ideological.