Аннотация:Analytical calculations (in the aberration less approximation) are made for the threshold conditions and changes in width of a light beam with self-focusing (SF) in the isotropic phase of a liquid crystal near the phase transition point. It is shown that the orientational and thermal mechanisms of spatial dispersion (SD) of the nonlinearity ensure the possibility of quasi wave guide propagation of a powerful beam in the medium. The method of finite elements is used to develop a numerical solution program for the SD equations in a medium with SD of nonlinearity, and the characteristics of light beams propagating in the medium are investigated over a wide range of parameters.