Vol. 28 No. 3 (2026)

The article explores the idea of trust as an alternative analytical approach to legitimacy for examining power relations in Russia. Unlike Western models of legitimacy, trust is viewed here as not only a rational characteristic but also one that incorporates emotional and value-based elements. The author emphasizes the important role that trust plays in the formation of social capital and its influence on government stability. The paper examines a multilevel model of trust, taking into account value-based, practical, and institutional factors. This provides a deeper understanding of the interaction between society and the government in the Russian context.

The article examines the role of the humanities knowledge in shaping the strategic thinking of civil servants amid the transformation of the public administration system. A humanities-based education is a key factor in the development of professional competencies among management personnel. This type of education encompasses philosophical, ethical, and cultural studies. This study examines the relationship between the level of humanities education that employees have received and their ability to engage in long-term planning, critical analysis, and make well-considered management choices.The authors place particular emphasis on communicative competence as a component of strategic thinking and on the spiritual and moral development of civil servants. They also highlight the importance of conceptual clarity regarding basic ethical categories. The results obtained make it possible to suggest new ways of integrating the humanities knowledge into personalized educational pathways using innovative adaptive learning technologies. The study shows that there’s a need for a well-planned, humanitarian approach to the ongoing professional training of state and municipal employees as a key management goal. This is even more important in the context of digital transformation in the civil service.

A sociological study conducted by a team of researchers at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) in 2026 revealed a substantial rise in the number of digital submissions to regulatory and supervisory authorities by citizens in recent years. At the same time, although digital interaction has certain advantages, such as increased accessibility of the regulatory and supervisory authorities and reduced material costs, citizens’ feedback highlights difficulties in using it. It also reveals that formal responses to requests often lack information on the actions taken in response to enquiries. Citizens who lack sufficient digital skills, such as rural residents and older adults, are significantly limited in their ability to submit requests to the RSAs electronically. To ensure the continued success of digital interactions between the RSAs and citizens, it is necessary to continuously improve digital literacy and refine organizational processes for submitting electronic requests to the RSAs. At the same time, it is important to maintain the option of submitting applications in person.

The article focuses on a thorough examination of the administrative and legal status of heads of territorial bodies of federal executive authorities, aiming to pinpoint institutional flaws and support modernization strategies. The article demonstrates the existence of an imbalance between the scope of officials’ powers and the extent of their legal liability, highlights the distortion of the institution of temporary performance of duties, and points to managerial risks arising from the processes of digital transformation in public administration. The author indicates the necessity of implementing a single hiring algorithm, increasing accountability for managerial inaction, reforming certification processes, and normatively combining the requirements for digital competencies to create a comprehensive and successful management model.

The article examines the impact of the 2025 constitutional amendment on the unity of public authority and Federal Law No. 33-FZ of March 20, 2025, «On the General Principles of Organizing Local Self-Government within a Unified System of Public Authority» on the financial and budgetary sphere. The author uses the axiological characteristics of local finance, as well as the system of relations between state authorities and local self-government bodies in the budgetary sphere. In the context of limited resources, finances serve as an indicator of the importance and priority of the tasks carried out by public-law entities. The scale of individual tasks is what determines their obvious priority at the federal level. But at the local level, where authorities are closest to the public, the issues of setting priorities and allocating funds become much more pressing. In the financial and budgetary sphere, the operation of local governments alongside state authorities «within a unified framework» is governed by current budgetary legislation. This legislation includes certain general principles of the budgetary system, such as the unity of the Russian Federation’s budgetary system; the equality of budgetary rights among the Russian Federation’s constituent entities and municipalities; and the unity of the treasury. The author concludes that the constitutional amendment under consideration has created a legal framework for identifying and refining approaches to defining the fundamental values of local finance. It has also created a framework for establishing the specific features of financial and budgetary interaction between state and local authorities.

This article explores potential frameworks and procedures for resolving interstate disputes between BRICS member states and their economic entities. Following the example of similar structures operating within the CIS, the author proposes the establishment of a separate judicial body to resolve disputes. The study uses a comparative legal analysis to examine the proposed BRICS International Arbitration Court through the lens of the relationship between ad hoc and institutional arbitration. This allows the study to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each format. The results suggest that both approaches must be combined for the future jurisdiction to function optimally. As an institution, the arbitral tribunal will primarily be responsible for administering the arbitration. The ad hoc format, however, is more appropriate for appointing the members of the arbitral tribunal. The proposed model for the operation of the arbitral tribunal will prevent any single state or group of states from exerting undue influence over the course of arbitration proceedings.

The article provides a historical and dogmatic analysis of the development of the principle of party autonomy (lex voluntatis) in private international law. The paper examines the evolution of the lex voluntatis concept from S. Dumoulin’s original ideas to its current formulation in Russian law and international legal acts. The study revealed that during the Soviet period, the principle in question evolved from rejection to recognition in arbitration practice and was codified in law. The author justifies its role as the primary conflict-of-laws rule by demonstrating that it applies to contractual, non-contractual, and other private law relationships. The study identified the limits of the autonomy of the will as they relate to public order, mandatory norms, the principle of the closest connection, and the protection of the weaker party. The findings highlight the universal nature of lex voluntatis within the conflict-of-laws system. They also reveal a trend towards the international unification of its content. This reflects the general direction of modern private international law, which is to strengthen the dispositive principles and predictability of cross-border civil transactions.

This article is a continuation of the author’s examination of the functions of administrative bodies. According to Federal Law No. 115-FZ of July 25, 2002, «On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation», marriage is a legal basis that may lead to granting immigration statuses and benefits, such as temporary or permanent residence permits, citizenship, or specific residence regimes. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for overseeing the use of marriage as a basis for migration. This involves verifying the authenticity and origin of documents, ensuring that the information provided is correct, and determining whether the marriage is being used in good faith. In law enforcement practice, this function is implemented through a multi-level assessment model comprising documentary, registry-information and situational-behavioral elements. The documentary element covers legalization, apostille, convention regime, and translation issues. The registry-information element involves comparing information with data from state registries and interagency cooperation. The situational-behavioral element uses anti-fraud logic to identify contradictions and signs of unreliable grounds. The author concludes that there is a distinction between the validity of a marriage under family law and its «sufficiency» under immigration law. Additionally, the author discusses the corrective role of judicial review under the Code of Administrative Procedure of the Russian Federation. This review focuses on verifying the authority of the relevant agency, the justification for any denial, and the evidentiary basis for the conclusions reached by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The article presents the results of a study examining the processes of transformation in Poland and Russia as part of the post-communist modernization process aimed at establishing developed, Western-style market economies. The study substantiates the dichotomy of economic transformation. The universal nature of these transformations leads to the emergence of distinctive socioeconomic models in various countries. A historical and economic analysis has identified the systemic factors that shaped these countries’ different approaches to privatization. The authors note that Poland adopted a strategy of selective privatization. The process of privatization in Russia took place amid an institutional vacuum. It was characterized by the redistribution of wealth among a small group of individuals, accompanied by the devaluation of public savings and the emergence of an oligarchic system. As the Russian Federation attempts to regain economic sovereignty, it must consider the negative consequences of ineffective privatization models. This can be achieved by ensuring public oversight and consistency in the privatization and nationalization strategies developed and implemented by government institutions.

The article focuses on the Russian Federation’s career management systems and the Institute of the Personnel Reserve of the Civil Service. The author examined current practices for working with the talent reserve, highlighted significant problems with its creation and development, and suggested solutions to these challenges. The work focuses on issues such as the evolution of nomenklatura practices and the comparative analysis of various career paths, the selection and professional development of government employees, the effectiveness of the personnel reserve system, and overcoming negative behaviors such as careerism, bureaucracy, and corrupt self-serving abuses. The article proposes measures to optimize existing HR practices and identifies the conditions necessary for the effective functioning of the system of personal and professional development of public sector leaders.

The article analyzes the transformation of the HR function within public authorities on their shift towards a client-centric organizational culture. Modern public administration faces many obstacles to transformation, namely a conventional bureaucratic culture (an emphasis on regulations) and inflexible legislation, which diminish citizen satisfaction and erode confidence in the government. This study aims to identify the key elements of HR transformation and develop fundamental approaches to integrating a customer-centric perspective into HR processes. The article will also examine how culture influences employee development and create a model for HR transformation. The study revealed that organizational culture is a key driver of change. The author proposes a three-level transformation model incorporating stages of HR process reengineering and participant roles. The study shows that transitioning from a norm-centric culture to a client-centric culture is only possible if HR departments shift from an administrative to a strategic role. The findings confirm the hypothesis that taking a systematic approach to cultural development reduces staff resistance and helps to ensure the long-term success of innovations in the public sector.

The article examines the history of the development of the management system for the planning and implementation of the USSR’s space program, exploring its evolution and the factors that contributed to its success. The author believes that this project resulted in significant changes to the USSR’s domestic and foreign policies. In fact, the management structure took its final form in the early years of its existence. The main governing body was the Special Committee on Jet Technology under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. This was not merely an advisory body, but a directive one. It was from this headquarters that instructions were issued to determine which ministry or design bureau was to carry out a particular task. An informal Council of Chief Designers operated alongside this organizational structure. At times, this council was more important in terms of generating ideas and setting objectives. Over time, the Council of Ministers was relegated to an exclusively administrative and supporting role, while the Central Committee and its First Secretary, N. S. Khrushchev, assumed responsibility for making all decisions, both major and minor, regarding the implementation of the project. This kind of quick - or, to use modern terminology, «hands-on» - management contributed to a re-evaluation of the notions established in the 1930s regarding the immutability of the planned economy. It prompted a search for new paths of development for the national economy as a whole, as exemplified by the attempt to introduce the regional economic councils («sovnarkhozy»), and it also fostered the idea that the Party and the Soviet system were the principal architects of such a global achievement as the conquest of space.