Vol. 25 No. 5 (2023)

The article analyzes the essential characteristics of administrative discretion in the work of officials of executive authorities. Administrative discretion has several key attributes. Firstly, it is applied in certain managerial situations where it is deemed necessary. Secondly, it allows officials to assess a situation and make a decision based on their independent judgment to implement the best solution for the problem. Thirdly, it can be used when there is insufficient legal specificity to resolve a case or when the legal norm provides an indication for its use. Lastly, its character is defined by the legal framework within which it operates. The authors considered the normative grounds and limits of administrative discretion. Based on the experiences of foreign countries in regulating administrative discretion and the opinions of experts, the authors have identified the main principles of administrative discretion: exercising discretion within the boundaries set by the law, considering the rights and freedoms of citizens, complying with the objectives of public powers and the legal status of officials, being reasonable and fair. The article analyzes the materials of judicial practice, providing explanations of judicial bodies on the essence of administrative discretion and the its requirements. The author looks at how contemporary trends in the organization and regulation of administrative procedures of executive authorities relate to the development of the institute of administrative discretion.

The article discusses the origins and development of the Latin notary practice, tracing its roots back to Roman private law. The author explains the terms used to describe ancient prototypes of modern notaries, such as scribae, exceptores, notarii, and tabellio. The article also describes the sphere of sacral or divine law in which their activities were applied in ancient Rome. Additionally, the article details the gradual expansion of the need for written fixation and certification of various acts of civil law and their role in legal proceedings in civil cases. The author compares the functions assigned to these individuals in the sphere of magistrate and praetorian law-making. The study leads to conclusion that the diverse activities of the Roman scribae, potagii, and tabellio illustrate some of the fundamental principles of Latin notary practice.

The article analyzes theoretical and methodological aspects of investment support for regional economic development, determining the most effective concepts and methods that correspond to the present stage of development of the national economy. Using the Republic of Bashkortostan as an example and applying general scientific methods of understanding, as well as the principles of dialectical and systemic approaches, the authors identified the unique characteristics and trends in the socio-economic development of the region. The authors determined new ways to update the mechanism of investment support for the republic's economic growth and proposed measures to influence its internal investment processes. The article defines the economic functioning processes of the regional system within the framework of the investment self-sufficiency model. The subject of the study is a set of economic and social relations aimed at attracting and managing the investments and creating the investment flows within a given territory. The authors believe that identifying priority areas for capital investment based on the potential, infrastructure, and specific features of the region's location will provide qualitative support for its economic development.

Russia is one of the most resource-rich countries in the world. Despite having an enormous potential for natural resources, several significant social issues might have an adverse effect on the development of key state institutions and particular sectors of the economy in the future. Development or influence of particular processes in the economy and social sphere is mainly conditioned by the political situation in the country. Today, various elements of regional and social policy are forced to adapt to the upcoming large-scale transformations provoked by instability in foreign policy. Given such conditions, the issue of support for the population is acute; in particular, activities of investment funds formed at the expense of natural rent (in most cases, it is related to hydrocarbons). This article examines the activities of the Norwegian Pension Fund (Global), which was formed based on natural resources, was active in investment activities worldwide and achieved excellent results both in the investment sphere (1.5% of world shares) and in the sphere of pension provision. The Fund's activities are influencing the work of companies in the environmental sector as they contribute to a softer transition to a low-carbon economy.

The article focuses on the results of implementing certain state programs, which sometimes do not have a significant impact on the socio-economic development of the country. In many ways, they are conditioned by the universally recognized notion of goal-setting found in normative documents and widely accepted in public administration, which does not differentiate between operational and strategic goals. In this context, the primary criterion of success in the implementation of the state program is the achievement of its operational goals (system of indicators), while the strategic goals (tasks and problems of the socioeconomic development of the country) remain incomplete. In the example of the state program «Industrial Development and Competitiveness Enhancement», it was demonstrated that all the indicators (operational goals) used in the automotive industry are not a necessary condition for achieving its strategic goal - the development of the Russian automotive industry and increasing its competitiveness. The author creates proposals aimed at revising the goal-setting requirements in regulatory documents guiding the development and implementation of state programs.

The article provides information on the practical experience of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the sphere of updating the programs of training and retraining civil servants in today’s changing world conditions. The effectiveness and relevance of public servants’ training programs can be determined by measuring how well they perform in terms of sustainable inclusive development of the country. International development institutions have ranked the Republic of Azerbaijan as the 25th country in the world and third among countries with transitional economies in terms of inclusive development index, with a score of 4.69. Additionally, the country ranks 83rd in the world and 26th among countries with transitional economies in terms of economic potential, measured by GDP per capita, given purchasing power parity. Achieving sustainable inclusive development of the Republic of Azerbaijan is provided by civil servants trained by a complex of innovative synergetic, complementary, compensatory, and complimentary technologies.

The article considers the Republic of Kazakhstan’s low-carbon development policy. The authors identify the main factors influencing policymaking and analyze the main «low-carbon» instruments applied in the country or planned for implementation at the national and regional levels. Kazakhstan is transitioning to low-carbon energy due to its reliance on resources, climate change concerns, energy security, international climate regulations, and regional aspirations. The analysis has shown that implementing low-carbon development policies at the national level considers the economic value of particular measures apart from environmental benefits, including energy and reputational interests. The authors point out that the significant role of traditional energy sources in the Kazakhstan economy, as well as in the energy supply of the country (especially coal), does not allow the Republic of Kazakhstan to pursue a rapid abandonment of «dirty» energy sources due to economic and energy costs. In this context, the authors characterize Kazakhstan’s low-carbon development policy as «pragmatic» and aimed at ensuring economic security.

The article presents the results of comprehensive scientific research on the impact of a Special Military Operation (SMO) on society and living conditions in the border region. The launch of a Special Military Operation by Russia in February 2022 resulted in transformation in Russia's regions bordering Ukraine, especially Belgorod Oblast, which has the longest border and very specific geographical location. Several SMO-related factors, ranging from socio-cultural to military-political, have contributed to transformations in the border region's society. The study noted a sharp increase in social anxiety in border regions caused by a principally different level of military-terrorist threats compared to «internal» regions. There is a certain dissonance in the public consciousness because the border regions have long been balancing between emergency and normality in their everyday lives. In such a situation, civilians want to preserve their habitual lifestyle but experience constant stress due to the expectation of various excesses on the part of Ukraine.

The concept of a «smart city» is becoming increasingly relevant due to the growing digitalization of urban social processes. The affective turn in sociology has revealed the possibility of studying the aspects of interactions between the managing and managed subsystems of the «smart city» from a new perspective, allowing us to consider the «smart city» more anthropocentric and increase the level of qualitative research. The study’s relevance comes from the rising interest in exploring emotions in «smart cities» and the prospective investigation of digital processes from a meta-subjective psychological and sociological approach, demanding a more detailed consideration and immersion. The article aims to identify the perspectives of studying the citizens’ emotions while managing a «smart city» in the sociological dimension. The research methodology involves the analysis of secondary data with the application of sociological theories and the identification of prospects for the development of «emotional management»; the synthesis of existing studies of Russian and foreign sociologists; and the evaluation of the current contribution of practical research in the field of urban sociology and sociology of emotions. The author had concluded that the study of emotions in cities is a prospective issue, and sociological research conducted with an emotional component has great relevance in the paradigm of the anthropocentric «smart city» for Generation 3.0.

In academic research and policy discussions, many assumptions have been made regarding the causes of the governmental pro-natalist policies’ poor performance. The authors emphasize that a particularly significant reason is the lack of information promoting such measures. The article aims to study the peculiarities and methods of organizational promotion regarding the state measures for supporting and stimulating birth rate implemented in our country in 1917-2022. Insufficiently developed, the information component of contemporary Russian demographic policy has limited ability to shape public attitudes and beliefs regarding the way of life for families with children. The study showed the need to develop and implement a specialized information policy in the demographic sphere. At the same time, it is crucial that the image of large families has positive perception.

The article analyzes political and legal measures to counter threats to critical information infrastructure (CII). The authors explain the concept of CII in Russia and abroad, examine how its objects are covered, and discuss the steps Russia has taken to safeguard CII considering the principal risks to information security in 2017-2023. The sanctions regime places unique challenges in the area of CII protection. Sanctions pressure and other political challenges vastly facilitated the development of new security measures. The success of the protective policy is demonstrated by the increase in the proportion of domestically produced electronics purchased by state-owned businesses and government clients in 2023. The current risks related to foreign electronics being vulnerable to cyberattacks need to be addressed. In response to these challenges, new security systems are gradually being introduced for CII protection.

The article reviews the history of the first Russian professional periodicals for civil servants before the revolution of 1917 and the first Soviet magazines. The authors also analyze the thematic component of the publications. It is noted that such a turbulent historical era could not leave aside the numerous class of Russian officialdom, whose interests the periodicals for civil servants tried to represent. The authors emphasize that the publishers who created periodicals for officials believed that this large social group should be aware of the social and economic difficulties facing them and defend their labor rights. No less significant was the rethinking of the essence of the bureaucracy, its recognition of the professional community, and consolidation up to the point of establishing a professional union.