Vol. 26 No. 1 (2024)

The article examines the factors that influenced the formation of the Donetsk People’s Republic’s (DPR) public (state and municipal) administration system.The authors analyzed the main trends and directions of public policy, which provide the basis for developing the public administration system in the Donetsk People’s Republic. It is noted that, first of all, it is necessary to formulate the goal that forms the basis of the system of local self-government bodies,the achievement of which is possible only through the creation of an effective municipal policy.At the same time,it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the new constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The study outlines the current framework for implementing public policy in the administrative-territorial unit management of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The study presents evidence of the conceptual model’s contribution to developing the public administration structure in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

This article examines the intentional forms of expressing will under English law and evaluates howcourts of common lawjurisdictions qualifysuch non-standard contractual constructions. The increasing acceptance of these instruments in Russian business transactions, particularly within the context of public-private legal relations,supports the relevance of this topic. The research highlights some features of the nature of agreements and contracts under English lawand analyzes the main elements inherent in contractual constructs. The author presents the thesis,which states that while the parties’intentions are a crucial element in making the agreement enforceable,their mere presence does not automatically result in creating a legally binding force.The second part of the paper identifies the main forms of documents in English commercial turnover that involved parties use to express their intentions. The author proposes to generalize the identified forms into the category of «intentional» agreements due to the similar purpose of their practical application. The final part of the paper identifies and analyzes the cases of making intentional agreements binding, offering a list of criteria for courts in common law jurisdictions to enforce such agreements.

The issues of protecting the rights of citizens participating in shared-equity construction have remained relevant for a long time. The article considers issues connected with public prosecution assistance in criminal cases involving offenses in shared-equity construction. Following an analysis of court and investigative procedures, the authors outline the principal criminal schemes that violate the rights of citizens involved in shared construction and highlight the shift in criminal activity that has occurred since shared-equity construction first emerged. The paper identifies the issues arising in public prosecution in such criminal cases, as well as the grounds for courts' decisions to return the criminal case to the prosecutor and decisions to terminate the criminal case (criminal prosecution), including with the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution. The authors come to the conclusion that the charge was legitimate and well-founded in the vast majority of cases.

The article investigates the issues and aspects of registration of inheritance after the death of the debtor, reviews the theoretical aspects of notary measures to protect inherited property at the request of the creditor, analyzes the position of Russian civilists and modern judicial practice, and discusses the regulation of registering the inherited rights. Before the revolution, regulations focused on safeguarding goods and property that belonged to the deceased’s business, allowing creditors to appeal. The creditors’ interests did not prevail over the heirs’ interests, and an inventory of the deceased’s entire estate was not made just because a creditor applied for its protection. A growing number of questions regarding the application of legal norms in the area of measures to protect inherited property arise when there are not only claims to the testator’s estate from creditors but also conflicts between the testator’s spouse and other heirs. These issues are brought up by the development of the institution of individual bankruptcy and the increasing number of applications for recognizing the deceased as bankrupt. Currently, there is no clear regulation of the procedure for inventorying property at the request of a creditor. This includes situations where the creditor is not aware of the true nature of the property, and the heirs are preventing access to information about it and taking steps to safeguard the inheritance, such as creating an inventory of inherited property.

The current state of Russia’s economy raises questions regarding maintaining the sovereign foundations required for the state’s functioning. In these circumstances, it becomes particularly important to address the issues of guaranteeing the economic sovereignty of regions, which are constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as essential components of the national economy. Within the framework of regional components, the article provides a coherent analysis of issues about the theoretical justification of concepts of sovereignty generally, as well as their legal and economic content. The authors provide a personal interpretation of the term «region» and examine the variables impacting the emergence of favorable patterns in advancing economic independence among the subjects of the Russian Federation.

The article considers the issues that call for a qualitatively new approach in the Russian Federation's national project monitoring and evaluation system integrated with the UN Sustainable Development Agenda. If there is no consensus on assessing the quality of national projects, there is a need for more informed strategic planning and monitoring during the implementation phase. Ensuring maximum efficiency in implementing national projects that have direct impact on the socio-economic development of the country is especially important in circumstances where budgetary resources are limited. The methodology for auditing (controlling) national projects should have a comprehensive approach and cover all aspects of their implementation. The «standardized audit» approach, which offers a thorough system for evaluation and control of the primary directions and indicators of national projects and is a crucial component of efficient state resource management, is suggested as part of the improvement of audit methodology in the Russian Federation. Standardization of assessment techniques provides a legal foundation for audit procedures, encourages adherence to established norms and standards, and makes the audit process more transparent. It also produces fair and impartial assessment criteria that can be amended in strategic planning documents.

The article examines the practical challenges associated with overseeing unfinished capital construction objects, characterizes the scope of the issue, and highlights its implications for the country’s economy in accomplishing strategic development goals.The practice shows that the implemented measures to reduce the number of unfinished capital construction objects have not resulted in a significant change.The management system aimed at preventing the emergence of newunfinished capital construction objects needs further adjustment.The study aims to identify the primary factors and associated risks that contribute to the emergence of unfinished capital construction objects.The risks are categorized based on the cumulative stages in implementing the Federal Targeted Investment Program. The author analyzes the transformation of approaches to the managing these objects.The measures taken are evaluated in terms of their effectiveness and focus on addressing each of the identified management problems.Given the challenges associated with estimating construction costs and the requirement to subsequently realize construction within the budgeted amount,the study poses the question of whether state expertise can be substituted with non-state expertise. The author suggests implementing several measures if the project’s timeline,quality,or budget are not met.

The article focuses on the contemporary implementation of the «money follows the result» principle in financing higher education.The author examines the Russian Federation’s 2002-2004 experiment in utilizing the mechanism of state registered financial obligations (SRFO) to improve the financing of higher education institutions, as well as identifies problems and negative factors in implementing this experiment.This article examines the contemporary approach to lowering university tuition fees as a new means of providing financial assistance to talented and socially vulnerable young people.This study compares the SRFO model with the system of providing discounts to lower the cost of education.The author describes the examples of how Russian advanced higher education institutions use tuition discounts.The studyexamines the Don State Technical University’s experience implementing the «Green Wave» tuition fee reduction mechanism.The author identifies problem areas and suggests ways to improve the mechanism, which is considered the most promising model of financial support for young students.

The study examines various techniques and methodologies for comparing the international competitiveness of the world’s biggest cities. Using scientific and professional experience, the authors conducted research that involved documenting current trends in creating international city rankings and identifying the main characteristics of regional authorities’efforts to elevate their positions in these rankings. Particular focus is placed on the dynamics of Moscow’s position in the international rankings.Additionally,the positive and negative aspects of Moscow’s urban environment are examined,as theyare reflected in the city’s rankings. The authors conclude that, given the changeable nature of the global environment, it is important to emphasize the development of objective scientific rankings of cities while taking into consideration Russia’s and the BRICS nations’ experiences, whose relations are given top priority in the Russian Federation’s new foreign policy concept. Such assessment systems can offer a more comprehensive and accurate representation as well as focus on current needs and challenges.

In the Russian Federation, to regulate the access of retail investors to the stock market, they are divided into the groups of qualified and non-qualified investors. This sector has experienced substantial regulatory changes in the last two years and is still adjusting to the specific features of the Russian securities market in response to newchallenges.The article considers the categories of investors established in the Russian Federation, financial products available for investment, and peculiarities of admission to operations with certain categories of products.The paper analyzes the regulatorypolicyaimed at achieving such goals as retail investor protection and the development of the securities market.The author suggests ensuring that the investment opportunities are matched with investor’s knowledge and experience,as well as limiting the possibility of brokers’ potential abuse. It is noted that the requirement to make informed investment decisions should be applied to all investors equally,and the organization of investor testing due to the obvious conflict of interests cannot be delegated to brokers, independent organizations should be involved in this process.

The article addresses a pressing issue of modernity: the possibilities of implementing the family policybypublic and municipal administration organizations in the context of crisis transformation processes affecting the family and childhood social practice. In Russia, changes in social reality have affected the qualitative characteristics of family relations.The article analyzes the reproduction of negative social practices in the modern family.The author cites data from researchers that illustrate not only the quantitative but also the qualitative decline of Russia’s «human potential».The article considers the resources of state and municipal administration available to the respective organizations. Socio-economic factors, which are external to the family and the individual, dominate the social management system in the sphere of childhood and the family.The practice of state and municipal governance does not fullyrecognize the social and spiritual component as an internal regulator of social existence.The author concludes that there is a contradiction between the actual methods of implementing state and municipal family and demographic policies and their positive social meanings,which further undermines the value of the family in the individual and collective minds and lowers the social status of families.

Referring to the documents of the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History,the article examines the experience of the Academy of Social Sciences under the Central Committee of CPSU in pursuing a personnel policyto form and develop a collective of professors and teachers.The studyshows that this policy was not consistent; it depended on the changes in the state’s policy, the relations of the Academy’s leadership with the CPSU Central Committee,and the general ideas of expediency in the work with scientific and pedagogical staff. Analytical materials, particularly the review «On Work with Personnel at the Academy of Social Sciences under the Central Committee of CPSU»,written by Vice-Rector G.Glezerman and forwarded to the CPSU Central Committee’s Department of Science and Educational Institutions on January 12, 1974, were a valuable source for studying the history of the Academy of Social Sciences of the Central Committee of CPSU.This document,as well as other historical records,gives us insight into the Soviet era’s personnel management practices, which included conducting attestations, building a solid staff, offering material and moral benefits,and countering biased criticism and denunciations.Due to the Academy’s central role in national politics and strict standards for its employees, the microhistory of the Academy of Social Sciences provides insight into the circumstances of the postwar USSR as a whole.

The article provides research on public thought concerning the Ostsee issue and the role of the Ostsee region in the Russian Empire in the middle of the XIX century. Until the middle of the XIX century, this issue was rarely discussed and was embedded in the broader topic of the status of foreigners in Russia. The most intense and passionate debate on this issue arose between the 1850s and 1860s, driven by political and historical developments and the newly formed national discourse. The work that provides access to the Ostsean discourse of the 1850s and 1860s is Y.F. Samarin’s «Letters from Riga», composed in 1849 while he was pursuing his official duties at the Ministry of the Internal Affairs’ Committee for the Organization of Livonian Peasants. The author examines how opposing viewpoints - both «pro-» and «anti-Ostsean» - appear in public and how they are reflected in journalism, with Y.F. Samarin and M.N. Katkov becoming the theme’s principal promoters. The primary publications that discussed the topic of the Ostsee region were the newspapers «Den’», «Moskovskie Vedomosti», «Vest’», «Severnaya Pochta», «Birzhevye Vedomosti», and «Nashe Vremya». Until the middle of the 1860s, the Ostsee issue was generally of insignificant importance outside the aforementioned newspapers. According to the author’s conclusion, the discussion led to many significant changes, including the first steps taken to establish a unified political and cultural space in Russia for the following epochs.