Vol. 24 No. 2 (2022)

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the formation of the post of the President of the Russian Federation and the constitutional parameters of his relationship with the legislative, executive and judicial authorities. The relevance of the chosen topic is determined by the importance of the constitutional reforms carried out in 2020, the lack of significant number of scientific assessments of the results of the reform, the prospects for changing the principles of work of public authorities based on its results. Based on generally accepted scientific methods, based on the results of the analysis, it is substantiated that the 2020 constitutional reform introduced a number of new elements into the constitutional mechanism for the separation of powers without affecting its fundamental foundations. In support of this conclusion, a historical excursion is dedicated to the establishment of presidential rule in Russia in the conditions of centrifugal tendencies of the perestroika period, revealed the differences in the “late Soviet” ideas about the functional composition of the powers of the head of state, showed the main milestones in the evolution of doctrinal judgments about the role of the president in the constitutional mechanism of separation of powers, developed in the modern period. The article examines the features of the constitutional reform that took place, assesses the strategy of targeted adjustments to constitutional norms, developed with the direct participation of the President of Russia Vladimir V. Putin. Attention is also paid to the sociological dimension of support for the constitutional initiatives of the head of state, as well as a special procedure for their legitimization. Positive assesses are given the establishment of a mechanism for the implementation of preliminary constitutional review, since this strengthens the guaranteeing function of the head of state and his powers as a guarantor of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. In the context of limiting the period of tenure of the head of state by two constitutional terms, the adopted decisions serve as a condition for increasing the protection of citizens. In addition, they help to prevent a possible political crisis in the context of disagreements between the parliament and the head of state. The approval of amendments to the constitutional text at the all-Russian vote became an act of real democracy, which guaranteed the stable development of the country and civil society. The procedure of the all-Russian voting as a form of direct democracy has prospects for further use in electoral law. All-Russian voting has no historical analogues, but the experience of its holding has shown that in modern conditions a new democratic electoral standard can be formed.

The article examines the current problems of the institute for assessing the effectiveness of the executive authorities of the constituent entities, as well as suggestions for improving the legislation in this direction. The author examines the absence of evaluation criteria in the regulatory framework related to the regional authorities’ response to emergencies, as well as measures aimed at assessing the effectiveness of interactions between state authorities and local government and the overall effectiveness of implementing national projects and state programs. The author gives a prediction for further transformation of the “digital maturity” indicator. According to the author, it is necessary to introduce a differentiated system of criteria for evaluating constituent entities, combining primary evaluation indicators and specific regional criteria. These criteria should be formed based on the priority of the current tasks of the subject, as well as the specifics of the territory of a particular region. To determine the strategic directions of development, it is necessary to introduce individual coefficients, which, in turn, requires a thorough analysis of the socio-economic development and potential of the region. This requires relying on the indicators of the regional gross product. Assessment of the growth rate in the region, considering its characteristics and available resources, will allow to determine the necessary resources to achieve management objectives and the degree of control over the use of resources.

The article is devoted to the current issue of preventing and solving civil servants’ conflicts of interest. The arising conflict of interest requires a civil servant to choose appropriate behavior consistent with the requirements of anti-corruption legislation. Otherwise, the incorrect choice may lead to corruption offenses since private interests will prevail over public ones. The article analyzes the concept that the social role of the “civil servant” is considered the prevailing or “titular” for the civil servant. The study involved conducting surveys (questionnaires) with civil servants responsible for preventing corruption and other offenses, and the goal was to find issues related to the diversity of social roles among civil servants. The author proposes measures aimed at minimizing situations where civil servants incorrectly rank their social roles in the context of public administration. These include educational activities and the preparation of methodological materials that provide specifics of a public body with concrete and transparent examples.

The article describes the specifics of Russian federalism and the main directions to improve federal relations in the Russian Federation. Historically, inter-budget relationships have been created as a result establishing the relationships between budget regulators at three levels of management. These relations made it possible to maintain the necessary level of financial and administrative security for each of the subjects of budgetary relations within the territory of a single state. In Russia, the emergence of these relationships took place at the beginning of democratization, which became an integral part of the socio-economic and political development of the state. The creation of a new legal framework contributed to the separation and distribution of budgetary powers between the federal bodies of state authority, bodies of authority in the subjects of the Russian Federation, and local authorities. However, all the positive effects had to be systematized and formalized at the legislative level in the form of a regulatory legal act. This document was supposed to take into account aspects related to the distribution of income revenues to the budgets of the three levels of state planning and management. The system of budgetary relations of the Russian Federation has changed; this was characterized by the allocation of levels of budget planning and the division of roles between the elements of the system. Fiscal federalism is one of the most important components of the federal system of the state. Due to the presence of a properly structured system of fiscal federalism, the state can influence the process of economic growth, to determine the further strategy of development of the financial, economic, and social profile of the regions.

The article is dedicated to the 50th publication anniversary of the book “The limits of growth”. The author summarizes the conceptual results associated with the basic thesis of the study presented in March 1972 in the form of the first report to the Club of Rome: unless the humanity radically changes the traditional expansion of growth, it will collapse due to the result of uncontrolled demographic processes, degradation of the natural environment and deficit of food resources. Overcoming the crisis trends in world dynamics is associated with an increase in the level of development of civilization to the stage of “organic growth” - the harmonious interaction of the constituent elements of the system when its evolution comes based on qualitative rather than quantitative changes. The article shows the relationship between the ideas of the Club of Rome and the principles of sustainable development of civilization, the implementation of which, from “Rio-92” (UN Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, June 1992) to “Rio+20” (UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio de Janeiro, June 2012), allows us to expect constructive changes in the foreseeable future.

Using the international experience gained during the development of renewable energy sources (RES), we can now talk about the socio-economic importance of projects in this area, especially at levels of implementation close to the individual. Given the positioning of renewable energy sources in Russia as an instrument to solve energy and environmental issues, it is necessary to assess the new opportunities for RES’s positive impact on the economy and society, as well as its more intensive development subject to the current potential of non-renewable energy sources. The author considers the general trends of global leaders in energy consumption in the ratio of capacity for renewable and non-renewable energy. Creating a class of energy prosumers combining the functions of energy production and consumption based on renewable energy technologies is one of the priority tasks for the state energy policy. Having analyzed the regulatory framework in the field of microgeneration as well as the market for the relevant equipment, the author proposes ways to stimulate this activity, which, with the effective involvement of the population, might serve as a factor for endogenous economic growth. In addition, microgeneration based on RES is considered the primary method of ranking regions for federal stimulation of renewable energy development. Having studied the factor of attracting non-core investors in the energy sector, the author assessed the importance of ESG criteria and proposed to create a dedicated national system for supervision over the non-financial criteria used to evaluate investment projects.

The article examines the methodology for assessing the effectiveness of forming social and reputational image for public companies in the context of value-based management. The authors propose a new approach to the assessment of management and consider the functioning of the company as a single organism that combines the effectiveness of using all resource potential together with the social development strategy and the results obtained. The study of the effectiveness of reputational and social image is built on the principle of goal decomposition. It is supposed to form functional subsystems characterizing leadership, company attractiveness and brand promotion, public and social image, business image and business reputation, corporate image, personnel potential, and professional activity, correspondence of accepted remuneration system to company’s goals and tasks, as well as programs aimed at stimulating labor and social security. The research assumes specification of seven assessment objects that would reveal the content of functional subsystems; the number of objects and assessment indicators are determined by the need to increase the amount of detailed information, the convenience of its use, as well as its openness and the possibility of an objective and accurate study.

The article considers significant social and managerial features of developing the “Minusinsk” project/ Electrograd city in the Minusinsk Valley as one of the large-scale state projects, including creating and developing urban sites of presence. The analysis is conducted using the successful experience of designing closed administrative-territorial formations (CATFs) as sites of presence of the USSR Atomic Project. The purpose of this atomic project was to ensure parity in the Cold War, an “arms race”, and the creation of national “Nuclear shield”. The authors are interested in applying the project approach methodology to analyzing the “Minusinsk” project as well as using the concept of forming a value core of corporatism in CATF to increase motivation, involvement, and cohesion of city residents around the project. Currently, the “Minusinsk” project barely considers the need to provide cities of presence with corporate identity, a particular spirit that would motivate, unite, and involve citizens in the project’s implementation from within. Given the successful practice of creating and developing the Atomic project and nuclear CATFs, the development and further social reproduction of the value core of corporatism can improve performance and become a fundamental condition for their implementation. The authors conclude that within the “Minusinsk” project, the use of corporatism involves setting a goal of state importance, which is fixed structurally, organizationally, programmatically, and has a detailed project.

This article highlights the contribution of the ESCEG - RANEPA collaboration for training managers in digital transformation skills. The authors emphasize the priority that the governments of Cuba and the Russian Federation give to the processes of digital transformation. The article demonstrates the main actions, results, and forecasts in international cooperation between the universities. As part of international cooperation, the Higher School of State and Government Cadres of Cuba and the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) are developing and implementing programs aimed at training civil servants and officials, acquiring the skills and competencies needed to manage the processes of digital transformation. Considering the experience of the Russian Federation in the processes of digital transformation of public administration and the actions taken by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) in the development of management programs to educate civil servants and help them acquire the necessary skills to develop these processes, the Higher School of State and Government Cadres of Cuba (ESCEG) is now introducing these practices into own training courses. Higher School of State and Government Cadres of Cuba began a collaboration with RANEPA on September 17, 2019, which was consolidated by signing a Memorandum of Cooperation. This agreement refers to joint work in the areas of public administration and business, training of senior managers, as well as strengthening friendship between the parties. Despite the challenging epidemiological situation caused by COVID-19, cooperation is developing actively using remote technologies and is supported by the highest officials in the Russian Federation and Cuba.

The article examines different approaches to assessing new transformational changes in the educational sphere, determined by the general patterns of a rapidly changing VUCA world. By 2030, 14% of employees of organizations around the world may need to change careers and acquire new competencies. The problem of competency shortages will affect everyone - employers, students, and even entire families. Educational technologies are also changing. New approaches and innovative technologies are being developed in schools, universities, and corporate training. Most expert organizations, commissions, and councils involved in educational transformation agree that the new digital world needs a broader range of competencies, not just digital skills. In the sphere of higher education, the transformation of the educational process and the development of universal skills are especially relevant for students of management specialties such as “Management” and “Public Service”. The necessity to introduce into the process of both university and corporate training the new approaches and methods for assessing the universal competencies of future managers is obvious. At the same time, higher education institutions still focuse on acquiring contextual skills based on the so-called explicit knowledge, and not on developing universal skills.

The article examines the legal features of artificial intelligence technology (hereinafter - AI) and the rapid digital transformation that causes the increased interest in this topic. Emerging and developing in the private sector, it is also taking shape in the sphere of public interest. In this regard, we need to conduct a thorough analysis of this technology, considering that, both directly and indirectly, AI technology can cause human rights violations. The author notes that the objective side of transparency can be expressed by the following triad of parameters: explainability, comprehensibility, and accessibility; the subjective component can be represented by the human right to an explanation of the obtained AI result (algorithm). To this extent, the right to an explanation should be classified as a digital human right. The author concludes that neither excessive regulation nor complete non-interference is appropriate or functional in developing and managing AI technologies. The article proposes to facilitate further testing of the possibility and conditions of AI technology applications, including in public administration, as part of the experimental legal regime in the area of digital innovations. In this context, the author analyzed the experience of data processing in the public administration of the European Union, which has traditionally paid increased attention to human rights and data protection. The article is based on the research work carried out within the framework of the state assignment of RANEPA.

The article analyzes the main theoretical concepts and legal provisions in the sphere of cooperation and interaction between the prosecution authorities of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan. The author pays attention to analyzing the legal regulation of international cooperation, as well as reviewing the fundamental principles through which the prosecutorial activity is carried out. The article examines the peculiarities of organizing the work of prosecution authorities of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan in the field of international legal cooperation. According to international obligations, the states provide mutual assistance in countering and overcoming criminal manifestations, bringing to justice the perpetrators of unlawful acts, as well as combating transnational manifestations of crime which entails inevitable criminal prosecution and punishment. An essential role in this direction is played by the institution of international cooperation. The obligations of the Prosecutor’s Offices of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan also have an impact on society, as their activities are aimed at guaranteeing the implementation of human rights and freedoms. Progress in this area can be achieved by intensifying the international cooperation of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan in terms of the international fight against crime.

In March 2020, a new coronavirus pandemic have spread around the world, forcing nations to close their borders and paralyzing the global economy. According to health experts, the mortality rate is 2 %, but governments and international organizations have initiated quarantine measures and social distancing to prevent health systems from collapsing due to numerous cases. Against this background, the events in Colombia have attracted much attention. Although the national and local governments have taken all necessary measures to prevent the disease, the scandals surrounding these decrees and ordinances are of great interest. The distribution of resources and expenditures in other non-priority sectors is also questionable. According to statistics from Johns Hopkins University, the country was in the top 10 for the number of people infected and the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 in the world. The situation with a possible third wave of COVID-19 in Latin America is not promising. Governments in almost all countries in the region are taking insufficient steps to prevent the spread of the virus, the health care system is failing to function properly, and the vaccination rate as well as other shortcomings have angered many community members. This applies to Colombia under President Ivan Duque, who, although a member of the ruling party, raises serious doubts regarding his governing capacity. The authors believe that the blame for the current situation lies not only on the head of state but also on local authorities and the population itself, which practically does not comply with the medical and sanitary restrictions on movements and gatherings of people.

The article analyzes the changes that took place in the Republic of Lithuania after gaining sovereignty. During thirty years of independence, Lithuania has built a modern state with a developed democratic political system and market economy. The process of state-building continues; all administrative reforms are focused on modern Western models that meet the standards of the European Union and are aimed at forming a developed society as well as ensuring the rights and freedoms of all its members.