The humanities and social science

Drawing on a comparative analysis of current research and academic literature published in Russia and the United States, I describe the stages of the development of forensic science in the two countries. I analyse the structure and major areas of modern criminalistics. Special attention is paid to the relevant philosophical and methodological framework and the functions of forensic science. I give a detailed account of Russian and US scholars’ approaches to the nature, subject, and object of criminalistics and provide an overview of the history of the discipline. I address the relationship between criminalistics and criminal procedure law. In considering the methodological framework for criminalistics, I focus on the thought experiment (event reconstruction) technique and the situational approach, which is used both in Russia and in the US. I describe the concept, essence, and capabilities of the situation approach to crime investigation. Today, the situational approach is central to forensic thinking. I demonstrate the role of the approach in the training of lawyers and in investigative practices. I describe the use of forensic thinking in the US in the advanced training of detectives and investigators as a means to further their professional growth. I demonstrate how civil and arbitration procedures may benefit from modern criminalistics.

In this article, I provide an overview of the history of investigation programming and analyse the shortcomings of the algorithm method. Apparently, these shortcomings can be overcome by forensic thinking. I provide my own interpretation of forensic thinking structure and avenues to study this phenomenon. The methods to explore forensic thinking include forensic, philosophical, neurophysiological, and psychological approaches and the study of thinking through the prism of its relationship with artificial intelligence.

In this article, I address the problem of the disproportionate expansion of the object of legal regulation. I stress the general tendency towards an overly broad understanding of the object of legal regulation in Russia and delineate the boundaries of legal regulation. In conclusion, I demonstrate the connection between the disproportionate expansion of the object of legal regulation and the deformation of citizens’ legal consciousness.

In this article, I analyse a concept proposed within German legal science, namely that of the responsibility of legal positivism for promoting National Socialism in the 20th century. An analysis of relevant works by German and Russian legal scholars has shown that the concept rests on false premises and the ideas of positivism had no influence on the criminal National Socialist regime.

In this article, I consider the legal aspects of the EU policy on the integration of immigrants into the host society. The current EU basic law does not give the Union the power to issue legislative acts aimed at harmonizing national rules for the integration of immigrants. However, in the aftermath of the migrant crisis in Europe, this problem has been receiving increased attention. I systematize legal instruments for immigrant integration, analyse the conditions of the system formation, emphasize trends in the policy development, and examine the formation of relevant legislation at a national level in the case of Germany. Using the method of legal analysis, I suggest the following system of legal regulation of the EU immigrant integration policy: ‘soft law’ instruments adopted at the level of the EU; provisions on immigrant integration contained in the legal acts of the Union; relevant national legislation. I conclude that the system of legal regulation of immigrant integration in the EU is two-tier. General principles are established at the Union level and legally binding rules are formulated at national levels.

The uniqueness of a territorial socio-economic system lies in the specific features of spatial networking of economic entities that form clusters of excellence and ensure the competitiveness of the entire system. Identifying the key elements of territorial capital is a global challenge faced by modern regional policy. I analyse the background for, and limits to, the development of a spatially targeted regional development policy. Lithuania’s so-called valleys – integrated centres for research and business — are a possible way to embrace the approach that suggests concentrating resources on breakthrough areas, which makes it possible to put local growth points on the international map.

In this article, I address the relationship and interactions between the innovation- promoting and economic functions of the state. In today’s condition, a solution to the major problem of national economic development lies in the employment of advanced technology. I identify the areas where the innovative function of the state overlaps with its economic subfunctions. I propose and validate a logical model for relations between the innovation-promoting and economic functions of the state.

In this article, I analyse the improvement of the system for financial support for military personnel during the Great Patriotic War. Financial support included a monetary allowance, material bonuses for involvement in combat, and welfare benefits for families and veterans. The financial support system was vertically integrated from the centre (the Financial Directorate of the Red Army) to an individual soldier through the financial bodies of military units. The financial situation in the country was stabilized through non-cash transactions using deposit books. The transactions were carried out in not only roubles but also foreign currency. The allowance system was improved through the introduction of rewards. The initiative accounted for most of public spending, which increased 5.4-fold during the war years. I stress that financial incentives for involvement in combat contributed to greater professionalism and personal commitment of the personnel, which were major factors in the victory.

In this article, I address the functions and the framework for the operations of the Kokand branch of the Volga-Kama Commercial Bank. Soviet historiography considered banks as a tool of ‘colonialism’ – both Western and Russian. Using archival data, I prove that the financial institutions of the Russian Empire took into account local circumstances and encouraged exportoriented production. I examine interbank correspondence, annual reports by the director of the branch, and branch audit reports. This work is the first attempt in historiography to examine the bank’s credit and debit operations, to analyse its profits and spending, and to study its staff. The Volga-Kama Bank had a strong branch network in Central Asia. The bank strived to take control over cotton and fruit exports. However, it failed and did not become a monopolist on the Turkestani market. For banks, the ‘modernization’ of the Central Asian economy meant financing the production of export crops and acting as an intermediary between the metropolis and the periphery. At first glance, the ‘colonial’ periphery seemed an attractive destination for investment and a source of superprofits. However, the speculative Turkestani economy did not leave room for bank development.

In this article, we consider the historical aspects of the 1807—1813 situation in East Prussia and describe current Russian and international historiography of the 1813—1814 Foreign Campaign of the Russian Army and of the Russian-Prussian alliance against Napoleonic France. We conclude that East Prussia played a central role in the political, military, and diplomatic struggle between France andкяч Russia.

In this article, we analyse the concept of ‘local community’, its distinctive features, and its role and place in socio-geographical studies. We stress the connection between local communities and the area where community members reside and go through everyday routines. Processes characteristic of local communities include territory socialization, residents’ self-identification, selfregulation, and taking over administrative functions. In the case of the Perm region, we study the features of localities at a regional level, namely, the formation of vernacular areas. We conclude that neighbourhood, which requires consolidation to improve the living environment, is manifested today in new forms including owners’ associations.

Nowadays, within Russian scholarship, there is not so much research on the role of regional mass media in conducting public diplomacy. In this context, the article aims at analyzing results of experts’ survey taken in May 2018. Among other things, experts gave their opinions on the levels and forms of communication between mass media of Saratov region and their foreign partners, the way regional and municipal media outlets use the Internet technologies, social networks, and messengers, possible projects to promote information interaction of the region and media from abroad. An inference is made that mass media pay inadequate attention to “foreign” aspects of their activity, which, in its turn, necessitates organizing and holding additional events aimed at galvanizing life into expert and professional debates in this field, expanding relevant agenda and discourse.