Current issue

The historical stages of the formation and development of notaries in Russia are analyzed, the features of notarial activities in different periods are determined. The post-Soviet period of development of notaries, associated with the adoption of the Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries, as well as with the emergence of private notaries, is highlighted. The development of the notary office in the digital era, the functioning of the electronic (digital) notary office are outlined, and the expansion of the powers of notaries in the digital environment (certification of an electronic document; remote transactions, etc.) is analyzed. These measures are aimed at increasing the effective protection of the rights and interests of individuals and legal entities in the field of notaries.

In the article, in the context of a systematic approach, views on the understanding of defects in law and the law are presented and analyzed, and the lack of a unified methodological basis for defining the concept of a defect in law is revealed. The criteria are formulated to identify the presence of a defect in the criminal procedure law. After studying the various views of scientists on the prospects for the development of the theory of legislative defects, taking into account the specifics and independence of the functioning of the conceptual apparatus of the criminal procedure law, the author’s concept of defects of the criminal procedure law is formulated. The existing views on the classification of defects of the law are presented, the possibility of dividing such defects into types is justified, bringing the author’s view of such a division.

This article is devoted to the study of the qualitative transition from the political and legal doctrine of Ottomanism to the doctrine of Pan-Turkism, which took place in the late Ottoman society of the late XIX — early XX century. The problems of state-legal construction during the transformation of the state education of the pre-modern type into the modern state are highlighted. The purpose of this article is to explore the path of transformation of the dominant political and legal paradigms, ideologies and discourses in late Ottoman society from the beginning of the Tanzimat era until the end of the Ottoman Empire. The methodological basis of the study is made up of general scientific methods of cognition in combination with specific scientific methods developed by legal and historical science (formal legal, comparative legal, historical, systemic method, method of analysis and synthesis, method of legal interpretation). Based on historical and legal material on relevant topics, the author traces not only the process of changing the dominant position of the doctrine of Ottomanism in the circles of Ottoman intellectuals, but also the transition to a position of sympathy for the ideas of Turkism on the part of some of the late Ottoman power elites. In addition, the author explains the prerequisites for such a transition. The issue of the influence of the change and development of political and legal doctrines of Ottomanism, Pan-Islamism and Pan-Turkism not only on late Ottoman society, but also on modern Turkish society, which arose after the Kemalist reforms and the founding of the Republic, is also covered.

The article traces the history of one of the oldest elite educational institutions in Königsberg — the Löbenicht Real Gymnasium, which was attended by engineers, bankers, architects, administrators and others famous in Königsberg and beyond. The evolution of the status of the gymnasium is traced, starting from the parochial school of Löbenicht to the leading real gymnasium in East Prussia, which was attended not only by the inhabitants of the region, but also by other countries, including Russia. Changes in the educational programme of the school, the organisation of the educational process, and the quality of the teaching staff are analysed. The article may be of interest to researchers of the history of Königsberg-Kaliningrad, students of history faculties, researchers of the history of pedagogical science, including the history of pedagogy in Germany.

The article studies complexes of documents that were compiled in the Executive Authorities’ Archives and that are connected with citizens’ appeals to different authorities. The author reveals that it was the local executive bodies that chiefly processed citizens’ appeals, most of which were returned to the Executive Committee for them to be finally solved. Such applications concerned first of all citizens’ particular daily needs, such as electricity and food products supply, public utilities. The data collected from the Krasnodar Region Archive, The Nizhny Novgorod Region Archive and The Saint Petersburg Archive allow considering what constitutes the principal sources of the documents on the history of everyday life. The important information can be found in the complexes of documents, each of which concerns a particular type of letter, such as covering letters from an editorial office or the central governmental body, and explanatory letters of local governmental bodies. Such complexes make it possible to trace the mechanism of the interaction between government and society, to single out the participants of this dialogue and its duration. The mentioned documents show that citizens’ appeals to different authorities can reveal the mosaic pattern of the social space in 1960—1970s, moreover it ascertains how much time it took to solve everyday problems and why people had to knock on every door to get their simple needs satisfied.

The object of the study is international relations in the context of educational migration. The theoretical basis of the study includes the concepts of “soft power” and “smart power”, internationalisation of education, cultural exchange and scientific diplomacy. Historical aspects, as well as modern trends in higher education and international relations are considered. The state and dynamics of the export of educational services in the context of “soft power” in Russian foreign policy are determined. The author emphasizes the importance of education export as a way to influence political elites and societies, and also comes to the conclusion about the importance of improving the quality of education as an export product of Russia in order to increase its value at the international level, and accordingly, improve the image of Russia as a friendly state.

The article examines the dynamics of the development of relations between the countries of the Baltic region, the influence of NATO and the United States on them in the conditions of the emerging polycentric world order. The main risks and threats to Russian regional security at the present time are identified, and measures to localize and neutralize them are proposed. The development of the international situation in the Baltic Sea in the medium term is predicted, and the possible consequences of the military escalation of the alliance in the region for the security of the Kaliningrad Region, a strategically important subject of the Russian Federation, are assessed. Based on the results of this empirical study, it is concluded that NATO member states in the Baltic region have recently changed their approaches to ensuring security in the Baltic. As their military and political positions deteriorated in the Ukrainian crisis, they began to force the expansion of the alliance, strengthen its infrastructure, pursue an active militaristic and provocative policy, and prepare for an armed conflict with Russia, including the possible use of nuclear weapons. This has a negative impact on the entire European security and significantly worsens the situation of the Kaliningrad region, surrounded by hostile countries. In the course of the study, various modern methods of political science were used to identify signs of the most important risks that could cause significant political and economic damage to Russia in the Baltic region. For a qualitative, unbiased scientific analysis of the trends, challenges and threats to Russia’s security taking place in the region, there is a need to improve the indicative system for assessing their level of danger, determining thresholds and directions for the development of the situation in vital systems, which would make it possible to make the most correct management decisions. There are many works devoted to the Baltic theme in Russian science, but in recent years there has been a noticeable decrease in publications, especially fundamental research. The foreign scientific community views this problem tendentiously and one-sidedly, and therefore does not provide objective and verified assessments of the situation. The relevance of the topic is caused by the presence of Russian strategic interests in the Baltic region, the unpredictability and rapid dynamics of the military-political situation here, which requires constant scientific coverage.

The article is devoted to the analysis of strategies for optimising intraregional space in the context of implementing domestic state policy. The study focuses on comparing centralized and decentralized approaches to managing regional development, as well as their impact on the socio-economic situation of the regions. To assess the effectiveness of various management models, the paper uses an institutional research method and comparative analysis. The main findings emphasize the importance of a flexible approach to managing the intraregional space of the state, regardless of the form of political structure, which would take into account the unique conditions of each region, as well as the need for a balance between national integration and regional autonomy to achieve sustainable development of the country. At the same time, the article presents the characteristics of the processes of development and development of new territories in the system of priorities of regional policy of the modern state. The study of theoretical, methodological and applied aspects affecting the processes and mechanisms of development of new territories by the state is certainly relevant. The author of the article presented a classification of development types according to the criterion of the functional purpose of the development of new territories, as well as a typology based on the chronological criterion. Resource, institutional and network approaches to the development of territories are considered.

The article presents the results of using mental mapping in studying the concept of the border between Western and Eastern Europe. Since the collapse of the USSR the border under study has been transforming due to the aspirations of certain post-Soviet countries as well as the expanding scope of the Euro-Atlantic integration. The study is based on the survey of the MGIMO first-year students who drew the border between Eastern and Western Europe on a map and answered questions on travel frequency and Russia’s belonging to Europe. Three waves of the survey have been conducted sofar: in 2022 (before February 22), 2023 and 2024. This group of the respondents is of special interest, because they may form the core of Russia’s diplomacy in future. According to the survey, the “main” border of Western and Eastern Europe lies along the following route: the border between Russia and Finland — the Finnish Gulf — the Baltic Sea — the border between Poland and Germany — the border between the Check Republic and Germany — the border between the Check Republic and Austria — the border between Austria and Slovakia — the border between Austria and Hungary. This pattern overall remained the same over the whole period, however, in 2023 and 2024 the border became clearer, for instance, Croatia was more rarely identified as an Eastern European state, and the Baltics were more rarely attached to Western Europe. More frequent travelers were inclined to provide a more detailed and less stereotype pattern of the border. The study revealed unexpected gender differences in answers: women were more likely to push the border of the Eastern Europe closer to Russia.