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The current state of the digitalization of criminal procedure is examined, and an attempt is made to assess the prospects for its further development in the context of the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence. Specific proposals for reforming criminal procedure legislation are analyzed, and the risk of the emergence of defects caused by the digitalization of criminal procedure is forecast. The author comes to the conclusion that, already at the stage of preparing a draft law, it is necessary to use special training programs capable of predicting the accuracy of embedding new provisions into the body of criminal procedure legislation and the emergence of possible defects. Based on an analysis of existing opinions on the digitaliza­tion of criminal procedure, the author, within the framework of a systemic approach, supports the ideas of forming an electronic criminal case, determining the place of electronic evidence, the need to maintain only an audio recording of court hearings without duplicating the record on paper, and the introduction of augmented reality technology. Relevant amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation are proposed. The author draws attention to the need to transform preliminary investigation bodies and various public authorities in order to ensure electronic interaction via a unified digital platform. Issues of gaps in law have always been the subject of active discussion among both scholars and practitioners. The objec­tives of this study are to identify defects in criminal procedure legislation caused by the digi­talization of criminal procedure and trends in the digitalization of criminal procedural rela­tions, as well as to formulate ways and means of preventing the emergence of various types of defects in criminal procedure legislation, including at the stage of drafting relevant bills. In addition to general scientific research methods, such as the method of theoretical cognition and the method of analysis and synthesis, the study employed comparative legal and formal legal methods, as well as techniques of dialectical logic. Despite the fact that, at present, fun­damental approaches and basic ideas and concepts in this field of knowledge have been formu­lated, modern realities associated with the active introduction of information technologies and elements of artificial intelligence into law receive a new interpretation, taking into account the specifics of the process of systemic integration of information and communication technol­ogies into various areas of legislation, and therefore require timely reconsideration.

The objectives of the study, published in two parts, are to analyze the organizational and tactical features of conducting certain investigative actions and, on this basis, to develop prac­tical recommendations within the framework of tactical and forensic support for the investiga­tion of crimes related to illicit drug trafficking using the Internet. The first part of the article examines interaction between the investigator and inquiry bodies and proposes criteria for the admissibility of assigning tasks by the investigator to inquiry bodies. The article analyzes the tactical features of conducting certain investigative actions, such as crime scene inspection, inspection of objects, as well as searches (seizures). It describes a recommended procedure for the inspection of computers, including the examination of their components and additional devices, such as printers, Wi-Fi routers, etc. Recommendations for the inspection of mobile devices include identifying functional elements; establishing the IMEI identifier; determining the mobile phone model, serial number, operating system, version and firmware, the SIM card phone number, IP and MAC addresses; examining the list of contacts stored in the “phone book”; and reviewing SMS messages.

The article analyzes threats to Russia’s national security arising from the development of illicit drug trafficking through the use of digital technologies. The objectives of the study in­clude a comprehensive analysis of contemporary threats to the national security of the Rus­sian Federation caused by the transformation of illicit drug trafficking under the influence of digitalization processes, as well as an assessment of the effectiveness of existing means and methods of countering this type of crime. The methodological framework of the study is based on a systemic approach, which makes it possible to consider this phenomenon as a multilevel threat, as well as methods of analysis, synthesis, and comparative legal analysis. As a result, the study identifies key systemic challenges, such as the extremely high level of automation, anonymity, and latency of illicit drug trafficking, which significantly complicate the work of law enforcement agencies. In addition, the study emphasizes the high profitability of illicit drug trafficking, which ensures its sustainability and further development. The author con­cludes that the influence of cryptocurrencies on illicit drug trafficking has undergone a sys­temic transformation, given that this type of digital currency should be regarded not merely as a means of payment, but as a genuine tool for enhancing the capacity and operational resil­ience of drug-related crime. The study assesses the key risk of the promotion of illicit drug trafficking in the digital environment, interpreting it as a direct threat to the national securi­ty of the Russian Federation due to the targeted involvement of young people in drug traffick­ing. The main conclusion of the study is that neutralizing these threats primarily requires a systemic rethinking of the foundations of the anti-drug policy of the Russian Federation, in which combating root causes, rather than consequences, becomes the priority.

A commented translation of a short but substantive correspondence of 1923 between Kusling, Chief Inspector of the dams of the Memel Delta, R. I. Detlefsen, Conservator of His­torical and Cultural Monuments of East Prussia, and W. Sch?nichen, Director of the State Commission for the Protection of Natural Monuments in Prussia, is published. The corre­spondence discusses the need to protect an untouched area of wilderness in the north-west of East Prussia, which received the unofficial name “Staldzen Switzerland.” The content of the letters, the issues they raise, and the circumstances of their writing are of particular interest given the limited study of the process of formation and development of nature conservation activities in East Prussia in the first third of the twentieth century. Additional interest for historians of regional culture may be represented by the fact that Detlefsen, who is known primarily for his activities in the preservation of East Prussian historical and cultural monu­ments, participated in correspondence devoted to nature conservation. The originals of the published letters are preserved in the Federal Archives of Germany in Koblenz.

The circumstances of granting V. M. Lermontov a personal national retirement benefit are identified; in particular, attention is paid to the specific features of assigning pensions of this type to relatives of Russian literary classics, his biography is уточнена, and the degree of kinship with the poet is established. The authors of the study are guided by the principles of historicism and scholarly objectivity. The historical and biographical method, based on the analysis of documents of a personal nature, made it possible to reconstruct the life history of V. M. Lermontov against the background of Soviet reality. The main sources include docu­ments from his personal (pension) file, including an application addressed to the editor-in-chief of the publications of the State Literary Museum V. D. Bonch-Bruevich; a petition by V. D. Bonch-Bruevich addressed to the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR V. M. Molotov; a biography of V. M. Lermontov; a personal personnel record sheet; a mandate of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Caucasian Front granting the right to inspect stud farms and requisition breeding horses; and certificates of wounds. The analyzed materials confirm the fact that documents of applicants for personal national retirement bene­fit from among relatives of Russian writers and poets underwent preliminary consideration at the level of members of the Soviet government, as well as the emergence of a curator of this process. During the period under study, these functions were assigned to the Deputy Chair­man of the Council of Ministers of the USSR V. M. Molotov. The study emphasizes that Vla­dimir Mikhailovich was not a direct descendant of M. Yu. Lermontov; therefore, when pen­sion rights were considered, a greater role was played by his own achievements in supplying the Red Army with horses and in developing stud farms in the North Caucasus. The exam­ined documents confirm the fact of V. M. Lermontov’s arrest in 1931 only indirectly. Im­portantly, in the postwar period, the fact that an applicant for a personal pension had been subjected to repression in the 1930s did not deprive him of the right to receive a pension of this type, although it may have prevented the assignment of a personal national retirement benefit.

Using the example of the Kaliningrad Rail-car Manufacturing Plant, the article analyzes personnel policies and the composition of the workforce at industrial enterprises in the USSR during the early postwar period. The objective of the study is to identify key problems and the dynamics of workforce formation amid postwar devastation, a shortage of qualified personnel, and the challenges of reconstructing a new Soviet region. The methodology, based on a com­prehensive analysis of the enterprise’s archival materials (including statistical reports and personnel orders) as well as publications in the local periodical press, allowed for a compara­tive analysis of the data and the identification of discrepancies between them. The main find­ings indicate that, despite the rapid growth in staff numbers and production volumes, the plant constantly faced a severe shortage of skilled workers, high staff turnover, and low effec­tiveness of the training system through factory schools. The labor of the German population and prisoners of war played an important role in the establishment of the plant. The conclu­sions demonstrate that personnel instability and lack of qualifications became key factors lim­iting the sustainable development of the enterprise in the postwar decade.

The article constitutes the first part of a broader study devoted to the analysis of Fourth World theory and the evolution of the contemporary world order. This first part presents the results of a brief analysis of the differences and specific features in the scholarly use of the terms “world order,” “international order,” and “international relations.” The methodologi­cal framework combines elements of historical and political analysis, a comparative typologi­cal approach, and an interpretation of nation-building processes under conditions of imperial transformation. The article offers a general explanation of the current role and possible future of the foundation of contemporary “international relations”—the phenomenon of the nation-state. The author argues that the idea of the existence of “nations” (and “nation-states”) is unstable and, on this basis, proposes one possible (though undesirable) scenario for the devel­opment of human societies in the event of the collapse of this idea. The study examines the phenomenon of a specific historical type of world order that emerged at the turn of the nine­teenth and twentieth centuries. Its aim is to conceptualize this order as an independent model of world organization. The article demonstrates that this order was characterized by the con­centration of power in a limited number of nation-states (world powers) that exercised control over multiethnic societies and pursued policies of cultural and political unification. It estab­lishes that such a configuration contributed to the formation of an asymmetrical system of subordination among peoples and to the legitimation of a hierarchical structure of interna­tional relations. Analysis of this historical stage makes it possible to identify the origins of subsequent models of world order.

Based on a review of the contemporary state family policy of the Russian Federation re­garding the formation of family values, the article presents specific proposals for its improve­ment, using Saint Petersburg as a case study. The novelty of the study lies in a comprehen­sive approach that combines the analysis of the legal framework, statistical data, and sociolog­ical surveys to evaluate the value-based component of family policy within the specific context of Saint Petersburg. The methodology includes the analysis of scholarly literature (sociologi­cal theories of the family) and legal documents, secondary analysis of official statistics, and examination of data from sociological surveys of Saint Petersburg residents. The study con­cludes that, despite the extensive legal framework, the effectiveness of implemented measures in Saint Petersburg cannot be unambiguously assessed. First, negative trends are identified—such as declining marriage and birth rates, an increase in serious crimes among minors, and a rise in divorces—coexisting with positive developments, including the growth of large fami­lies, the maintenance of high educational achievements among schoolchildren, and the high status of children and the family in public opinion. Second, the article proposes new practice-oriented mechanisms to strengthen the family institution, such as the development of family mentorship programs, the creation of family education centers, and the implementation of targeted cultural and recreational projects. The study argues that enhancing the effectiveness of family policy requires a shift from primarily demographic and material approaches to a comprehensive strategy aimed at forming and supporting the value foundations of the family. The high public demand for family values observed in Saint Petersburg provides a favorable environment for implementing the proposed initiatives, which are expected to increase the number of stable family unions, improve parental competence, and strengthen intergenera­tional ties.

The study examines the instruments for shaping post-Soviet macro-identity in the Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia). Macro-identification is defined in a narrow sense as a political technology of civilizational reorientation, involving a break with historical and cul­tural ties to Greater Russia and the formation of new connections with the Western world. The article proposes a theoretical integration of the concepts of macro-political identity (O. Yu. Malinova), hybrid identity, and the civilizational paradigm approach. The methodo­logical framework of the study is based on a constructionist approach to the phenomenon of identity. The analysis of policies for transforming historical memory in the Baltics draws on data from a series of focus groups conducted in the Pskov Region at the Center for Assistance to Resettlement “Compatriot.” A qualitative content analysis of leading media in the Baltic countries provided the empirical material necessary to test the hypothesis that macro-identity is shaped through the promotion of media symbols and meaning-laden narratives. The study identifies key new factors influencing the formation of macro-identity, including orientation toward new geopolitical trends, the popularization of independent social networks, and the perception of the Western world as progressive. Based on the results of the study, macro-identification is conceptualized as a political instrument for transitioning states from one civilizational paradigm to another, performing the function of transforming large civiliza­tional formations. Using the Baltic states as an example, the study demonstrates a transition from the Soviet to the Western civilizational paradigm, along with the transformation of sym­bolic practices, normative frameworks, and foreign policy orientation.