The article deals with the dynamics of electoral activity of citizens which comes out as an important indication of the on-going process of consolidation of democracy in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe in the period from 2001 to 2018 . The comparative analysis helps to show the differences in voter’s behaviour in post-communist and post-authoritarian countries as well as to point out the peculiar impact of social, sociocultural and institutional factors on voter turnout in “new democracies” . The author stresses that sociocultural factor considered as a correlation of survival values and values of self-expression in mass conscience exerts the primary influence on the level of participation of citizens in elections . The author emphasised that the prevalence of survival values in the culture of post-communist societies is the primary reason for utilitarian relation of people to democracy . It, in its turn, contributes to decreasing participation in elections in the conditions of mass disappointment in the results of market economy reforms and low-level electoral activity later on . More to that, weak institutionalisation of political parties in post-communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe proved to be unable to hinder effectively growing absenteeism of voters .

The article deals with the problem of trust in society laying on the axis “society-power-media” . The author provided an overview of approaches to the concept of trust in different paradigms of humanitarian studies of the last quarter of the century . As our analysis has shown, trust in modern society is challenged by a new challenge — the spread of fake news . Summarising the data of discourse analysis, content analysis of media, as well as of expert survey of journalists of social and political media, the author highlighted the ways of society’s struggle with fake news . Among these methods are technological solutions for news recognition and removal, legislative restrictions on media content, improvement of journalistic ethical and professional standards and increasing media literacy of target media audiences .

Protest activity-street actions, which have many forms and themes, are used by both parliamentary and nonparliamentary parties, which have a formal status (registered) and informal (unregistered) parties . Until 2011– 2012, these methods of political work were used primarily by parties calling themselves opposition, but after mass ‘white ribbon’ protests of so-called angry citizens, this method of attracting attention and mobilising supporters was actively used by pro-presidential/pro-government parties . Previously published works have already investigated the forms and frequency of street actions [1, 2] . In this article, the results of the study will be supplemented by an analysis of the use of street actions by parties as a form of agitation during the 2016 state Duma elections .

In this article, the author considers the main trends of the main problems of Russian business in contemporary Russian conditions and presents a comparative analysis of threat assessments on this issue . The empirical basis of the study was an expert survey of entrepreneurs from 21 regions of the country . Surveys of entrepreneurs have shown that for the business community, negative trends related to domestic economic regulation are more priority than sanctions pressure . According to experts, the most significant threats are the long-term decline in the level of income of citizens and purchasing power and excessive tax burden on entrepreneurs . The business community is also concerned about the instability of the legal framework, corruption, economic risks, lack of guarantees of return on investment . Threats caused by sanctions took the last line of the rating in the survey of experts . The results of the study demonstrate on the one hand some nihilism regarding economic policy, on the other hand the need for more interaction between government and business . The business community highly approve support from the government for business . Representatives of companies believe that today the role of the state should be reoriented from the functions of the crisis regulator and coordinator to the functions of the main stimulator, developing effective mechanisms for socio-economic activation of business activity.

Elites have traditionally played a significant role in the development of society and the state, which was recognised by researchers regardless of their shared political views and preferences regarding political systems . In this regard, the author paid particular attention to the recruitment of elites, their renewal, the mechanisms of their formation . In the context of the Russian political system, where all significant changes are traditionally implemented “from the top”, this issue is particularly relevant . Against the background of the ineffectiveness of democratic mechanisms designed to form vertical channels of elite renewal, the responsibility for maintaining its viability and efficiency falls on the Russian elite itself . This study examines the channels of recruitment of the highest administrative elite . Based on the results of their research, the author concluded there exists the predominance of the bureaucratic channel of recruitment, namely the experience of working in a senior position in public authorities as the primary way of forming the Russian administrative elite . The author has drawn attention to the prevalence of managerial experience in a commercial or state-owned company . It is particularly pronounced in government agencies that closely interact with business in the framework of their activities . Besides, there is an extremely low prevalence among the representatives of the highest administrative elite of winners of management competitions and graduates of management reserve training programs, which indicates a slight impact at present of new recruitment mechanisms on the formation of the highest layer of managers in Russia .

The article discusses the implementation of the “UNESCO Operational strategy for youth 2014–2021”, developed by the UNESCO Secretariat and proposed on November 21, 2012, at the 191 session of the Executive Board . The “UNESCO Operational Strategy on Youth for 2014–2021” (OSY) was developed as a complementary document to “The UNESCO Medium-Term Strategy for 2014–2021” (37 C/4) that calls for the mainstreaming of specific interventions concerning youth . The document was endorsed by a consultative meeting held by the Director-General of UNESCO with the member states of the organisation . The new emphasis in this area of UNESCO’s work is reflected in the main complementary cross-cutting areas, such as (a) policy development and review with the participation of young people; (b) capacity development for the transition to adulthood; c) citizenship, democratic participation and special innovations .

Disputes about what constitutes the Azerbaijani national philosophy have been going on since the 90s of the twentieth century . They were caused by a sense of crisis in Soviet Marxist ideological thought . At this time, ideas about the crisis of Marxism and the priority of liberalism, theories of civil society were broadcast from Russia . Some have since believed that there was no philosophy in Soviet times, but dogmatic communist ideology flourished . They began to believe that philosophy can exist only in their native language, and many wrote in Russian at that time, the conclusion was again appropriate, in Azerbaijan, the national philosophy is only to be held . It is thru that such prediction does not lead to deep reflections and conclusions about what modern philosophy is, how it is becoming, how it relates to its past . At the same time, it is clear that the opposition of philosophy and ideology in some cases leads either to find an answer to the question of what philosophy is and what is its relationship with ideology or to misunderstanding what philosophy is . The question of what philosophy is and creates it, philosophy . Such questioning leads to the fact that gradually there is an understanding that the socio-political and ideological dimension affects philosophy, knowledge, cognition, theory and morality all the same indirectly through several spiritual, cultural, national, ideological influences . These issues are of interest to many, and not only in Azerbaijan .

The article analyses the main concepts in the field of security that Russia proposed in the space of “Greater Eurasia” . By “Greater Eurasia” the author’s team means the area of the entire Eurasian continent from Western Europe to Southeast Asia . The most challenging problems to the formation of a unified security system, the authors include the presence within these limits of a large number of diverse macro-regions, as well as features of the political situation at the current historical stage . Therefore, the authors consider the basics of security in Eurasia through the prism of security of two continents of the same continent-Europe and Asia . If we make a comparative analysis between these two regions, we can see that the institutions for regional security in Europe are at a higher institutional level, but the Asian part of the continent is entirely free from various kinds of moral consequences of the “cold war” . These circumstances make this region more promising in terms of the basis for building a unified security system capable of covering the entire continent . This trend is a logical continuation of the fact that the centres of gravity of global politics and the economy in the last two decades began to move towards South-East Asia .

The article looks at the role of Frankfurt am Main as a financial centre and its role in the developing of financial dynasties . Frankfurt am Main had a considerable role in the rising of Jewish financial dynasties (Baruch, Belmont, Goldman, Goldschmidt, Oppenheimer, Rothschild, Schiff, Seligman, Stern, Erlanger) . The vital position in Frankfurt am Main had German financial dynasties (Betmann, Metzler and others) . The article emphases the history of less known families of the financiers . Some of these families keep essential roles in the world of finance . The information contained in the article shows the close relative connections between mentioned families of financiers .

The article analyses the main factors determining the socio-cultural dynamics of nowadays and affects the processes of intercultural communication . The key factor is the fourth industrial revolution being the convergence of the digital, physical and biological worlds, urbanisation and the widespread introduction of information and communication technologies . The author noted that the development of new technologies generates “digital inequality” . The widespread of the Internet the author considers not only as a means of free communication but also as a new paradigm of consciousness — as a means of digitalisation of cognitive processes . The author also noted that widespread digitalisation generates new forms of labour and social relations . It contributes to the leaching of the middle class . It has been revealed that a significant factor in the sociocultural dynamics of nowadays is super mobility and reactivity, what generate instability, uncertainty about the future, as well as elimination and deformation of traditional value paradigms . The author concluded that it is necessary to build new models of intercultural communication, as well as to consolidate efforts at all levels — from governments and international organisations to public organisations, all civil society and individuals . There is need for constructive cooperation to create not only an effective system of international law but also of the formation of voluntarily accepted ethical norms and mechanisms, established on an equal level by equal participants — a constant, regular dialogue and cooperation at the local, national or supranational level .

The article is devoted to the basic principles and types of implementation of national policies in multinational states . We give examples from world practice that reveal the problems of the coexistence of various nations in a single political space . In the article, the authors analyse in detail the well-known causes and models of the formation of large multi-ethnic states, in which there is an urgent need for a national policy based on certain principles that directly depend on the strategy of building the leading political institution . The author draws attention to the evolutionary variability of approaches to state-building while maintaining significant features, but adapted to modern realities . The Russian experience of interethnic interaction, national self-determination and attempts to unify cultural, confessional, linguistic identity, suppression of separatist sentiments, the reasons for the appearance of which are particularly highlighted as one of the main categories characterizing the feasibility, relevance, and foresight of the development strategy of national relations, are examined in detail . Legal consolidation of the Concept of state national policy of the Russian Federation stands out as the most democratic event in Modern Russia, aimed at maintaining state integrity, preventing separatist sentiments . We also give the classification of interethnic conflicts on various grounds known in world practice . Finally, we propose a set of measures for the long-term harmonisation of interethnic interaction in the Russian Federation .

This article discusses approaches of the concepts in social sciences formation and their compatibility with each other . It is well known that the principles of theoretical analysis in the form of ontology and epistemology, as well as various methodological tools, such as sequential research projects, are used in the formation of a concept . Epistemological debates often bring positivists or realists who believe in a particular reality of social phenomena against constructivists or interpreters who emphasise the perception and interpretation of the individual . We argue that questions are more complex because there are several positions between these extremities . Methodological debates often represent a confrontation between the quantitative methods used by positivists and the qualitative methods used by constructivists and interpreters .

In this article, the authors analyse the current policy of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) in the Arctic . The article emphasises that the new challenges in the Arctic, related to climate change, the participation of non-Arctic states in the development of the territory and the growth of Russia’s military activity, have put before NATO the question of forming a task and official strategy . So far, member states have not reached consensus in this direction . The article identifies the main steps of the Alliance, which confirm the thesis about the growth of tension in the Far North . We identified the factors that may affect the prospects of the Alliance in the region . Taking into account the fact that the Arctic in contemporary circumstances has entered the global agenda of international politics, the authors conclude the growth of NATO activity, as evidenced by the practical steps of the organisation . Little attention has been paid to this in official documents, although the importance of cooperation in the region has already been stressed .

In the framework of financial literacy research, young people look like a not-too-responsible subject, prone to irrational consumption and not having the habit of long-term financial planning . However, the social context in which the burden of social spending is increasingly shifted onto the shoulders of the citizens, requires from them financial discipline, knowledge of financial instruments, and rational decisions . The article analyses the behaviour of metropolitan youth in the housing market . We showed that in the long term, the majority of young people are focused on the purchase of their own homes . It is due to the reluctance in the presence of the family to depend on the landlord and direct their funds into the “other people’s pocket”, as well as the perception of their housing as an asset . Satisfying modest requests of respondents is impossible without seeking financial assistance . A little more than half of the respondents see a bank as a lender, and more than a third of respondents see relatives or friends as a lender . Nearly half of the participants in the mass survey directly or indirectly faced mortgage lending; in most cases this experience was “rather positive” . As an alternative solution to the housing problem, young people see rent, the main advantage of which is increased mobility . Rent is not excluded and in the presence of own housing, which in this case will be rented . Despite their generally optimistic attitude, about half of the respondents believe that today housing is an intractable problem for young people . According to respondents, the state could help young people by implementing such measures as monitoring the reasonableness of pricing; subsidising mortgage interest or allocating quotas for young families and scarce staff; development of rental housing; increase of scholarships and promotion of employment for graduates so that young people start forming savings as early as possible; effective regional development policy allowing to unload the capital.

This article discusses investment opportunities and business migration in the Russian Federation in the context of the experience of foreign countries . The author treated investment migration as an aggregate of the cost of materials, labour and money in artificial body and/or natural foreign persons, legitimate and free-roaming in the recipient country, aimed at expanded reproduction, fixed assets of all branches of the host economy . In this regard, analyses the mechanism of regulation of economic migration in Russia . Attention is paid to the innovations of migration law and public policy objectives of the Russian migration policy . Investment migration of individuals is stimulated by the recipient in modern states preferences in obtaining a temporary residence permit, residence permit or citizenship . Legal entity investing abroad, encouraged by the tax, credit preferences, banking programs, favourable economic conditions, legal regimes, the reduction of administrative barriers . Each recipient country strives to create favourable conditions for foreign investment in the priority areas of economic and social development . Each recipient country seeks to create favourable conditions for foreign investment in the priority areas of economic and social development . The Russian Federation, as one of the leading contemporary recipients, poses a strategic task of creating an effective model of economic migration, which directly involves labour and migration investment .

Our country does not stand aside from participating in an international movement aimed at creating an ecological culture concerning the environment . At the same time, speculation by public opinion on the topic “everyone wants to protect nature” can take both positive and negative, and even destructive colours . The competent and flexible use of economic and legal instruments plays an essential role in the regulation of the activities of actors affecting the ecology and environmental policy of the state . The article proposes a methodology for assessing the positive and negative impact of environmental organisations on political and economic processes in our country .

In this article, the author considers the role of civil society institutions as agents of migration flows regulation . The author demonstrates that such a task can be attributed to institutions of civil society only in the conditions of communitariancontractualist interaction between civil society institutions and public authorities . This type of interaction is observed only under terms of the polyarchical political system . Canada is a prime example of such a system . However, the experience of Canada cannot be fully adopted in the Russian Federation . However, the communitarian-contractualist interaction will allow solving a number of the most critical problems of Russia’s migration policy .

Currently, in the Russian Federation, the increasing attention of the state is attracted by the growth of the political activity of Russian youth . This activity has both a productive expression and a destructive one . At the same time, an increasing number of young people are taking part in various unsystematic political actions directed against the state . Against the background of these processes, questions of the effectiveness of working with youth are of particular importance, since further prospects for the development of moods and trends in the youth environment remain unclear and difficult to predict . Undoubtedly, the growth of the destructive activity of youth is a negative trend, which has many reasons, including the actions of the state . This article discusses the causes and possible prospects for the growth of destructive activity in the youth environment in the Russian Federation.

Review of the Monograph: V . Sh . Surguladze . Identity Politics in the Realities of National Security: History, Theory, Practice