The coronavirus epidemic turned out to be the most important “black swan” in 2020. It had a severe impact on all processes in the world, including the main political event of 2020 — the presidential elections in the United States. Before the epidemic, Donald Trump’s victory was the most likely outcome, but now the coronavirus and its consequences have made this scenario highly unlikely. And it is not because of Donald Trump’s many mistakes. Instead, on the contrary, the president at least tried to demonstrate leadership and strategic thinking in that difficult times, and his behaviour during the epidemic was psychologically much more correct than the one shown by the Democrats. The fact is that the coronavirus has exposed a whole series of problems in the American economy and society, for which, for some reason, people began to blame Donald Trump.

   The article examines the dynamics of electoral volatility in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe at the beginning of the XXI century as a factor which influences the stability of party systems. The author emphasizes that unstable party and group links impede the process of the institutionalization of political parties, excessively increase political uncertainty, reduce the level of the responsibility of ruling elites. All these things as a whole make the consolidation of “new democracy” regimes more difficult. The author noted that the lowered confidence in political parties being the characteristic of the political culture in post-communist societies is mostly the result of a weakly expressed historic socio-political cleavage which comes out as the legacy of the totalitarian age. In the post-communist states of CEE, the unsteady party identification of citizens is expressed in considerable mobility of the electorate. However, the high level of electoral volatility accounts for using electoral systems that, for the most significant part are based on the principle of proportionality. The author concluded that presently the consolidation of post-communist democracies in countries of CEE is possible on condition that the stability of public authorities is provided at the expense of restraining their representation to a certain extent. Consequently, political parties which potentially gain using majoritarian systems will strive for the realization of a reform of the electoral law that is currently in force.

   The article analyses the basic moral ideas of order, the eternal theme of “Morality and Politics” and the connections between them. The policy of reforming China and the individual are also examined, at the heart of these changes is Xi Jinping. I consider China as one of the foremost political, moral, economic, and technological leaders in building a new world order. The global initiative “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR), has become a mechanism of work and outlined as a roadmap on the new Silk Road. All these political actions are associated with a deep awareness of the philosophical concept and strategy for the full implementation and promotion of the global initiative of the OBOR.

   In modern political studies devoted to the analysis of intra-elite alignments, differentiation of the mechanisms of the exercise of power into formal and informal appears more and more often. The main reason for this process is real politics, which can be influenced by a limited number of actors. Therefore, the question is: can people with formal status always influence decision-making processes, or only a small group of actors can influence the rest of the political class and make political decisions. The author has taken the Republic of Kazakhstan as an example to reveal the interrelation between formal and informal mechanisms of the exercise of power. The analysis of the intra-elite alignment in Kazakhstan allows us to assess the real weight of the actors and highlight the list of factors that affect the elite’s position in the chain of command.

   This article is devoted to the analysis of the features of the public diplomacy tool in Russia and Great Britain and the influence of public diplomacy on the formation of national brands . Based on the results of the study, the authors concluded that the potential of the U .K . in the field of “soft power” use is higher than the one in Russia. We explained the reasons for the current situation and made recommendations to improve Russia’s position in the field of developing the potential of “soft power”. In our research, we used institutional, historical, and comparative methods. The empirical basis of the
study is the articles of scientists studying public diplomacy and “soft power” in Russia and the U.K ., as well as the sites of organizations responsible for the implementation of national public diplomacy and the development of “soft power”.

   The collapse of the Soviet Union is one of the most critical events in recent world history, largely predetermining (and to some extent still determining) many processes that are now taking place in our country and abroad. In recent years there have been many attempts to understand, analyse, and explain the reasons for what happened. Nevertheless, there is still much unclear on the question of why the USSR ceased to exist. There are many different, sometimes polar, mutually exclusive opinions and judgments, which are not at all easy to reduce to a holistic, consistent picture. The topic in question is highly politicised. For many reasons, not everyone is indifferent to the form in which one or another interpretation of what happened, and whether the truth can be found. A large number of publications are devoted to economic reforms in the USSR, their background, description and analysis of related events. Many managed to speak out on this matter. Nevertheless, it seems that by no means all the significant points associated with attempts to change the Soviet economic system have still been adequately studied, analysed, illuminated, and presented in the form of a holistic, systemic, detailed picture — description based on the analysis of facts and a large number of points of view, sometimes diametrically opposite.

   The relevance of the research is due to the need for a holistic objective understanding of the creative heritage of Charles Fourier, who was one of the leaders of utopian socialism in the post-manufactual period, and who made a significant contribution to the formation and formation of the conceptual foundations of modern anti-crisis economic policy and alternative models of socially oriented economic life.

   The purpose of the article is to display and popularize the key theoretical, methodological and reform innovations of this scientist.

   The article uses the methodological tools of dialectical, comparative and interdisciplinary analysis. The main results of the research were, first, the argumentation of the conclusion about the evidentiary nature of Fourier’s criticism of the modern economy of free competition and the validity of his recommendations on the feasibility of evolutionary, including reform, socio-economic transformations for the better. And, secondly, postulating a conclusion about the legality and expediency of those recommendations that are permanently implemented, which are aimed at organizing free associative
formations of workers (including in the sphere of small business).

   The article discusses the results of a qualitative and quantitative content analysis on the effectiveness of cross-cultural communication in Russian science. We highlighted the main models that consider cross-cultural communication as concerns its effectiveness. The authors attempt to systematise the components selected from the texts, which can then be divided into criteria, indicators, conditions, and products of effective intercultural communication. We concluded that in domestic science, exists the lack of study and refinement of the definition of the effectiveness of the MCC and the task of the methodological framework for systematisation of its evaluation criteria as well.

   The article analyses the phenomenon of shadow academic entrepreneurship in Russia. Shadow academic business is defined as the shadow, unformal, not institutionalised sphere of employment in the field of science and the higher education, including as legal, lawful, and illegal criminal forms of labour activity.

   The purpose of the article is to carry out social and psychological analysis of subjects of shadow academic entrepreneurship and to develop a system of typical social and psychological qualities of these shadow actors, to formulate their life and career strategies.

   The study is based on the results of research on the reasons for the development of shadow academic entrepreneurship worldwide: marketing and commercialisation of the scientific and educational community; The dissatisfaction of some employees with their earnings in official academic employment; Access to higher education on a commercial basis for persons unable to do so, underestimation of the intellectual and managerial competencies of specific groups of scientists, teachers by the management of academic and educational institutions, etc.

   The article analyses the situation with the employment of disabled people in the Moscow labour market — one of the most capacious and developed in the country. It is based on the results of a media content analysis and a mass survey of disabled people. It also included a series of expert interviews with employers, representatives of disabled societies, educational, rehabilitation, and recruiting organizations. The author has shown that, despite the apparent interest in finding a job and applying to the city employment service, it is still not easy for people with disabilities to find work. The author finds that more than 40 per cent of people with disabilities have been looking for a job for more than a year, and every fifth for more than three years. Existing vacancies do not suit them due to low salaries, mismatch of speciality, remoteness from home. The reluctance of employers to hire people with disabilities to work, which could fit them; they are associated with negative stereotypes regarding workers with disabilities. As a result, employers implement several practices that allow them to evade the obligation to fill quota jobs, and people with disabilities are either left without additional income or forced to work in the “shadow”. The article provides several recommendations aimed at improving the effectiveness of the interaction of people with disabilities, employers, employment services, etc.

   The article presents a study of forms of state support for industry and business in Russia, as well as their methodological and organizational and practical support.

   The aim of the study is the evaluation of modern mechanisms for implementing measures to support industrial development during the COVID-19 pandemic.

   An essential element of the national recovery plan for both investment and aggregate consumption is the identification of industry segments that should launch activities in their associated business areas, including the small and medium-sized businesses that are most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis of the forms of state support for sectors of the manufacturing industry being at the same time the drivers of economic growth in the interpretation of the Government of the Russian Federation (forecasts of economic development) showed that almost all known areas are used to implement such efforts to ensure the growth and development of these subjects. The authors concluded that the reasons for the low efficiency of implemented measures are both shortcomings in the economic assessment of the state of industries, their micro-economic entities and factors affecting them, and management shortcomings, including errors in determining the goals of the activities/programs/strategies, their planning and organization, implementation and control as well.

   The article presents the results of a quantitative study of the legislative activity of subjects of the right of the legislative initiative of the Russian Federation in 2016–2019. Among the subjects of the right of the legislative initiative are considered: the president, the government, the court, regional legislative assemblies, the State Duma, the Federation Council, deputies, and senators. The research is based on open data from the State Duma website. The main focus is on the effectiveness of legislators, which is determined through legislative activity: the number of bills introduced, the number of bills passed, the number of rejected bills, the share of adopted bills in the number of bills considered. The results of the study showed that the subjects of the right of the legislative initiative have different effectiveness, that the factions and deputies of the State Duma also differ radically in legislative effectiveness. The names of current influential deputies and senators in 2016–2019 are presented.

   After the implementation of the constitutional reform in 2020, increasing confidence in the State Duma and improving its perception by Russian citizens is of crucial importance. The parliamentary institute has received new functions related to the formation of executive bodies, which makes the level of legitimacy of the Duma dependent on the legitimacy, particularly, of the Russian Government. A reality in which a larger number of citizens disapprove of the activities of the Parliament threatens the stability of the entire political system . The article presents proposals for the development of virtualization of the image of the State Duma, which can lead to an increase in the level of approval of its activities. Virtualization of the image of the Parliament, which we understood as the process of putting into the mass consciousness ideal images of reality that construct, imitate and replace reality itself, should help to increase trust and determine the behaviour of citizens based on the formed values and practices. Thus, virtualization should include two main components: the creation of a value-semantic system and the formation and implementation of simulacra that will simulate the activities of the State Duma, based on the value system. Virtualization should allow not only to improve the perception of the State Duma, but also to intensify the individual and collective need of citizens to participate in the activities of the parliamentary institute (by providing them with real tools for this purpose), and improve the quality of legislative work.

   This paper discusses the issue of integration abroad and remittances to home by the Bangladeshi emigrant workers in Europe, by using the case of the Bangladeshi community residing in Italy as an empirical study. The research was conducted employing qualitative and quantitative surveys related to the perceived quality of life and integration by Bangladeshi workers living in Italy, with a focus on the economic and work aspects of their permanence. Data analysis of the data collected shows that, besides the level of salary, remittances are well predicted by whether or not the immigrant has previously immigrated in another European country. It seems to confirm the theory of learning by the migrant, according to which migration is a process through which the low-skilled migrant acquires skills that improve their future economic success. Based on his research, the author suggests that government policies that are being pursued by the Bangladeshi government, aimed at obtaining reserves of foreign currencies by promoting the emigration of the unskilled labour force, would benefit by encouraging the emigration of the workers who are more likely to create small businesses in the hosting country abroad . It would be done by promoting repeated or cyclical migration, as opposed to one-time relocation of the workforce abroad.

   This research is aimed at analyzing the role of the UN and regional actors in resolving the Libyan crisis.

   Since 2016, the UN Support Mission in Libya has given the most significant emphasis to direct negotiations between the two main parties to the conflict (GNA and LNA). The Stabilization Facility for Libya has focused on providing support to the GNA in Tripoli and increasing its credibility at the municipal level . Nevertheless, the UN’s effort to resolve the crisis in Libya since 2016 has been superficial. The Libyan political agreement initiated by the UN shifts the balance of power in the country in favour of the Government of National Accord in Tripoli . Diplomatic efforts aimed at stabilization cannot be called successful due to ignoring the issue of control over oil fields and the ongoing intervention of regional forces in the conflict. A ceasefire and a political consensus between the GNA and the LNA are possible only if amendments are made to the Political Agreement of 2015, as well as an alternation in Libya’s polity. The methodology of the research includes a structural-systemic method based on an interdisciplinary approach.

   In this article a representation’s question of historical imagine and cases of Civil war in Russia 1917–1922 is revealed. The author sets a tusk to find out a reply to ask: why the White Movement hasn’t become a source of historical policy in Russia and how Russian society perceive it. The object of research is the socio-historical discourse, expressed in news resources and commemorative practices. School history textbooks were also analyzed . The research methodology is based on a comparative analysis of sources representing the images and history of the White movement. At the same time, sources that have a narrow target audience are deliberately rejected since they do not make a significant contribution to the socio-historical discourse. The author concluded that the authorities do not use plots related to the Civil War and the October Revolution, since they carry a conflict potential. More relevant is the study of representation by other actors in the politics of memory — systemic and non-systemic opposition, public and scientific associations. In conditions of political polarization of conditional “left” and “right” forces, the attitude to the White movement and its representation become political markers of ideological affiliation.

   The article describes the understanding of the term “key competencies”, the classification of competencies into soft and hard skills, analyses their importance for the development of a specialist in the professional field. We revealed the essence of each of competencies’ types, their composition, and significance in the professional development of a sociologist . During the research, we carried out a content analysis of the differences between soft and hard skills. The article includes an analysis of key competencies of a sociologist such as the ability to organise oneself; work in a team; act in non-standard situations; be able to use ICT; possess modern methods of analysis; organise project work and others. As a result of the investigation, we formed the authors’ classification of the sociologist’s competencies and given in descending order of their importance for the sphere of sociology. The article also touches upon the problem of the professional standard in the field of sociology . For the time being, it has not been fully formed and is interpreted differently among the professional and educational community. Finally, we considered the process of digitalisation and its impact on the evolution of professional competencies in general, and the skills of a sociologist.