Abstract: The paper explores the problem of the municipal authorities’ image which is an important functional and status marker as well as the integrated indicator of the level and prospects of development of the territory. The image of the local authorities is viewed as a factor in increasing the competitiveness of the territory, contributing to the growth of public satisfaction with living conditions as well as ensuring institutional and social trust and the sustainable development of society as a whole. Special attention is paid to the analysis of criteria for the evaluation of municipal authorities’ activities which determine the local authorities’ image and constitute an integral estimate of achievements and prospects of the territory. The analysis takes into account a set of theoretical concepts that identify the socio-psychological, legal and administrative aspects of municipal authorities’ image. It is concluded that there are two components in the image of the municipal authorities: external and internal. The external one is associated with the position of the regional entity in relation to other territorial entities, and the internal one is reflecting the self-awareness, i.e. the satisfaction with local living conditions. In today's Russia there is a contradiction between external and internal components of the municipal authorities’ image.

Keywords: municipal authorities, municipal administration, image, territory, regional development, local government, social and psychological aspects, administrative and legal aspects, municipal service, performance indicators

Abstract: The article concerns the main specificities, positive and negative features of the administration mechanisms of the plan and directive economy in the USSR, as well as the main administration institutions and their role in the Soviet policy. Lately, the positive features of the Soviet administration type are being discussed more and more often. Some discuss it in a nostalgic way, and some have serious scientific interest, and value the achievements of the USSR period, such as the space flights, mass literacy, industrialization, enthusiasm and the superpower status. It is time to revise the past mechanisms and administration methods of the USSR from the point of view of practicability of their use in the current Russian conditions. This study proves that Russia has all necessary chances to use the experience of its past in order to achieve high level of economic development, efficient administration and to return to its superpower status.

Keywords: administration, plan and directive administration, state policy, social state, social structure, integration, desintegration, the Soviet type, administration institutions, directivity