Abstract: The article analyzes directions of a modern Russian state policy in the field of local government and reveals the main features of municipal authorities, its issues and development trends. The author of the article also studies the fundamental guarantees of local self-government in modern Russia and offers ways to increase efficiency of the state support of institutions of local government. 

Keywords: local self-government, the state support, development trends, contraints, increase of efficiency

Abstract: The author of the article offers a classification of penal acts associated with causing loss or damage to property by deception or abuse of confidence as set forth in Article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The author proves that there is a need in decriminilization of this regulation because it repeats the penal prohibition. Cases of damage to property by deception or abuse of confidence are classified in the following way: loss or damage to property by deception or abuse of confidence due to unpaid service or work; loss or damage to property by deception or abuse of confidence due to non-transfer of property to a holder of title or any other owner when such property is supposed to be transferred from third parties through or without the guilty party (transit property); loss or damage to property by deception or abuse of confidence due to amortization (wear) of the property belonging to a holder of title or any other owner without dequate compensation for using property. 

Keywords: fraud, theft, loss or damage to property, property

Abstract: To the author's opinion, Soviet State had serious reasons to change its policy towards religion because it had obviously failed to overcome the influence of church in general and youth in particular by force. Analyzing the legislation of Soviet authorities, Communist Party and Komsomol since 1923, the author outlines quite a number of methods of extermism prevention both by religious people and ateists. At the same time, the author underlines that the Soviet government did not consider the enforcement of legality as the main purpose of political control. Quite on the contrary, the political control was used for repressions. 

Keywords: history of state, law, religion, youth, Komsomol, Communist Party, Extremism, New Economic Policy, Orthodoxy, Islam

Abstract: The article is devoted to the local law of national regions of the Russian empire from the point of view of their place and role in politics, ideology and legal practice of the Russian State in the process of formation and development of the Russian empire during the second half of XVII - beginning of XX centuries. The author describes the origins of legal particularism during development of the Russian ancient state institution and law, separation of local sources of law during disunity in Old Russia as well as differentiation between national law and local law during creation of the Moscow State and centralization of the legal regulation. Special attention is paid at the role of local law in politics and ideology of the Russian supreme authority during creation and development of the Russian empire as a complex state and legal unit as well as definitions of models and peculiarities of the legal structure of particular national regions from the point of view of legal autonomy. The author also analyzes legal nature of local law as the phenomenon typical for the empire form of organization of the legal space and provides its definition. 

Keywords: local legitimation, Russian legislation, local laws, legal system, sources of law, history of law, Baltic law, law of Baltic provinces

Abstract: Based on the analysis of numerous archives, the author of the article describes the attitude of rural population towards local government and its representatives. The author describes how village community assemblies functioned  and made their decisions and how peasants perceived activities performed by elected representatives of rural public administration. The author also describes the nature of rural administration activities as well as attitude of local population towards it. 

Keywords: peasantry, self-government, community, power, community assembly (gathering), court, village headman, crime, volost (district) head, scribe

Abstract: The article is devoted a difficult issue which is, on one hand, well studied in law but, on the other hand, still remains the central problem in social and humanitarian studies. This is the question about interpretation and definition of state institution. The main purpose of this article is to shift from a famous definition of state institution as a political and legal social organization to axiological and conceptual definition of state institution and statehood. The main emphasis is made on viewing this problem from the point of view of philosophy and legal studies. It is in the first place very important for methodology, because it allows to describe a self-sufficient heuristic approach to studying state institution and statehood. 

Keywords: State institution, Philosophy of state, Philosophy of Statehood, Statehood, Constitution, Value, System of values, Power, Relations of power, Post-Modernism

Abstract: The article is devoted to politics as a special regulatory phenomenon, its essene and policies. It is noted that there is a great number of policies established at different levels of social management. Such a variety of political forms forms a typical feature of politics as a regulatory phenomenon because this diversity proves that politics are a widely spread phenomenon that is essential for social management. Special attention is paid at state policy. It is shown that state policy formed under conditions of a modern democratic state is the most complicated and developed political form. State policy allows to reveal not only the essense of politics but also peculiarities and laws of a particular political system. State policy becomes one of the leading forms of social life and, among other matters, it is quite a developed sphere of special scientific interest. As a result, the author provides an assential definition of politics as a regulatory phenomenon that is formed by the governmental decisions defining the direction of executive activity. 

Keywords: politics, political environment, diversity of policies, political forms, political system, state institution, state policy, social management, authority, governmental decision

Abstract: Based on the system analysis of the current national and international laws, regulations and theoretical opnions of Russian and foreign experts (lawyers, social and political analysts), the author of the article describes the main approaches to explaining the phenomenon of political crime in a modern society. The author offers the following classification of approaches to studying criminology and defining its contents: legal, instrumental, motivational (psychological), objective, judgemental and complex. Based on the author of the article, complex approach is the best one for our modern Russian political criminology. As a result of analyzing definitions of the complex approach in Russian science, the author shares his own definition of political crime as a criminological term and stresses out that this definition is not the only true one (i.e. not universal). It can be used only in political criminology researches of political crime as a negative social and legal phenomenon causing irreparable physical, material (property) or moral damage. 

Keywords: political criminology, political criminality, political system, political objectives, political motives, political crime, totalitarian crime, power, criminology, political science