Abstract: This article examines the general approaches (direct or portfolio investment, signing concessionary agreements) and particular aspects of the investment cooperation between Russian and China in form of investing into the objects of production and infrastructure in the territory of the Russian Far East, based on the fact that currently the development of these territories is one of the top priorities of the Russian Federation. The author provides the examples of “live” investment projects and investment contracts in the area under consideration; and also underlines the factors impeding such cooperation. The scientific novelty is substantiated by the approach, within the framework of which the attention is given to the problematic aspects of Russia-China investment cooperation from the standpoint of methods and prospects of their solution for the advancement of the Russian Far East. It is demonstrated that Russia-China cooperation has the potential, as well as the history; however, the actual steps depend of the intentions of both parties.

Keywords: infrastructure facility, production facility, concession agreement, portfolio investments, direct investments, investment cooperation, Russia, China, Far East, energy carriers

Abstract: The subject of this research is the regulations of U. S Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, other acts and official documents of the President of the United States, U.S. Congress, U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the United Nations, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, International Chamber of Commerce. The author also examines the arguments expressed by the politicians and scholars in the 1970’s – early 1980’s with regards to the Law on Foreign Corruption Practice of 1977. The article analyzes the U. S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) for determining the essence of the established criminal law and administrative rules. The research is conducted in the context of the global anticorruption initiatives and international processes of the 1970’s. The author demonstrates the conceptual and chronological correlation between the domestic lawmaking practice and international anticorruption initiatives of the United States of the 1970’s, aimed at counteracting corruption of the transnational corporations in developing countries.

Keywords: FCPA, international commercial transactions, bribery, illicit payments, transnational corporations, corruption, UN, OECD, ICC, developing countries

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the contemporary approaches towards political regulation of the international activity of modern multinational corporations on the institutional level. The object of this research is the international activity of multinational corporations, while the subject is the forms and methods of regulation of their international activity. The goal of this work consists in the attempt to characterize the existing form and methods of regulation of the international activity of multinational corporations (MNCs), as well as assess their efficiency. The author turns attention to the role of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in regulation of the international activity of multinational corporations, as well as peculiarities of application of the norms and positions of the “Behavioral Code of MNCs” and “Global Compact” of the United Nations. A conclusion is made that the existing forms and methods of normative legal regulation of the modern MNCs are not sufficiently effective, because the majority of them is reduced to encouragement of MNCs towards signing with the nation states of the so-called agreements and contracts, which usually carry a declarative character. At the same time, the voluntarily accepted by the multinational corporations, responsibilities are not mandatory in practice, but rather completely depend on free will of the owners of MNCs. Most of such contracts and agreements (for example, the “Behavioral Code of MNCs”) do not contain sanctions for violation of the norms, and as a result, international mechanism of their application is not expressed, which makes the aforementioned norms recommendatory. This, in turn, leads to the fact that the modern MNCs, with regards to international affairs, avoid control of their activity by the nation states and intergovernmental international organizations.

Keywords: diplomacy, international relations, global instability, world politics, global information space, geopolitics, interests, state, sequrity, risks