Abstract: This article examines the legal peculiarities of investing into the Russian energy sector from the perspective of the “energy” ring member countries – China, South Korea, and Japan. The author considers the regulations of a number of key Russian laws in this sphere: on the strategic societies, subsoil, capital investments, and others; analyzes the established by them limitations for foreign investors and some ways of their circumvention. All of the aforementioned is viewed in the context of the existing investment projects of the “energy ring” states in Russia. The author leans on the subjective-objective preset of processes and occurrences. The scientific novelty lies in the comprehensive research of the question of investments into the Russian energy sector through the prism of cooperation of China, South Korea, Japan and Russia within the framework of “energy ring”. As a result, the author reaches the conclusion that foreign investment into the Russian energy sector faces a number of restrictions, which, however, are often overcomable.

Keywords: capital investment, strategic companies, TEK, investment activities, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China, energy grid, foreign investors

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the analysis of regulatory and policy statutes of the Russian Federation that govern relations of the area of Russian education, as well as serve as the instruments of the modern state education policy. The author determines a number of regulatory and policy statutes such as the National Education Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2025 and the Concept of Long-term Social and Economic Development of the Russian Federation until 2020, and notes their significance in formation of new configuration of the state education policy in Russia. The author analyzes the Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation”, and reveals the degree of conformity to the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation with regards to ensuring citizens’ right to education. Special attention is given to identification of the positive and negative aspects in the indicated documents, as well as their impact upon the state education policy in Russia. The following conclusions were made: framework character of legislation that regulate relations in the area of education; permanent reform in educational sphere conducted through declarative forms that are not always in accord with each other, and allows the state institutions to distort the state education policy as it pertains to ensuring the constitutional right of citizens to education.

Keywords: state institution, Government administration, European values, Regulatory statute, Education reform, National interest, Policy statute, State’s social mission, Bologna Process, State education policy

Abstract: The object of this research is the integration bloc at the stage of the Customs Union and higher levels. The subject of this research is the political system of such union as a new type of political organization of the society. The focus of attention is the problem of determining the presence of political system within integration blocs. The author gives a conceptual insight into the nature of such political system, the process of their origination and development, as well what role is played by political actors in this process. An attempt is made to structuralize the system under consideration, as well as describe its key levels. The author examines the peculiarities of development of the political process. The accomplishments of Gabriel Almond’s structural-functional approach and David Easton’s systemic approach underlie the methodological foundation of this work. The political system of integration bloc is considered through the categories “entrance – exit – feedback”; the particular provisions of the theory of multilevel governance are applied. The author’s main contribution lies in identification of the key distinctions between the national and supranational political systems, determination and description of the levels of the latter, as well as exposition of the mechanism of political process. The acquired results advance the methodology of integrative research and comparative approach in political science overall, allowing to conduct the analysis of sustainability of political objects of supranational level, as well as the backbone for political forecasting.

Keywords: Integration, Multilevel governance theory, Regional integration, Methods of international intagration studies, Structural functionalism in integration blocks analysis, Political system of integration block, Political system, Structural Functionalism, Comparative studies methodology, Multilevel governance

Abstract: This article discusses the controversial questions emerging in the context of judicial implementation of the Part 6 of the Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on changing the grade of the crime for a less grave. The author identifies certain problems in legislative regulation pertinent to the transformation of the category of crime, and suggests the ways for their elimination. Part 6 of the Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is viewed through the prism of liberalization and humanization of the criminal legislation. The author notes that the declared vector of liberalization and humanization of the criminal legislation can be realized via introducing the corresponding amendments into the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. The main conclusion of this research lies in the fact that the enforcement of the Part 6 of the Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation leads to a number of the criminal legal and criminal procedural issues that contribute to the accomplishment of objectives of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The author underlines that the ambiguity of the legislative formulation casts a doubt on its unambiguous application. In case of revealing contradictions between the criminal and criminal procedure legislations, the priority should take the norms of substantive law, i.e. the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, while the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation should be brought into accord with the criminal law.

Keywords: nature of public danger, criminal policy, liberalization of legislation, humanization of legislation, judicial discretion, category of the crime, degree of public danger, practice of the court, crime, doctrine of criminal law

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the role and place of the constitutional legal guarantees within the mechanism of realization of citizens’ right to public control in the Russian Federation. The author analyzes the concept of constitutional legal guarantee through the prism of the concepts and attributes of the broader sense of the concept of legal guarantee, giving the original definitions; described the objectives and tasks of the constitutional legal guarantees in general, as well as the citizens’ right to public control in particular; explores the role of the constitutional legal guarantees within the mechanism of realization of citizens’ right to public control at the federal, regional and municipal levels, and with regards to various branches of government and local self-governance, as well as authorities and organizations that execute separate public powers supported by judicial practice, bills of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts of the Russian Federation, administrative and municipal practice. The conclusion is made that the citizens’ right to public control dictates the need for its protection on the part of society and government through securing the system of constitutional legal guarantees on one hand; and on the other – the process of their practical realization allows improving the institution of public control itself, as well as the constitutional legal mechanism of its implementation and protection.  

Keywords: problems, development strategy, international legal guarantees, public administration, democracy, legal guarantees, Russian Federation, public control, constitutional and legal guarantees, common legal space

Abstract: The subject of this research is the judicial and jurisdictional policy of the Russian supreme authority with regards to indigenous people and immigrants of the Ural regions in the early XVIII century. The goal of this work lies in the analysis of the early stages of development of the local systems of justice, forms and methods of adaptation and integration of peoples and separate social groups into the political-legal system of Russia. The author draws a conclusion that in the context of state reforms of the first half of the XVIII century, the judicial and jurisdictional policy of the Russian supreme power with regards to indigenous people of the Ural regions was undergoing transformations aimed at establishment of typical jurisdiction and balanced expansion of the legal field of the Russian Empire. The judicial system and jurisdiction continued to consider the ethnocultural specificity of the population in Ural regions, where the powers in administering justice were delegate to special agencies for increasing the effectiveness of the local government and successful implementation of state policy. The scientific novelty consists in examining the questions of establishment in the province of the Russian Empire of the systems of justice that consider the historical and sociocultural peculiarities of the local population – indigenous peoples and immigrants. The author introduces into the scientific discourse of the regulatory acts and documentation that give a perspective on the results of implementation of the judicial and jurisdictional policy of the Russian supreme authority in the Ural regions during the late XVIII century.

Keywords: legal proceedings, justice, law, judicial system, policy, reforms, Russian Empire, indigenous peoples, estates, province

Abstract: On the background of the Russian economic crisis, the family policy takes on an even greater relevance. The subject of this research is the proposals of political parties in the area of family policies. The object of this research is the election campaigns of the political parties at the 2016 Russian legislative elections. The author carefully examines such aspects of the topic as the significance of family policy in the election programs, establishment of the political parties’ attitude towards the institution of family, determination of the key vectors of political activity with regards to family policy. Due to the recentness of the events under consideration, the question has been thinly studies in the historiography. The author is first to explore specifically the attitude of the political parties towards family policy in the course of the 2016 legislative elections. Neither party has chosen family policy as the background of their political campaign; however multiple initiatives were launched concerning the support of families. The main attention of the political parties is focused on increasing family wealth and solution of housing problem.

Keywords: Yabloko, KPRF, Edinaya Rossiya, political parties, elections to the Duma, electoral programme, family policy, Patrioty Rossii, LDPR, Spravedlivaya Rossiya

Abstract: The subject of this research is the legal issues associated with utilization of timber acquired in terms of geological exploration of subsoil and mineral resource development. Length of the process of sale of timber, stipulated in the current legislation, leads to decline in its consumer qualities, violation of the sanitary and fire safety regulations in the forests, causing loss of profits for the state. Legal regulation of forestry affairs with regards to the aforementioned issues requires improvement. The authors analyze the current legislation, legal doctrine and case law on disputable questions, as well as the approaches towards finding balance between the public and private interests in regulating the procedure for sale of timber acquired during use of subsoil. The authors substantiate the need for introducing the corresponding changes in forestry legislation and propose excluding mandatory negotiations on utilization of timber. It is suggested to present priority right to the entity using the timber located on the land in correspondence to the Articles 43-36 of the Forestry Code of the Russian Federation of its contractor to sign sale agreements of the timber and forest vegetation without negotiations. The norms will be more flexible and consider the interest of both, state and forest users.

Keywords: preferential right, mineral deposits, geological studies, trades, felling of forest plantations, forest, forest lands, wood, the contractor, the right of ownership