Vol 4, No 2 (2025)

the article is devoted to the topic of S. Witte’s reforms: the modernization of the Russian Empire at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Russian Empire faced the urgent need for accelerated modernization to overcome its lag behind leading global powers. The central figure in this process was Sergei Yulievich Witte, Minister of Finance (1892-1903), whose reforms laid the foundation for the economic transformation of the country. The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive analysis of Witte’s key reforms, their impact on the economy and society, and an assessment of their long-term consequences. Using historical-economic and comparative methods, the author examines archival documents, statistical data, and contemporary scholarly works, highlighting the main pillars of Witte’s policies: the introduction of the gold standard (1897), the promotion of heavy industry, large-scale railway construction (including the Trans-Siberian Railway), the establishment of a state liquor monopoly, and the attraction of foreign capital. The reforms yielded mixed results. On the one hand, they drove industrial production growth of 60–130%, stabilized state finances, and strengthened Russia’s international standing. On the other hand, they increased dependence on foreign investments (up to 50% in industry), exacerbated social issues (low wages, widespread alcoholism), and perpetuated the backwardness of the agricultural sector. Industrialization triggered urbanization and the emergence of a discontented working class, which became one of the causes of the 1905 Revolution. Witte’s policies, combining technocratic ambition with authoritarianism, ignored the need for profound social and political reforms, deepening the divide between elites and the general population.

the historical policy of local communities is considered as a tool for the formation of identity and interethnic harmony. The research area was Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra. The methods used were a sociological survey of citizens, as well as a content analysis of regulatory documents. It is concluded that the policy implemented by local communities in the field of formation of interethnic harmony and memory policy is purposeful and systematic. It has sufficient regulatory support and represents the "completion" of federal and regional policy in the field of interethnic relations, the formation of civic identity by means of historical policy and is a necessary part of the functioning of a vertically integrated national system in this area. The factors that ensure the effectiveness of the local community in this area include, in most cases, the presence of special bodies that coordinate the work of its main actors, as well as the transparency of their financing. The study recorded fairly high rates of civic self-identification of respondents, patriotic attitudes in the minds of the majority of respondents. The hypothesis of the role of historical politics in the formation of civic identity as the basis of interethnic harmony is confirmed. It is noted that at the conceptual level, municipal programs to ensure interethnic harmony and the work of coordinating councils, as a rule, do not make a semantic connection with the concept of identity, and as a means of achieving it, attention is not focused on using the possibilities of historical politics. This not only significantly impoverishes the system of events, but also affects the infrastructure of symbolic policy actors at the local level and leads to weak participation in the work of civil society institutions, which is compulsively mixed by the dominance of administrative bodies of municipal power. Historical policy is proposed as a semantic conceptualization of the practices of local communities in the formation of national and regional identity.

the article provides a thorough analysis of the principles of justice that form the backbone of a fair judicial system and guarantee its proper functioning. The importance of these basic concepts for maintaining legality, order and justice in society is considered. The study is aimed at defining and systematizing the fundamental principles of justice. The goal is to clarify the content and structure of these principles and to identify their role and influence on the effectiveness of law enforcement. The analysis revealed key principles of justice, such as legality, independence and impartiality of the court, equality of all before the law, ensuring the right to defense, publicity and fairness of legal proceedings. The hierarchical and functional system of these principles, their interrelation and interdependence were also identified. The conducted research confirms that the principles of justice play a vital role in the organization of the judicial system and are the basis for the judiciary in a democratic society. The article concludes that it is necessary to constantly focus on the observance and strengthening of these principles to ensure the continuous development and improvement of justice, as well as to guarantee human rights and freedoms.

the article examines the organizational and technical problematic aspects of Russia's modern procurement system as an element hindering the development of the state's economic potential in order to identify possible solutions. The result of the work is the identification of factors contributing to the entrenchment of problems in the procurement system, as well as the identification of areas for improving the procurement system for state and municipal needs. As a result, it was concluded that there is a need for comprehensive improvement of the procurement system, including control and supervisory measures, changes in procurement legislation, intensification of explanatory activities with participants in the field of contracts, and strengthening the technological foundations of electronic systems that the contracting parties are required to use.

in the context of changing global political attitudes, the study of problems related to the legal regulation of economic legal relations is currently gaining increasing importance. Since the economy is one of the most important indicators of the state's activity, issues of ensuring its security are directly related to ensuring state sovereignty. The purpose of this study is to identify legal mechanisms for ensuring the economic security of Russia and the problems associated with their implementation. For this purpose, the author analyzed the definition of economic security presented in the legislation and put forward an assumption about its narrow interpretation in the current wording. In order to identify the essence of this legal category, the author studied the main institutions and means of ensuring economic security enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation and other regulatory legal acts. It was established that the responsibilities for ensuring economic security are within the competence of many government bodies, including the President of the Russian Federation, the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation. The main means used by these government bodies in the course of their activities to ensure the economic security of the state are determined. Based on the presented constitutional and legal norms, the author proposed a new formulation of the term «ensuring economic security».