Can moral policy be practiced in present-day Russia?

Let’s get started start with another issue as to whether something the like of the Watergate scan- dal that went down in history books as the study in political vice might be the case on the Russian political scene? Of course, it might. According to the Russian code of political conduct, listening in on opponents is neither a crime, nor even a mis- demeanor, rather possibly or as the case may be is a necessary trick in the political process. Russian politics has never been, nor it is today part of the public and, therefore, legal domain...

Never ever has the life of people in the most var- ied countries across the world, including Russia, been so heavily filled with medical statistics. The key topics featuring in phone conversations and social media publications are ranging from new hospital beds created to the daily growth rate in confirmed COVID-19 cases. In public consciousness corona- virus has risen its ugly heady all the way from an implausible fiction to a permanent fixture of our life. However COVID-19 will certainly go away some- day, but many customary features of human life will remain in place forever.

Since day one of the virus pandemic, experts have noted that neither the high mortality rate, nor the threat of human extinction is an issue but the health care system just failing to manage a spontaneous massive inflow of millions of people suffering from an acute form of the disease. In this context talks of a civilized state must follow the Confucian tradition in a sense that ‘less the king does, the more gets done’ started to be perceived as a lame attempt at humor. Probably someday humankind will rise to the chal- lenge of self-government at a level where people will be able make fun of Hobbes and prove that statehood is to be dispensed with. Today, however, it has no competition when it comes to the need to mount joint efforts to challenge global threats ...

Introduction. National governments play a key role in the Covid-19 Pandemic as they have to lead the national policy, under emergency law. This is the opposite of the globalization boom since the 1990s after the end of the bi-polar world, where many predicted and expected that national governments will no more be important as the global economy will be run by international companies and globalized markets. What is in the post-corona world the relation between national sovereignty and international cooperation? How much cooperation is needed just under the global threat of the pandemic?

Materials and methods. This article is based on my presentation at the MGIMO International Conference on 25 May on “Pandemic as a motor of transformation» and on an extensive research over several years on the ethical concept of balancing opposite values, under the term Globalance [3], and applying this concept to thirty sectors of society, in the perspective of the experiences and new realities after the Covid-19 pandemic. The method is classical ethical decision making [See: 4] with a combination of collecting empirical data from social sciences (here only few) and normative orientation on fundamental values, based on philosophical and theological ethical concepts and principles (justifications not elaborated in detail in the article).

Study results. The study focusses on the two values freedom and solidarity as value-poles with the ethical goal to show their relationality and balance them. These two values are applied to the poles of international cooperation and national sovereignty.

Сonclusion. The Covid-19 pandemic shows the importance of sovereign national governments in handling such a pandemic within its territory and its shows the crucial global cooperation and strong respective multilateral institutions and mechanisms such as the WHO, but also ILO, UNCTAD, migration and refugees organisations, International Telecommunication Union ITU and financial institutions such as IMF and World Bank. A key aspect of Globalance is also the balance between national cybersovereignty and international cooperation for cybersecurity by fighting cybercrime.

Introduction. This paper represents the changes which has brought in new changed ground realities. Lot of new developments have started taking place, ever since the advent of coronavirus. The author is neither a soothsayer nor an astrologer who can adequately predict the coming future. However, at the time of writing, some broad trends are emerging on the horizon, which could impact the evolution of a new world order in cyberspace. These emerging trends are beginning to point in the direction of an irreversible change in cyberspace.

Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the study was made up of following general scientific and special methods of cognition of legal phenomena and processes in the field of Cyber law, Cybercrime & cybersecurity during corona virus age: a system-structural analysis method; method of synthesis of social and legal phenomena; comparative legal method; and formal logical method.

The results of the study. The analysis revealed that, the Cyberspace is full of so much of information and misinformation that people are clueless as to which information source they should rely upon and which they should not. In this pandemonium, that exist across the world, some broad new areas are emerging which are engaging the attention of numerous stakeholders.

Discussion and conclusions. In today’s Coronavirus times, nothing can be predicted as absolute. However, if one keeps in mind the broad trends on the horizon, one could potentially be more well equipped to deal with challenges concerning the new cyber world order. The New Cyber World Order will be increasingly important for all digital and cyber stakeholders, as it will impact all our digital presence, digital activities and digital lives. The legal, policy and regulatory issues pertaining to New Cyber World Order will have to be appropriately considered and addressed by cyber stakeholders as New Cyber World Order takes root in the coming times.

Introduction. This paper represents the changes which has brought in new changed ground realities. Lot of new developments have started taking place, ever since the advent of coronavirus. The author is neither a soothsayer nor an astrologer who can adequately predict the coming future. However, at the time of writing, some broad trends are emerging on the horizon, which could impact the evolution of a new world order in cyberspace. These emerging trends are beginning to point in the direction of an irreversible change in cyberspace.

Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the study was made up of following general scientific and special methods of cognition of legal phenomena and processes in the field of Cyber law, Cybercrime & cybersecurity during corona virus age: a system-structural analysis method; method of synthesis of social and legal phenomena; comparative legal method; and formal logical method.

The results of the study. The analysis revealed that, the Cyberspace is full of so much of information and misinformation that people are clueless as to which information source they should rely upon and which they should not. In this pandemonium, that exist across the world, some broad new areas are emerging which are engaging the attention of numerous stakeholders.

Discussion and conclusions. In today’s Coronavirus times, nothing can be predicted as absolute. However, if one keeps in mind the broad trends on the horizon, one could potentially be more well equipped to deal with challenges concerning the new cyber world order. The New Cyber World Order will be increasingly important for all digital and cyber stakeholders, as it will impact all our digital presence, digital activities and digital lives. The legal, policy and regulatory issues pertaining to New Cyber World Order will have to be appropriately considered and addressed by cyber stakeholders as New Cyber World Order takes root in the coming times. 

Introduction. The article overviews the place of Russia in the promotion and construction of the Greater Eurasian partnership. The idea of this partnership was proposed by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin for the interfacing of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and the Chinese transport initiative “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR).

Materials and methods. The study is based on the synthesis of the civilizational concept of Eurasianism and the theory of international integration. The work analyses official documents of EEU and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), declarations of their officials, screening mass media, trade and economic statistics.

Results. The statistics show that EEU is gaining success, although at present its developed is slowing. Third countries still play a significant role in foreign trade and investments of EEU member states. China competes with Russia for the dominance in

 Central Asia. The interface of EEU and SCO integration processes, as well as the Chinese initiative “One Belt, One Road” should be developed in view of Russia’s interests.

Discussion and conclusion. The Greater Eurasian partnership can be considered as component of a new world architecture underlied by the system of regional and interregional economic and integration groups. The post-Soviet countries of Eurasia are united by a common history, civilizational and cultural prerequisites for integration with the unifying role of Russia. No serious project on the continent can be implemented without its participation.

Introduction: The world has been confronted with at least three significant security crises since the new millennium, to begin with the terror crisis with culminating in 2001 and 2016, the migration crisis dating back to 2015 mainly in Europe and the epidemiological crisis originating in 2020. Research shows that nations are divided over what types of methods are to be used to tackle these crises.

Materials and Methods: The analytical and comparative methods have been used to get a bird’s eye view on dissimilar approaches to crisis and risk management taken by various nations.

Results: This research addresses how crisis and risk management within the context of public governance can widely differ among states. In order to understand the indications and warning methodology of intelligence agencies, the authors have identified the prevailing twenty-first-century political risks by juxtaposing crises and risks. Drawing on the black swan theory, the authors describe how crises may evolve into risks given a plethora of hazards that may endanger today’s national security such as terrorism, migration with malicious intent and global pandemics. Five vital state interests have been outlined that are critical for governments to perform national threat assessments and forward looking scenario-building. The study ends by illustrating Plato’s ideal state concept applied to internal security governance.

Discussion and Conclusion: The key takeaway is that crisis and risk management is urgently required on a more global scale in the years following 2020.

Introduction. The article describes the existing and potential models of legal regulations between economic agents in Industry 4.0 environment. Conversion of the key production principles and transition to intangible benefits in digital reality сalls for the theoretical rethinking of legal categories.

Materials and methods. The study assumed a positivistic materialism approach and abstract to concrete evolution.  The study applied general and  specific scientific methods to understand legal phenomena of relations in neo-industrial era: a dialectic method, analysis and synthesis, classification, legal dogmas, comparative, structural and functional methods.

Results. The study found that there are multiple models of legal support to industrial economic agents from special legislation up to the adoption of by-laws, and blending of several approaches. The study confirmed that a particular model is always bases on a chain of relations “producer” “product, work, service” “consumer”. It is recommended to conduct legal studies to regulate activities of economic agents in Industry 4:0 environment grouping them into “developers” and “users”. This grouping should underline specific recommendations, proposals and suggestions to improve various legal mechanisms covering different goals of economic agents, risks, rights, interests and obligations stemming from contracts.

Discussion and conclusion. The study justifies and proves that the efficiency the legislator’s use of a certain of legal regulations depends on the category of subjects of Industry 4.0; Manufacturers; Consumers; Users; Intellectual property; Claw mechanisms  to protect rights and legitimate interests. Recipients “developers” and “users”; it also justifies the use of these categories in acts regulating the creation, recording, circulation and deletion of digital cryptographic records in business practice.

Introduction. The article covers the local selfgovernment bodies reform, their functions as well as administrative and territorial division of Japan. The article analyses the process of cooperation between central-government bodies and local bodies while functioning. Taking into account these circumstances, the article covers the laws and provisions of the Japanese  Constitution.

Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the article is formed by special and specific  scientific (comparative legal and technical) methods. The use of the above-mentioned methods made it possible to explore the objects in an interconnected, holistic and comprehensive manner.

The results of the research. The structure of the administrative and territorial division of Japan as well as features of cooperation between centralgovernment bodies and local bodies were determined.

Discussion and conclusions. The article reveals the constitutional features of local self-government regulation. The Constitution and the laws, concerning the local self-government and administrative and territorial division, were analyzed.

Introduction. The article discusses the impact of financial risks on the financial and economic security of the state. In modern economies, the financial sector dominates the economy. Moreover, the development of financial markets has been seen in the past two decades as an independent driver of economic growth. At the same time, “negative processes that occur in a small number of financial market players in one country can cause crisis events throughout the world economy.” Among the main strategic risks and threats to national security in the economic sphere are the low stability and security of the national financial system.

Materials and methods. The work uses the following general scientific and special methods of cognition: the method of system-structural analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, comparative-legal and formal-legal method.

Results. As the experience of the last decade shows, the financial and economic security of the Russian state is more influenced by the environmental factors (general economic crisis, geopolitical situation, inflation, payment crisis, climate and biological (epidemiological) risks, etc. The state governance  of ensuring financial and economic security should be a permanent, integrated part of the forming process of state economic policy and legal regulation of russian economy. In order to achieve financial and economic security it is necessary to establish an effective financial and legal mechanism capable to resist emerging risks.

Discussion and conclusion. The article revealed the impact of external financial risks that have a significant impact on the financial and economic security of the state. The need to establish an effective state mechanism to ensure the financial security of the Russian Federation is justified. The proposed measures are directed to improve the legal provision of financial and economic security of the Russian Federation.

Introduction. The article is devoted to identifying the shortcomings of civil law mechanisms currently in force in Russia to protect the rights and legitimate interests of crowdfunding entities based on technologies of Industry 4.0. The relevance of the declared topic is predetermined by the need for technological improvement of production processes during the period of neo-industrial transformations of the national economy, which, in turn, are impossible without impressive investments.

Materials and methods. Researchers’ attention is focused on the Federal Law “On Attracting Investments Using Investment Platforms and Amending Certain Regulatory Acts of the Russian Federation”, the systemic change of which, in the author’s opinion, can solve the complex task of improving the existing set of financial instruments through the use of the latest digital technologies. The author uses the methods of system analysis, the formal legal and comparative legal method of scientific research.

Research results. Recognizing the high importance of crowdfunding in a neo-industrial economy, the author devoted his research to the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of entities involved in investment relations. The unresolved issues and the provisions requiring modernization are  analyzed, which are contained in the Federal Law “On attracting investments using investment platforms and amending certain regulatory acts of the Russian Federation”. As a result of the analysis, specific proposals and recommendations on improving the federal law were made.

Discussion and conclusions. The necessity of the emergence of new high-tech financial instruments to raise funds, allowing to radically improve the quality of decision-making in all sectors of the economy, including in the field of banking services, as well as significantly accelerate the transaction process, is substantiated. One of these developing instruments for investing in the fourth industrial revolution looking to the future is crowdfunding. The advantages of using crowdfunding and crowdinvesting platforms as investment transaction technologies are revealed.

Introduction. Analysis of foreign legal norms, including the Anglo-Saxon and the Romano-German legal systems that regulate the construction contract, their similarities and differences is described in this article.

Materials and methods. The goal was achieved through the study of theoretical and practical experience. The structural analysis was used as a key method for this study.

Study results. The article overviews the legal regulation of construction contracts in foreign countries described in the works of foreign and domestic researchers, in the legislation of foreign countries and includes the analysis of sources governing the construction contract; and idetifes concepts for the regulation of construction contracts.

Discussion and conclusions. The study showed that countries of Romano-Germanic and  Anglo-Saxon legal families have different approaches to the regulation of construction contracts, i.e. the application of a Romano-Germanic legal family or a precedent-oriented Anglo-Saxon legal family should be taken into account when entering into an international construction contract.

Introduction. The article presents the analysis of legal regulation on the agricultural market of the European Union. The high growth of international economic integration, contributing to the intensification of interstate cooperation for the simplified movement of goods and services induces the harmonization of regulatory and legislative frameworks to develop uniform mechanisms of legal regulation. The diversification of agricultural exports should be considered as one of the highly promising, priority and sustainable trends of agricultural policy. EU law requirements must be taken into account by organizations engaged in foreign economic activities of food supplies. The article gives the updated analysis of the Eurasian Union regulatory framework in the sphere of agricultural products.

 Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the study comprises the universal dialectic method of scientific knowledge, general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, analogy, induction, deduction, modeling, etc.), particular scientific (logical-legal method, comparative legal method of systemic analysis, etc.). Methods of content analysis of legal documentation, allowing to study key trends in the legal regulation and policies of the European Union in relation to the agricultural market were also used.

The results of the study. The conducted analysis revealed that there is a confusing situation in the European Union legislation about the agricultural market. The exceptional attitude to agriculture in the European Union legislation was widely under-mined, which led to serious consequences not only for the interpretation of agricultural provisions in EU law, but also for the legal provisions about the agricultural market in other countries. The article also analyzes the changes in legislation that pave the way for a deeper understanding of agricultural law in the European Union after the reforms introduced by the Lisbon Treaty.

Discussion and conclusion. Since 1974, the European Union has developed a wide range of legislative provisions related to agriculture. Pursuant to EU treaties, animals are recognized as living creatures, and therefore the EU and Member States must take due care of animal welfare requirements preparing and implementing policies in agriculture or on the domestic market. Currently, EU legislation on the welfare of farm animals contains specific provisions for the cultivation of poultry, calves and pigs,  as well as to all types of agricultural machinery and livestock slaughter. Nevertheless, there are contradictions between the EU Member States stemming from the legal regulation of the common agricultural market in the European Union.

The author concludes that the EU food law is comprehensive and aimed to provide consumers with safe and high-quality products, subject to timely and comprehensive information about possible risks. Taking into account the experience of the European Union in the development and correction the relevant legislative system will significantly increase the effectiveness of the measures to increase the export potential of domestic products.

Introduction. The article gives an overview of integration associations’ policy for smart city development. The existing rates of urbanization and the growth of the economic weight of cities give rise to new challenges and opportunities, which for the developed integration associations can no longer be considered exclusively at local or national levels. Consequently, there is a growing demand from integration associations for the formation of common approaches to smart city management. The authors examine the efforts of the European Union and the Association of South East Asian Nations undertaken for the development of smart cities and give recommendations for the Eurasian Economic Union.

Materials and methods. The methodologi­cal basis of the study includes the following gen­eral scientific methods of cognition of processes and phenomena: an analytical approach, qualitative analysis and comparative analysis. The examined materials include official documents of integration associations, analytical reports of international organizations and studies of domestic and foreign scientists.

The choice of the research topic is justified by the urbanization rates with the increasing importance of public management quality and drafting of a long-term agenda for the development of agglomerations. Smart cities become interested in managerial cooperation with other cities, harmonization of approaches and exchange of best practices. The universal theory of smart cities is to yet formed, but in real life, efforts are already being made to develop a common knowledge and experience base: smart cities create platforms for interaction, sign agreements, draw ratings and develop management and technical standards. Some integration groups already began to single out smart cities as a separate area of their activity. We can forecast that the topic of smart cities will become the key one for all integration  associations,  including  EAEU.  For Russia, as for a country that is currently developing its own standards for managing smart cities, this issue is of fundamental importance: cooperation with the countries of the Union can serve as an additional source of knowledge and experience and will create strategic opportunities and advantages for the domestic IT industry.

Results. The European Union and the Association of South East Asian Nations were the first to put the issue of smart city development on the agenda. Meanwhile, these organizations have taken two different paths: the EU is simultaneously working on a whole set of initiatives to develop common approaches and standards for smart city approaches and standards. ASEAN is so far limited to having a platform for financial and informational assistance to particular cities.

Discussion and conclusions. Within the formation of the common digital space for the EAEU, the issue of joint development of smart cities should  be included into the integration agenda. The experience of the EU and ASEAN may be useful for the Eurasian Economic Union, whose interest in smart cities is just beginning to emerge. The simultaneous creation of a platform of smart cities and the development of common standards could become a positive step in this field.

Introduction. The article considers the issues of conceptual understanding of the shadow economy in the difficult economic situation of modern capitalism. Being the main threat to the economic security of the state, the shadow economy in a crisis becomes a source of numerous social risks and a key destabilizing factor. Forming patterns of illegal and irrational economic behavior, the shadow economy creates a space for the redistribution of economic benefits   through criminal forms and means. The absence of established economic regulators, capitalist rationality in most developing countries leads to a parallel coexistence / symbiosis / interaction of the shadow and official economies. The author examines the causes and consequences of the functioning of the shadow economy, special attention is paid to the problem of the interaction of the shadow economy with the state-legal mechanism, in particular, the contradictory phenomenon of «state failure» in the gaps of the shadow economy is investigated. The article provides a multilevel analysis of the shadow economy, and offers recommendations.

Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the study was the basic general scientific (structural-activity approach) and special methods of cognition of economic and legal phenomena and processes. The complexity and complexity of the topic necessitated the use of statistical and dynamic methods of system, comparative and factor analysis. An important role also belongs to the systemgenetic approach, which allows one to analyze the problem of the shadow economy through the dialectical interconnection and interaction of the whole and elements of the «shadow economy – state – man» system.

The results of the study. As a result of the study, the need to rethink the phenomenon of the shadow economy in the context of interaction with both the «white» official economy and the state legal mechanism was substantiated. As part of the development of the thesis about the patterns between the crisis in the economy and the social sphere, the growth of shadow economic activity shows that the shadow economy is necessarily built into distribution mechanisms and production relations. The study identified  and analyzed the relationship of  the shadow economy with the patterns and trends of the transition economy.

Discussion and conclusions. The necessity of regular and thoughtful understanding of the shadow economy by the scientific community is substantiated. The challenges of the modern world require intelligent solutions, this article is just an answer to complex and pressing problems.