Family policy of the Russian state in the face of grand challenges: Main problems and contradiction

Introduction: one of the most important great challenges is the demographic transition which brings about changes in people’s life styles, aging of the population and the expansion of various kinds of social, sometimes rather destructive, experiments. This, in turn, requires adequate actions on the part of the state, development of an effective social policy that can offset the effects of major challenges, as well as destructive hybrid influences both within the country and from outside. Objectives: to identify the main problems and contradictions of the state family policy in Russia, to assess its adequacy against the trends in modern societies development. Methods: formal-logical, comparative, secondary data analysis, content analysis. Results: a number of directions in transformation of family life and their manifestations in Russia have been identified; main discursive and practical aspects of the state family policy have been analyzed as well as its key dysfunctions. Conclusions: family resilience as a social institution has not changed significantly over the past 20 years. However, the number of Russians who are ready to justify abortion is declining, and, conversely, the number of those who are ready to justify divorce is increasing. The family today is still constructed as an institution of social control and reproduction of rigid gender roles. Moreover, in recent decades, certain strata of Russian society have returned to traditional conservative models of close relationships. State family policy is unable to neutralize the negative consequences of grand challenges and needs to be rethought. Its key dysfunction is the rigidity of discursive and social practices, ignorance of the real changes that are taking place in close relationships today. In addition, family policy is poorly integrated with other areas of state policy: there are no uniform methodological approaches to lifelong human development.

Reflection of project and program management principles in the budget legislation of Russia

Introduction: the article is devoted to the analysis of normative acts regulating the application of project and program management principles in the budget planning process in Russia. Objectives: to assess the regulatory framework of project and program management for its integrity, consistency and compliance with budget legislation and international standards of program and project management; to formulate the areas to optimize program and project budgeting in Russia. Methods: the research uses methods of comparative legal and system analysis. Results: the main issues in legal regulation in the field of research are identified, including: non-compliance of the actual strategic planning procedure with the requirements of the federal law; excessive number and mutual duplication of the content of project and program documents in the absence of their clear hierarchy; non-compliance in the Russian legislation with such basic principles of project and program management as the limited time of the goals and objectives in program documents, concentration of powers to manage projects (programs) and responsibility for their results in the same position; the actual withdrawal of the legislative power and the Russian Government from participation in program and project management; dual power in industry management. Conclusions: to overcome the above shortcomings the following measures, among all, are advisable: to fix the status of national projects in the Federal Law “On strategic planning in the Russian Federation” as the fundamental planning documents; to include data on the volume of their financial support and main activities in national projects, excluding current costs and measures already listed in the state programs; to restore the powers of the Russian Government to give approval on the national projects content (passports) as well as the federal projects outside the national ones; to bridge the gap between the powers and responsibilities of program (project) managers.

Chained by one chain: Mechanisms of electoral mobilization at the local level in the Russian ethnic republics

Introduction: researchers of the Russian elections have long noticed that in a number of ethnic republics the level of electoral mobilization and political conformism of voters is higher than the average in Russia. Despite the fairly numerous statistical evidence of the existence of this political phenomenon, we still know relatively little about the specific causal mechanisms for the reproduction of electoral activity in these republics. Objectives: identifying the factors bringing about a high level of electoral mobilization in ethnic republics in Russia. Methods: analysis of qualitative data collected through focus groups method in five regions: Republic of Bashkortostan, Republic of Tatarstan, Komi Republic, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and Chuvash Republic. Results: as the result of the study it is concluded that a high level of electoral mobilization is caused by the combination of three factors, each of which affects different categories of voters. The institutional factor in the form of political machines involves into the electoral process those employed in public sector and industrial enterprises. The density of social networks resulting from specificity of rural way of life influences the electoral behavior of entrepreneurs and self-employed people living in the countryside. Finally, the Soviet legacy continues to determine the high political activity of the older generation, acting as a significant cultural factor. At the same time, there has been no empirical proof to a number of explanations whereby religion or ethnic culture of non-Russian ethnic groups is viewed as factors that simplify electoral mobilization. Conclusions: evidence on the role of the solidarity norms in rural areas during elections makes it possible to conclude that the consolidation and high intensity of horizontal relationships do not always promote the reproduction of civil society institutions and grass-roots democratic practices. As it is shown in the experience of the Russian ethnic republics, this element of social consolidation may well be integrated into the design of authoritarian elections. Thus, informal networks of grass-roots solidarity can be used not only by the opposition, but also by local authorities to increase electoral mobilization, which, in the current political context, rather strengthens authoritarian orders and practices than creates threats to them.

Digital skills vs soft skills: New professional development competences in public service

Introduction: interaction on virtual communication platforms between the authorities and the population brings forward the issue of civil servants professional development. Objectives: to define a conceptual approach to the content of digital professional development programs for civil servants, to detail the strategic knowledge and tactical skills required in modern public administration in the context of the socio-political sphere digitalization. Methods: an expert interview; comparative-comparative method of analyzing digital platforms for advanced training of civil servants; content analysis of the “Leaders of Russia” and “Leaders of Russia. Politics” participants’ comments. Results: the article presents the data on a comparative study of educational platforms for advanced training of civil servants in the field of digital literacy. The framework of the necessary digital knowledge in the public management system has been proposed, aimed at the structural subdivisions of authorities responsible for strategic communications with the population. The results of the expert interviews and content analysis actualize the demand for digital competencies among the civil servants. Conclusions: the system of professional retraining of personnel for the civil service should meet the new requirements, namely to ensure the efficient functioning of e-government services, crowdsourcing platforms, official departmental web resources as well as groups and pages in social networks, and to maintain there a dialogue and interaction with the population. The new functionality of a civil servant arising from digitalization of the public administration system requires the development of new approaches to the competence-based model of his training and retraining. This brings forward the importance of digital competencies and skills complemented by a constant improvement of soft skills. The existing mechanisms for mastering these competencies in Russia make it possible to solve the problems of improving the entire system of public administration, but not with maximum efficiency. It is obvious that the market of advanced training services for civil servants is not sufficiently developed and the resources spent on these purposes aren’t used in the most optimal way.

Political and legal institutionalization of a religious component in modern Russian education

Introduction: the article is devoted to institutionalization of the religious component in Russian education; the main stages that determine the specificity of its manifestation are outlined. Objectives: identifying the stages and features of political and legal institutionalization of the religious component in modern Russian education. Methods: analysis of public authorities documents, secondary data analysis. Results: four stages in the institutionalization process have been highlighted: preliminary stage, characterized by a wide public discourse on the necessity and legitimacy of including a religious component in education; the stage of formalization and testing the norms; the stage of final integration of religious component into education; stage of discussing the new Federal State Educational Standard and the secularization of modules. The features of institutionalization process have been revealed. Conclusions: attempts have been made to find a middle ground between the secularity of education and the spiritual and moral education of students by teaching the course on “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics”. However, there is reason to believe that formal requirements are not fully met or are tacitly ignored locally, which creates new challenges for legislative regulation and a field for further research.

Hybrid organizations as effective intermediate institutions: Evidence from Eastern Asia

Introduction: the article examines the impact of hybrid organizations on the economic dynamics of Eastern Asian countries. Objectives: to assess the effectiveness of hybrid organizations as intermediate institutions that promote economic development, to describe the transformation of hybrids as they are modernized. Methods: dialectical method, system analysis, case study method, induction method. Results: the positive role of hybrid organizations in catching-up economic development is revealed; it is shown that hybrids serve as intermediate institutions that either transform or hinder economic growth as modernization progresses; possible economic policies to support hybrids are described. Conclusions: hybrid organizations are common in many countries and regions with a predominance of traditional regulators which have managed to reach the development path of developed countries. Thus, hybrids are country specific for the “Asian tigers” – Japan (in the form of keiretsu), South Korea (in the form of chaebols), Taiwan (in the form of clusters) as well as for China (in the form of industrial areas). At the same time, in most cases, hybrid institutional agreements serve as intermediate institutions – relying on existing social ties, they promote economic growth, but as they modernize, they either undergo changes or hinder subsequent development. The analysis of the presented cases also shows that the state can contribute to the formation of hybrids in various ways – from creating infrastructure to supporting the export activities of firms.

“Stakeholders of Russian regional environmental policy”

Introduction: it is considered that the stakeholders participation in the decision- making process increases their efficiency and effectiveness; however, in the context of studying Russian regional environmental policy, the issue of identification, interests and main directions of interaction between key actors and stakeholders remains under-examined. Objectives: identifying directions and possible forms of cooperation between stakeholders and subjects of Russian regional environmental policy. Methods: classification method. Results: the key stakeholders of Russian regional environmental policy are revealed; the powers of regional authorities in the field of environmental protection are established; the main directions and possible forms of cooperation between stakeholders and subjects of Russian regional environmental policy are specified. Conclusions: there are four key groups of stakeholders that influence the decision-making process in the framework of regional environmental policy (federal government and local authorities, civil society, small, medium and large businesses and universities). Based on the analysis of the regional authorities’ powers, six directionsof cooperation between stakeholders and subjects of Russian regional environmental policy are identified. The most relevant direction for all stakeholders is to ensure environmentally safe waste management; it allows attracting the maximum number of participants and doesn’t require serious financial investments, but mainly only initiative. Possible forms of cooperation between stakeholders and subjects of Russian regional environmental policy are presented for each direction.

Interregional and cross-border cooperation within the Union State of Belarus and Russia: problems and opportunities

Introduction: the large growth potential of integration attractiveness of the Union State of Belarus and Russia lies in the improvement of interregional and cross-border cooperation, which can create new prospects for dynamic development and influence on the world market as well as improve the geopolitical situation on the external borders of the Union State. Objectives: verification of the problem field and tools for improving interregional and cross-border interaction in the space of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. Methods: cognitive mapping, expert survey, comparison. Results: the study has revealed the discordance in the Russian and Belarus political elites’ preferences, the lack of their attention to the problems of interregional and cross-border cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, an ambiguous vision of Russian-Belarusian relations by experts. Among the methods and technologies for improving the interregional and cross-border interaction between Russia and Belarus, experts highlight, first of all, the development of the border areas infrastructure. Conclusions: the discourse on interregional and cross-border cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus manifests certain problems of an internal, external and interstate nature. At the same time,the political elites and the expert community of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus do not see the sphere of integration interaction and connection with the Union State level as priorities. The influence of the Union State on the improvement of interregional and cross-border cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus is underestimated. Consolidated interaction of political elites and expert community of the two countries is needed, which will make it possible to form an effective strategy for the development of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus on the way to bilateral integration.

Influence of center-peripheral relations on youth educational migration

Introduction: the article outlines the existing trends in interregional youth migration with the view of identifying the factors and long-term threats in the human capital outflow from the Russian regions. Objectives: analysis of center-peripheral relations on youth educational migration, both intraand interregional. Methods: comparative, statistical, graphical and cartographic analysis of statistical data on interregional migration flows and data of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Results: the study has been completed in three aspects, namely: (1) analysis of interregional youth educational migration flows based on attractiveness of higher educational institutions in three groups of Russian regions (educational centers; regions with a million- population capital city; other regions); (2) analysis of intra-regional youth migration based on comparing relative total intra- and inter-regional migration of 15–19 age group in 62 municipal districts of the Republic of Bashkortostan located within a distance to republican capital city; (3) analysis of migration attractiveness factors for the regions accepting the migrants aged 14 and over from the Republic of Bashkortostan leaving for reasons related to education. Conclusions: center-peripheral relations as relations between economically and culturally developed center and peripheral districts that are much weaker in this sense, appear to be secondary factors for inter-regional educational migration, much moreimportant factors becoming the high quality of education as well as a subjective perception of socio-economic conditions in the region, where the young people would like to receive education. The educational centers of Russia are the most popular with applicants; while local schools and neighboring regions graduates are more attracted by large higher education institutions of regional capital cities (agglomeration center, million-population city), which focus on the local labour market in the agglomeration. At the same time, the center-peripheral relations have a larger impact on intraregional migration flows of young people, especially within a certain distance (150−180 km for the Republic of Bashkortostan); outside this distance the young people tend to gravitate to the neighboring regions where Russia’s largest cities (including educational centers and agglomerations) are located.