In recent history the concept of “public authority” was collective and was not fixed in legislative and normative-legal acts. Under the Law of the Russian Federation on amendment of the Constitution of the Russian Federation dated 14.03.2020 № 1-FCL “On improvement of regulation of separate issues of organization and functioning of public authorities” local self-government bodies were eferred to public authorities. According to Article 132 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation “Local self-government bodies and public authorities are part of a unified system of public authority in the Russian Federation and interact to most effectively solve problems in the interests of the population living in the respective territory. Article 35.1 of Federal Law № 131-FL of 06.10.2003 “On General Principles of Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation” gives elected deputies of a municipal representative body the right to form political factions for the exercise of their powers. The activities of such factions are established and legitimized by a normative legal act of the municipality. As a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union and emergence of the Russian Federation, proc-
lamation of democratic values and democratization of society, political parties and other public organizations began to appear. New actors and leaders, were able to organize a collective, turbulently increasing action against the government, which immediately after the end of the protests, mobilized the protest mood of the electorate, which in the elections in 2017, 2019 in Moscow, 2019 in St. Petersburg held in local government in Moscow and St. Petersburg “independent” municipal deputies from the territorial executive government in representative bodies of local government, thereby creating pockets of political and social tension. An important aspect of the political struggle for the degree of influence on political stability, namely the change of power in the municipalities of Svetlanovskoye, Smolninskoye, Ligovka-Yamskoye, Liteiniy District, Vladimirskiy District of St. Petersburg, was the result of an intraparty struggle in the power structures. The intraparty struggle between the executive and legislative branches of power for the degree of territorial influence in St. Petersburg is a characteristic feature of federal cities, with their elites constantly fighting for the maximum concentration of power in their hands. As a result of the insufficient control of the electoral process by the territorial executive bodies of state power in St. Petersburg, an additional opportunity for opposition forces to exercise sufficient quality control of the electoral process for compliance with legislative requirements. As a result of this situation, the representative bodies were formed by independent non-systemic deputies. The pluralism of opinions that emerged in local government became particularly important, since without agreement for decision-making the work of representative bodies of local government was impossible, and consequently the exercise of the constitutional rights of citizens to exercise local government and the legitimate functioning of local government in addressing issues of local importance and the execution of certain state powers was impossible. The existence in the legal field of an internally highly conflictual representative body generates social tension in society, political destabilization and, as a consequence, a general distrust of public authorities in general, since public authorities are directly involved in the formation of local government in St. Petersburg, where the execution of local government authority is associated with such features as a high level of education of citizens, population density, the degree of involvement in electoral processes In 2015, an additional procedure for recruiting heads of municipalities was introduced - the selection of candidates for the post of head by a competitive commission, where half of the commission’s members should be representatives of regional authorities. It was expected that in this way the selection of heads of municipalities would become more controlled. In 2020, the amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation consolidated the “incorporation” of the local level into the system of state (public) power, finally depriving municipal authorities of formal autonomy from the state.

   The purpose of the article is to establish the causes of incapacity of the representative body of local government of St. Petersburg after the municipal elections of 2019, the search for possible ways to create conditions for further functioning of the municipality in the new conditions of pluralism of opinions among the new convocation of municipal deputies, the study of the causes of the created situation, the search and proposal of possible ways to solve the issue of adaptation of the representative body to the new conditions of functioning.

   Based on the research conducted, the authors declare the necessity to take measures to respond to the public authorities aimed at finding opportunities and creating conditions for the performance of powers by the representative body, deputies and heads of the municipality in the new conditions of functioning of local self-government.

   The article is devoted to the problem of resolving environmental incidents of various origins, building an effective crisis management model. The article examines the analysis of crisis communications, subjects of environmental communications, sources of information dissemination, response tools.
   Target. Formation of a successful practice of overcoming the environmental crisis based on the development of an effective communication strategy and action model.
   Methodology. In the course of the research, in order to form a theoretical base, the author turned to the works of Russian and foreign researchers studying the issues of social and communicative technologies, crisis communications. In the practical part, materials from the mass media, information from state bodies, and the author’s own experience in resolving crisis situations were used. To draw conclusions, strategies and actions in three different categories of environmental crises were evaluated and the results they led to.

   Results. Issues of environmental protection and the quality of ecology are increasingly of concern to citizens, they quickly move from social to political. The ability to competently respond to overcoming environmental crises, minimizing their consequences can not only maintain the official position of a representative of state authorities and business stability, but also ensure social stability in society and trust in management institutions.

   The paper discusses the main approaches to understanding the ecosystem phenomenon. The evolution of its interpretation is demonstrated. The authors characterize various approaches to understanding digital ecosystems, their main elements, characteristic features, features, as well as the main mechanisms for creating ecosystem values. The main types of digital eco-
systems are given, depending on the type of ownership, among which centralized, decentralized and consortium-type ecosystems are distinguished. Conclusions are drawn about the ability of digital ecosystems to perform an intermediary function in the process of interaction between authorities and citizens, coordination of their opinions and priorities, and decisionmaking. The key threats associated with the transition of civic activity to an online environment are demonstrated. Based on the conducted research, the authors draw conclusions about the possibilities and features of studying digital ecosystems in politics. The authors argue that for a correct understanding of the phenomenon of the digital ecosystem, it is necessary to understand its structural components, the nature of their interaction with each other, as well as its desire to dominate social reality. The article highlights 10 key characteristics of the political digital ecosystem that can effectively perform their functions and act as actors in the political space (provide access to a wide range of services based on a single platform; ensure the unification of a large number of participants based on the principles of mutually beneficial relations; be based on a single account (access to all services of the platform is possible through a single account); represent a single brand for all services and infrastructure elements; provide multi-channel representation and interaction (website, application, groups in social networks, etc.); be aimed at meeting a wide range of socio-political needs of a person, from obtaining that or other information reference before the possibility to influence the decision-making in the place of residence (city, region or country); to provide the possibility of flexible changes in the structure of the ecosystem, involving constant interaction of members and their cooperation; to provide an opportunity for deliberative (deliberative) discussion and participation; to provide the possibility of building elements of the architecture of the digital services system based on their interconnection and close integration; to ensure openness and modularity).

   The Soviet experience of economic management was formed taking into account the experience of the American and European industrial management of the industrial revolution of the late 19th century. In turn, the Soviet model became the subject of close analysis in the West by the end of the second five-year plan. Contrary to the general consensus, attention was drawn not only to the question of the depth of the market, but also to the ratio of territorial and sectoral administration.

   The strategic development of modern Russian regions is acquiring more and clearer methodological content, mastering new models for analyzing the factors that determine the prospects for the development of economic entities. In relation to the analysis of the situation in terms of ensuring economic security, the results of which determine the development of a particular region, it is important to evaluate the practice of ensuring economic security, reflected in the development strategy of the region. Considering the essence of such a phenomenon as “development”, it is necessary to name
such aspects of this process as changes that accompany development and are aimed at achieving the goal. The researchers note that the changes, as a rule, are natural and irreversible. In terms of the strategic development of regions, as well as any socio-economic systems, changes of this kind are also irreversible, since they do not allow returning to their original state. The
strategic development of regions, as well as economic entities, provides not only an increase in internal potential, but also creates a competitive advantage when interacting with the external environment.

   The purpose of this study is to determine the special provisions of economic security in the regional development strategy using the example of a typical region of the Central Federal District, which allows us to assess the problems of implementing the directions of the country’s economic security strategy and determine the tasks for adjusting the regional development strategy.

   Among the research methods used are content analysis of documents, system analysis, methods of grouping and generalization, as well as methods of logical analysis and synthesis of information within the subject area of research. In this paper, it has been established that there are no independent sections on any aspect of economic security, and certain aspects are not presented systematically and reflect the target orientation of the strategy developers to a greater extent than contain specific projects and programs of direct action in terms of ensuring the economic security of the region. In general, in the text of a strategy of a typical region there is no emphasis on economic security, and general phrases in the form of tasks that the region needs to solve are similar to declarative statements about the need to resolve individual issues. For the future, an analysis is needed, which should be carried out from the point of view of the tasks set for each area of economic security, which are determined by the country’s economic security strategy, with the exception of issues related to the development of the national financial system due to the lack of powers of the region in this area.

   Throughout the long history of urban construction, citizens have been united by a common aspiration — to live in a beautiful city and a comfortable urban environment. Many generations of urban planners have sought to answer this question, but it has not been possible to answer it definitively even today. This is confirmed by the acute controversy being conducted in society today by participants in the urban planning process, including architects, urbanists, economists, urban planners, stakeholders, urban defenders, officials and ordinary citizens. At the same time, urbanism is often the subject of controversy — a concept that has an interdisciplinary nature and expresses an attitude to issues related to urban planning. Taking into account the exceptional importance of urban planning in ensuring the quality of life of the population, the article discusses issues related to clarifying the concepts of “urbanism” and “urban planning”, and also substantiates the need to create an educational program on this topic.

   The article shows the controversiality of the concept of “scientific worldview.” It indicates its connection with the ideology of Marxism, which claimed to reflect the objective laws of social development. The idea is made that within the framework of this approach, the understanding of the worldview as a source of personal meanings gives way to its vision as a combination of principles of socially significant activity. This approach is opposed to the position of Russian philosophers who criticized the concept of a scientific worldview and pointed out that the source of personal meanings that make up the content of the worldview is the life experience of the subject, understood as irrational introduction to being. To express such an introduction to being, the concepts of “world sense” and “world consciousness” used by Berdyaev can be used. Conceptual, scientific worldview means the attitude to reality as something external, otherworldly, i. e. is the position of substance. Science, according to Berdyaev, is knowledge of necessity through adaptation to world given and knowledge of necessity. To fill the meaning of the inner life of a person, a specific being of a person plays a decisive role, which acts as a form of rooting in being as such. In other words, a person acquires the main meanings of his existence not on the basis of a worldview, the content of which is a generalized image of the outside world, they are acquired from his own experience of spiritual growth, which constitutes the essential basis of life.

   This study examines how the impact of the coronavirus spread on business operations in the restaurant business varies depending on the level of restaurants adaptability to the challenges encountered during the pandemic, using three dimensions (analysis of consumer demand problems, optimization of corporate strategy and use of the company’s innovative potential). Through in-depth interviews with eight key food service industry experts in St. Petersburg, Russia, this study describes and fleshes out the rapidly transforming challenge of identifying major market changes in the restaurant business during the pandemic. The analysis showed that chain restaurants with sufficient resources to deal with employee turnover, technology development, brand building and customer loyalty are more resilient to the challenges resulting from the impact of the coronavirus spread than similar food service companies. While the presence of serious problems associated with consumer demand, the optimization of the offered dishes format and service had a significant impact on the relationship between the impact of the coronavirus spread and the inability to adapt to the new reality of doing business. The results of the research can be useful for entrepreneurs and managers of chain restaurants who develop marketing strategies to establish or adjust management decisions to adapt catering companies during a pandemic.

   Various reasons — political or non-political — lead people to participation in terrorism and similar forms of violent extremism. Those involved in terrorism come from different social backgrounds and have often been subjected to processes of violent radicalization. Terrorist profiles do not work as a tool to identify real or potential terrorists because such profiles do not reflect diversity and how people change when they become involved in violent extremism. Which suggests a more dynamic typology of militant group members based on dimensions that represent dynamic continuums rather than static positions. Disillusionment with what originally attracted them to the movement — whether it was political goals, the search for friendship or a sense of belonging — is one of the main factors leading to the process of leaving a militant movement or group. However, disengagement is far from simply reversing or mirroring the original process of engaging in violent extremism. In the course of their extremist career, individual activists tend to change values and motives, as well as positions and roles in the militant group. Hence, a better understanding of the factors that cause frustration for different types of violent activists allows us to suggest opportunities for strengthening these processes, contributing to a higher level of individual exit from an extremist group.

   This article examines the question of the existence of specific historical (general sociological) laws that operate throughout all stages of human history and differ from other laws of social existence. The authors have attempted to formulate the most obvious basic historical laws based on the available scientific developments, methodological approaches and ideas of researchers from both the distant and very recent past. The authors define the following list of historical laws: the law of cyclicity; the law of civilizational, event-based and personal uniqueness of the historical process; the law of balance and struggle of personal, group, corporate, state and civilizational interests; the law of cause-and-effect relationships; the law of unrealized alternatives; the law of unintended consequences. They reflect in the most concentrated form the current level of knowledge about the world historical process. They relate to the entire array of the past of human society. They are synthetic, complex, multidimensional and all encompassing. They manifest themselves in all periods of human history without exception. Therefore, they open up the possibility of a more conscious perception of the present and the formation of general scientific ideas about the deep mechanisms of the future development of society.