In modern history, public authority has expanded its political and legal interpretation. By an amendment to the Constitution of the Russian Federation from 2020 on improving the regulation of certain issues of the organization and functioning of public authority, the bodies of local self-government were included among the bodies of public authority. Based on Article 132 of the RF Constitution, LSG bodies entered the unified system of public authority in the Russian Federation and began to cooperate with state authorities for the most effective resolution of tasks in the interests of the population residing in the respective territory.

The European Charter on Local Self-Governance defines and the Constitution of the Russian Federation enshrines the historical and legal basis for the establishment of local self-governance in a particular territory — its autonomy. The cultural and historical peculiarities of the inhabitants of these territories must be taken into account.

The people of St Petersburg exercise their constitutional right to exercise power through local government. It has its own cultural code, which is expressed in special history, local customs and traditions, a multinational population, and a multitude of confessions. Local self-government is represented by 111 inner-city municipalities and 1 Council of Municipalities. Local government is regulated by the law on organization of local government in St Petersburg. The degree to which the residents’ right to power, and thus political stability in the region, depends on the quality of the local government’s performance of its powers.

The 2019 municipal elections changed the quality of the representative bodies by supplementing them with independent, non-systemic deputies. This circumstance allowed for a different perspective on the specifics of local government and the functioning of LSG bodies. In the opinion of the authors, this renewal is not so much the desire of the population of the metropolis to change the composition of the representative bodies, but rather the consequence of a consistent government policy of centralizing local self-governance. After the incorporation of local self-governance into the system of public authorities and the artificial subordination of its legal nature to the needs of state power, the managerial principle of federal megacities of urban unity became the main reason, exploiting which, as a screen, the state power consistently deprives LSG bodies of independence, reducing the financial basis, the number of issues of local significance, and traditionally local functionality.

The article attempts to determine the level of autonomy of LSG bodies of St. Petersburg, the direction of the vector of normative-legal regulation of state power in relation to the constitutional institution, to analyze the results of the findings, to draw conclusions and to assess the level of autonomy of local self-government in the political aspect, as well as the possible consequences of such state policy on the ground.

The aim of this article is to provide scientific substantiation of necessity of certain decisions of state power bodies with the aim of preventing governmentalization of local self-government in St. Petersburg, to offer concrete measures for decision-making by state power bodies.

Introduction
The dramatic nature on contemporary crisis of global political and economic architecture is determined by two factors: the deep degradation of nation-state systems of political and economic management and unfinished construction of the new system of global geo-economics relevant to the ongoing political transformations. The synergy of the two factors formed the effect of chaotization of economically important geographic and sectorial industrial environments. That factors explains the fact that the economic interdependence interrelationships that were regarded earlies as critical were dismantled so easy.
Purpose and importance
The significance of the research is emphasized by starting phases of structural transformations of the system of global politics and economics that we witness at this point taking into consideration that Russia is a part of the global system despite the special status of the country. And it is necessary to address the on-going changes and a historical process. The goal of the article is to deconstruct the underling mechanisms that US and transnational elites use to manage the global geo-economic trends through the transition to system of economic regionalization.
Methods
The article is part of the research that author conducts since 2019. The intermediate results of the study were published in several major scientific, political and discussion platforms. The taken article is based upon the generalization of the experience of the global geo-economic transformations that are reflected in the different formats of the institutionalization. The analysis involves a wide circle of analytical and experts’ assessments regarding the perspectives of development of the global economic architecture.
Results
The main scientific result of the article is to reconstruct the global geo-economic architecture that was planned for development in the period of mature America-centric globalization. The critical breakpoints that jeopardized the integrity of the global geo-economic environment are formulated. And in those breakpoints the scenario of «force geo-economics» can be employed. The variants of the post-crisis re-institutionalization in the neo-global world are outlined.
Development and discussion
The article is the means to outline for the discussion the authors’ conclusion that are based upon the reflection of the period of dismantlement of the economic system of the mature globalization. The research creates a basis for clarification of the perspective status of the geo-economic periphery and semi-periphery which becomes a vital segment of the world economy. The article supplements the research emerged in Russia and in the West that addresses the issue of the new economic geography of the neo-global world. The article also gives the opportunity to clarify the perspective niche that Russia can occupy in the perspective geoeconomic architecture.

A significant increase of migration flows directed to the Russian Federation from the PostSoviet states makes it possible to consider the modern Russian Federation as one of the main centers of migration attraction in the world, namely, the recipient state of external migration. Migration policy of the recipient state has certain features, which is due to the need to differentiate external migration into demanded and undesirable, to ensure a balance between the interests of government and society, to combine aspects of national security of the state and the personality with an economic and demographic approach to migration. Currently, there are several methods for determining the effectiveness of state migration policy developed by various international organizations, but these methods are focused on developing countries, which, as a rule, are the donor states of migration, or consider the effectiveness of individual components. For example, socio-cultural adaptation and integration of migrants into the host society. In this regard, the need to create new approaches of evaluation the set of measures realized by the state in the field of external migration in the context of the recipient state itself is actualized. Effective migration policy of the recipient state combines approaches that ensure the protection of national interests, the security of the state, society and the personality. It closes addressable the temporary needs of the national labor market, which makes it possible to formulate a number of objective criteria for its evaluation.

In a number of works by domestic and foreign authors, modern methods are proposed to solve the problem of the effectiveness of decision-making and execution. Quite satisfactory results have been achieved both in theoretical, methodological and applied terms. However, this only casually mentions the effect that occurs in any, and not only an unrealized solution — the appearance of some remnants; not unrealization, but fundamental unrealizability without a remainder. The very nature of unrealizability or the presence of residual has not been considered before, although the effect of residual is constantly observed. The discrepancy between the solution and its implementation was associated with the insufficient quality of the solution or with the shortcomings of its implementation, which is considered in the context of “incomplete information” and “the presence of hidden variables/factors”. This understanding allowed the remnants themselves to be considered in several angles and aspects: a) as a residue from the implementation (“unrealized opportunities”), b) as an over-realization of realized opportunities, c) as errors in the development of solutions, d) as technical, organizational, etc. disadvantages in the implementation of the solution, etc. However, the immediate consideration of the problem of evaluating the effectiveness of decision-making indicates the presence of a fundamental unrealizability in it, which is expressed in the appearance of a remainder when it is implemented in any case. Moreover, this remainder is not associated with realizability as such and not with the solution as such, but with the presence of a special property of residuality, which is of a fundamental nature. The purpose is to identify, describe and propose a method for assessing the phenomenon associated with the incompleteness of the implementation of a management decision, regardless of its quality. A set of logical and descriptive methods was used in the study. Results: a review of situations with the appearance of residues in decisionmaking is carried out; a criterion and a method for evaluating the effectiveness of decisionmaking is proposed, a rule for the residual implementation of a decision is formulated; a justification of the proposed rule in various aspects is given; a classification of options for the unrealizability of decisions is proposed. The results obtained can be useful in making and implementing a decision.

The Republic of Armenia requires investments for economic growth and development, including foreign direct investment due to the small capacity of the domestic market. The investment strategy must be consistent with the national development strategy and must be the resource base of the national strategy in terms of realizing the values and interests of the country’s residents. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the strategic priorities of investment development of the Republic of Armenia and to identify priority development sectors that have competitive advantages and investment potential. The methodological basis of the research is the theory of strategy and methodology of strategizing by academician V. L. Kvint. According to the strategy methodology, an analysis of global investment and national trends was carried out, and successful international experience in attracting investments was studied. The experience of Israel is considered, which demonstrates a striking example of improving the investment attractiveness of the country thanks to an effective investment strategy. The strategic priorities of Israel’s investment strategy are highlighted, some of which need to be implemented in the practice of attracting investments in the Republic of Armenia. To substantiate strategic priorities and highlight highly competitive industries, regulations governing the attraction of foreign direct investment in Armenia, the economic state of Armenia were studied, and an OTWS analysis of investment activity was conducted. Based on the results of a comprehensive analysis, the authors propose two groups of strategic priorities: primary strategic priorities and auxiliary priorities that enhance the significance and effectiveness of the former. The study shows that strategic industries with competitive advantages and investment potential for Armenia are the chemical and metallurgical industries, textile and clothing industries, tourism, pharmaceuticals, and agro-industry. An effective investment strategy for the Republic of Armenia is the basis for the country’s further development.

Many of the largest Russian companies are evaluated by international financial institutions or rating agencies in terms of their influence on ESG factors that take into account environmental issues, interaction with society and corporate governance. Such ratings can have various names, most often referred to as ESG ratings. The inherent subjectivity of the assessments, along with the lack of generally recognized standards and transparency of the methodology, cause concern both from the assessed companies and from investors and regulators. ESG ratings of Russian rating agencies are at an early stage of their development, which is reflected in a small number of evaluated companies. The purpose of the study is to study the main methodological problems in the compilation of ESG ratings identified by the academic and business community with a focus on studying the issue of choosing weights when constructing a summary indicator. The information base of the study is the data published by the rating agency RAEX, which is positioned as the largest agency in the field of non-credit ratings. A comparative analysis of the rating agency’s weight selection methods with nonparametric methods, such as methods of shell analysis, determination of preferences based on similarity with the ideal solution and calculation of the geometric mean is carried out. Based on the results of the study of the initial data of the rating agency, it can be concluded that most companies have low ratings for the environmental component and high ratings for the corporate governance component, while none of the companies has a benchmark rating. The main methodological problem in the selection of weights is the subjective nature of the weights used by the rating agency. Correlation analysis of the studied non-parametric methods showed a high correlation with each other and with the initial ratings of the rating agency, however, at the level of some individual companies, the ratings may differ depending on the chosen method.

The relevance of the research topic is due to the role and importance of the results of the activities of enterprises in the oil and gas sector, which is currently strongly influenced by modern transformational trends, for the development of the national economy. The article analyzes the results of the impact of the green trend, due to the objective need to follow the principles of ESG and respond to the challenges of decarbonization.

The purpose of the study is to study the impact of the green agenda and evaluate the effectiveness of ESG investments, as well as substantiate proposals for the implementation of ESG principles in corporate strategies of oil and gas companies.

Research objectives: to study the green cases of key Russian oil and gas companies; to evaluate the effectiveness of ESG investments; to formulate proposals that allow companies in the oil and gas sector to integrate more effectively into the ESG agenda.

Research methods: systematic approach, logical analysis, synthesis; The empirical method of rating assessment, content analysis of open sources, correlation and regression analysis were used.

Results. Despite the improvement of positions in profile ratings, the profitability of ESG investments is unstable, therefore, it is necessary to strengthen work to increase the level of environmental and social responsibility, and the effectiveness of risk management. It is necessary to consolidate at the legislative level the requirements for reporting on sustainable development, which still do not fully comply with international standards in the criteria part. Evaluating the effectiveness of ESG investments is complicated by several problems caused by the use of various approaches to integrating ESG principles and monitoring this process using KPIs, insufficient activity in tracking and disclosing information about the effectiveness of ESG strategies, etc.

The main conclusions. The successful and consistent solution of the tasks of green energy transfer allows us to achieve the application of corporate strategy methods and operational efficiency methods for key vectors. There is a high correlation between the indicators of ESG investments and the net profit of oil and gas companies; PJSC Tatneft and PJSC NK Rosneft have the most significant correlation coefficient. It is advisable to develop a document at the level of industry regulators that includes a package of preferences for oil and gas companies implementing the ESG agenda (tax incentives, provision of long-term and cheap financing by infrastructure state banks, accelerated depreciation of capital investments in ESG projects, ensuring stable financing of joint projects in the field of sustainable development of the regions where oil and gas companies are based).

This article outlines the concept of a tool for the implementation of socio-economic policy and considers the assessment of social infrastructure provision of the population as one of them, namely a systemic feedback tool. The paper discusses the importance of social infrastructure for the socio-economic development of the province and the methods of assessing the provision of the population with it, identifies the main stages of this procedure and its relationship with other key tools, which is presented in the form of a graphical scheme; discusses the main tasks and features of rationing of indicators as a procedure for developing a reference measure of assessment; discusses and systematizes the main approaches to the calculation of socio-infrastructural provision. At the same time, not infrastructure objects, but more fractional units — elements — are taken as calculation units. It is proposed to systematize various calculation methods in the form of a matrix depending on the arguments used.

During the period of higher education reform, there is an increasing need to identify new approaches and develop the discussed models of interaction between the university and students, employers and authorities, which makes it relevant to study the prospects of university structures from the perspective of the ecosystem approach. The purpose of this study is to determine the main characteristics of the ecosystem as a socio-economic phenomenon, the projection of which onto the higher education system gives an idea of the strategically significant directions of its development. Among the research methods, content analysis of scientific publications, methods of paired comparisons and aggregation of keywords for constructing verbal models, as well as methods of logical analysis and synthesis of information within the subject area of research were used. The work identifies the main parameters of educational ecosystems in terms of prospects for the development of higher education in modern Russian conditions. As a result, an integral definition of such a concept as “ecosystem” is given, and in relation to the higher education system, the possibility of building a network structure of a university system using innovative platforms aimed at realizing synergistic effects for all participants in the educational ecosystem being formed is shown.

The purpose of the article is to analyze the regional road network of the Russian Federation, to identify the main factors affecting its condition depending on the federal district. Recently, investments have improved the situation in the field of repair and construction of regional roads, but the condition of regional roads remains unsatisfactory — about half of all regional roads do not meet regulatory requirements. Based on the analysis of the regional road network, it is necessary to make a decision on the investment of a particular road facility. The article examines the relationship between factors such as the percentage of regional highways that do not meet regulatory requirements and the individual rating of the standard of living. The question is also raised about identifying the most problematic places in the regional road network based on mathematical statistics methods, building dependencies of the share of bad regional roads on the length of federal roads, on the road climate zone, on the gross regional product per capita, on population, on the density of the road network and other factors. The main research methods are correlation and regression analysis. As a result of the study, a statistical analysis of the quality of the highway network of regional significance in the federal districts of the Russian Federation for 2007–2022 was carried out, the main patterns and dependencies of the percentage of roads that do not meet regulatory requirements on the density of the road network, gross regional product, and road climate zone were revealed. Conclusions are obtained that at the moment the state of regional highways and the gross regional product are poorly correlated values. On the contrary, the condition of regional roads strongly correlates with the index of quality of life in the region and the length of federal roads. In the first case, there is a strong positive correlation, in the second — a strong negative one.

Key issues of Russian labor market transformation in the context of new challenges are discussed in this article. The authors pay special attention to the issue of perception of “high qualification” notion considering rising importance of soft skills. The authors’ approach to the solution of work force shortage issue is based on the analysis of trends in Russian labor market presented in the article and provides for two sources: retraining and reproduction of manpower on national base, and attraction of foreign specialists. The employer bears final responsibility for the professional’s work results regardless of model used to assess qualification, so the employers’ role in assessing (and more importantly developing) staff qualification should be fundamental.

The article analyzes the main factors and reasons for the decrease in the working capacity of the Leningrad power system before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, at the same time, it assesses the readiness of city services for the hardest military tests that befell the residents of the city. According to the authors of the publication, the leadership of Leningrad in the late 1930s, due to a number of circumstances, both objective and subjective, could not take adequate organizational and technological measures to expand production and develop the energy infrastructure of the region. As a result, by the beginning of the war, the Leningrad power system was technologically and organizationally insufficiently prepared for a complete or partial blockade of the city.

The article is devoted to the consideration of issues of analysis of strategic trends of various levels and nature in the context of the impact on the socio-economic development of regions. The purpose of the study is to expand the tools for trend analysis, as one of the key stages in developing the concept of a strategy for the socio-economic development of regions in accordance with the strategizing methodology of a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor V. L. Kvint. At the same time, the presented tools are relevant both to regional strategizing in general and can be used in the development of industry and corporate strategies. A hierarchical structure of trends, a scheme for decomposing trends into channels of influence, and proposals for the procedure for assessing their individual and joint influence are presented, for which both econometric modeling and statistical methods, as well as expert assessments, can be used. The application of the presented proposals is demonstrated by the example of decomposition and analysis of global trends, however, a similar algorithm is applicable for national, regional and subregional trends. Based on the results of the analysis, the conclusions were confirmed that trends contain and create multidirectional impulses for the strategized object, capable of both enhancing and neutralizing each other, and therefore they need to be analyzed in detail and taken into account when developing regional strategies to achieve maximum efficiency.

Purpose. The article engages in a comprehensive analysis of the legal and normative foundations of international activities of the Russian sub-state regions with an emphasis on regional parliaments.

Methods. In order to compile the study, the author draws upon a case-oriented research design and engages in two approaches namely comparative and political-legal. The case of the study is St. Petersburg, a Russian region, and its supreme legislative body namely the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg.

Results. The author has defined the general normative-legal foundations of the international activity of the Russian regions, outlined the general normative-legal foundations of the international activity of the legislative authorities of the Russian regions and analysed the normative-legal foundations of the international activity of the representative authority of the Russian regions and their proportion with the executive branch of power in the case of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg and the system of executive authorities of St. Petersburg. In addition, the author outlined the problems of legal regulation of international activities of Russian regions.

Conclusions. Firstly, in terms of legal basis, the regions of the Russian Federation have a limited range of freedom in the sphere of international relations, consisting in the maintenance of cultural and economic ties, and the international activity of the regions itself is under the control of the federal authorities. Secondly, the federal legislation of Russia contains legal uncertainties regarding the interpretation of concepts and the definition of specific mechanisms and forms of international activities of the regions. Thirdly, federal legislation, while not defining the clear competences of regional parliaments, provides the Russian regions to independently determine the specific powers of their authorities within the framework of federal and regional legislation. Fourthly, the competences of international activities of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg are limited to the status-value, normative-recommendary and advisory-expert nature. Fifthly, the structure of the powers of public authorities in St. Petersburg shows a prevalence in the powers of international activities between the legislative and executive authorities in favour of the second one