The Great Patriotic War was not only the opposition of countries, but also the struggle of ideologies. Fascism was defeated, communist ideology and democratic practices won and began to compete among themselves. Mutual deterrence in post-war Europe contributed to fascism and neo-nazism not becoming a threat to society.

The weakening of external political governance and the collapse of the USSR led to a qualitative increase in nationalism in Eastern Europe. However, in the Baltic states the transformation of nationalism into authoritarianism, and authoritarianism into fascism, which took place in the 20-40 years of the last century, is repeated again. Two articles are devoted to the specifics of this process. The first tells about the specifics of the political systems of the modern Baltics, the history of the Baltic countries and the genesis of fascist ideology in the Baltics. The second article will be devoted to Baltic nationalism as a factor in the formation of authoritarian and fascist practices, the assessment of the prospects for the revival of fascism in the Baltics and the analysis of this danger for Russia. The anniversary of the Great Victory is a good reason not only for pride in the past, but also for finding threats to the future.

The purpose of the article is to substantiate the directions of improving the communication potential of electronic portals of public authorities of the Russian Federation through an empirical analysis of their main problems and specific characteristics. The methodological basis of the paper is the focus group research with the participation of key stakeholders of the communication tools of regional authorities responsible for the development of industry. The study was attended by representatives of the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation responsible for interaction with industrial enterprises, representatives of industrial enterprises themselves, as well as representatives of research institutions or universities that are engaged in development for industry. The scenario of each focus group included both an assessment of the websites of the authorities responsible for the implementation of the industrial policy in the region and, in general, a description of the communication policy of the public authorities, which was based on the experience of respondents (stakeholders). The results of the analysis made it possible to rank the official portals of public authorities responsible for industrial development. The study concludes that the main barriers to the development of information society communication policies include: technological and infrastructural problems; the use of non-working or outdated communication tools, in particular, the lack of communication with social media accounts; the lack of visual and contextual content that emphasizes the specifics of the region; excessive politicization of the site; the information reporting nature of the site and the use of an exclusively bureaucratic language. These problems are systemic in nature and reflect the general problems of the communication policy of the public authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as a result of which the organization of interaction with key stakeholders is not based on common ideas, objectives and meanings, but on disparate interests. Interaction of public authorities with key stakeholders within the framework of the government portal can be improved by working with the competence potential of public authorities; technological development of communication tools of public authorities, including the assessment of their effectiveness; formation of growth points and directions of transformation of communication policy in the context of the development of the information society.

The article discusses the concept of «youth», «youth policy» through the prism of historical, socio-political and legislative aspects of state youth policy in the Russian Federation. The authors analyzed the constitutions of the RSFSR and the USSR for the purpose of determining in them the concepts of the constitutional legal status of youth, as well as the constitution and legislation of the CIS member states, model legislative acts of the IPA CIS. As a result of the research of regulatory legal acts and specialized literature in the area of state youth policy, general patterns and legal uncertainties were identified: in terms of categorical-conceptual apparatus (for example, the lack of a definition of the term “teenager”), the age limits of youth, and problematic aspects of youth policy, an attempt was made to formulate development vectors and ways of addressing them.

European experience of integration is important not only as a set of “best practices,” but also as a way to take into account negative experience of European integration. It is necessary to achieve the most thorough, ideologically neutral study of the unique European experience. The key point is the transition from economic integration to political integration. It is this point that is extremely important for the Eurasian Economic Union. Attempts of forced transition from economic integration to political integration have created problems for the European Union, and their complexity has been underestimated. Effective integration into the EAEU is possible and effective within the economic field, but the political space of integration today can rather be compared to the minefield, good experience of movement on which is accumulated in Brussels.

The article considers the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the resulting new requirements for the quality of education. There is an increase in the importance of information technologies in socio-economic processes, in particular in education. At the same time, the authors prove that the main thing in education is its result, not the educational technologies used. High-quality economic education requires the active use of not only new “fashion” technologies, but also traditional educational technologies.

One of the main directions of economic development of the Russian Federation is the increasing of the role of innovative production and reorganization of the economic system needed to accelerate the pace of formation of the innovative economy. Despite the tasks set by the strategy of innovative development of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2020, the pace of innovative development of the state economy, and accordingly regional economies, is extremely low, and the share of foreign technologies in production processes exceeds 60%. The reformation of the vision of strategic development of innovation economy in Russia is directly connected with defining the actual level of innovative development of regions and formation of mechanisms for the creation of regional and interregional scientific-technical research and innovation infrastructure, which in the long term will provide the current trends of innovative development. Today, the vast majority of regional economies have a high need for new technologies and the formation of the domestic base of scientific and technical production. The needs of the regions are determined not only by the obsolescence of production bases and technological resources, but also by the growing imbalance between the levels of development of regional economies and their isolation. One of the possible options for strategic management of innovative development is the creation the mechanisms of formation regional and interregional innovation and scientific and technical clusters, and, as a consequence, production clusters. However, in order to apply the advantages of cluster development, it is necessary to study the innovative potential of the subjects of the Russian Federation, which will ensure an effective combination of regional economies. This article presents the results of the cluster analysis of the subjects of the Russian Federation on one of the indicators of the innovative potential of the regional economy, as well as the key trends of innovative development of the subjects of the Russian Federation included in the identified clusters.

The article discusses the trends in the use of renewable energy sources and the possibility of financing them according to market and budget schemes. Today, the issue of green financing is very relevant and is being discussed all over the world at the highest level, since the main advantage of such energy is its inexhaustibility and environmental cleanliness. The use of renewable energy does not change the energy balance of the planet, which is very important in the framework of the concept of sustainable development and for the transition of national economies to a reduced level of dependence on hydrocarbons. These qualities served as the reason for the rapid development of renewable energy abroad and in Russia. From a practical point of view, the transition to sustainable development means a fundamental change in business and management processes in order to stop the destruction of key ecosystems, the depletion of non-renewable resources and the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Sustainable development has ceased to be an exclusively academic concept and is becoming mainstream in the world of business and investment, which requires the development of management tools, both market and administrative-state type.

At present, comprehensive research from various points of view (social, economic, ethical, and legal) on the implementation of artificial intelligence technologies in various spheres of society’s life is of particular relevance. It is important to identify opportunities and threats, to determine the limits of the use of artificial intelligence in practice.

The article is devoted to the introduction of artificial intelligence technologies in higher education. Prospective directions of using artificial intelligence in higher education are considered and analyzed. The authors conclude that artificial intelligence is not a competitor to the teaching staff, either in teaching or in evaluating students’ knowledge. Artificial intelligence is an auxiliary, but valuable tool that can perform and improve a large number of different operations performed at the University, help in organizing an effective educational process and building the necessary communications. Effective use of AI technologies in higher education will allow you to select the most optimal learning strategy adapted to the individual abilities and needs of students and the needs of the labor market.

The main asset of banks is staff. Attracting and retaining workers of mass specialties directly involved in client work becomes an increasingly difficult task due to the “demographic pit” of the 1990s. Banks are faced with the task of maintaining operational efficiency, minimizing operational risks and high standards of sales and customer service, which can be realized by highly loyal personnel. To study and measure this emotional connection between employees and organizations, regular measurements of the employee engagement index are carried out, covering all aspects of work in the company. Surveys help identify areas of development in employee involvement and make the right management decisions that are important for this category of bank personnel.

The subject of the article is the systematization of definitions, requirements and approaches to the involvement of bank employees and to the interpretation of the results of its research in the context of the organization and its strategy.

The aim of the article is to establish a direct relationship between the strategy, organizational effectiveness and employee involvement within the framework of the 7S concept, systematize theoretical approaches and formulate a single definition of personnel involvement, justify the need to increase employee involvement for the bank, identify the factors of involvement and groups of bank personnel to which they are applicable, analysis the mechanism of answers to questions from employees and the performance matrix and possible measures of managerial impact as a result there is a survey and their interpretation.

The argument is justified that the effectiveness of the organization in the implementation of its strategy directly depends on the involvement of staff; the system of compensations and benefits is the most important driver of involvement with employees of retail mass specialties (initial in a career).

Conclusion: although the involvement factors cover all aspects of working in a bank, for mass workers (initial positions in a career) engaged in client work, the remuneration and benefits factor affects everyone else and is cross-cutting.

The purpose of this article is an institutional analysis of the factors that hinder the institutionalization of elections in contemporary Russia. Theoretical basis of the study are the behaviorism theory considered in the context of elections, as well as the theory of formal and informal institutions. The framework for the analysis of the electoral system of the Russian Federation was formed on the basis of these theories. The theories of behaviorism and formal and informal institutions make it possible to divide elections into constituents, which together with the analysis of changes in electoral legislation and the study of the actions of government agencies solves the key research issue of this paper. On the basis of theoretical analysis, a number of conclusions were drawn about the

electoral system in the Russian Federation as an institution of political life. In particular, the factors preventing the development of elections as one of the fundamental components of the democratic way of life in the state were highlighted. These include: the existing social conformism in society regarding the electoral process; considering elections as a way of fighting between competing political actors and parties rather than as a democratic mechanism to express the interests of the people; relatively frequent changes in the legislation governing elections, especially when these changes are not accompanied by additional measures aimed at conveying the motives of government actions to citizens; manipulation of elections, which is possible thanks to the fact that they are not accompanied by additional measures. The study shows that these factors increase the tendencies to absentism, strengthen the role of incubator, but reduce the institutional capacity of elections.

Relations with international multilateral institutions and regional organizations are an important issue affecting the prospects for the development of the BRICS cooperation mechanism (a group of countries from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Many large international organizations (economic groups / blocs) have more experience in establishing international cooperation, paying particular attention to relations with other multilateral institutions. Based on the application of this interactional format, international organizations integrate their results and decisions into global governance and the financial and economic system of the whole world.

Such an approach can enhance international influence and recognition; increase the effectiveness of cooperation between member states of an organization. And as a platform for cooperation between developing countries, BRICS is an open international organization. There is currently no permanent establishment in BRICS (for example, an administrative apparatus or a functioning secretariat) for overall coordination. As expected, the space for expanding the powers and capabilities of the BRICS is quite large.

Today, BRICS has created fundamental platforms for cooperation and dialogue — summit of BRICS leaders, permanent ministerial meetings, Business Forum, Business Council, BRICS Think Tank meeting, New Development Bank, BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, and the “BRICS+”. The “BRICS+” is considered one of the key ways to expand the international participation of the BRICS. Under the auspices of the “BRICS+”, leaders of countries and organizations of the region where the summit is held are invited to participate in the BRICS summit. This article discusses the theoretical foundations and practical significance of the efforts of the BRICS countries to expand the international influence of the organization through the development of “BRICS+”, “BRICS- Outreach” within the framework of creating an open platform for discussing the current international agenda and issues of regional socio-economic development, as well as for wider international recognition and prospects for the implementation of BRICS projects.

The article aimed to conduct strategic analysis of digital solutions implementation in the urban governance. For that purpose international practice of digital transformation of such cities as Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London and Barcelona was discussed and the best practices of digital solutions implementation in Moscow and other Russian regions were identified.

Taking into account cities economic and demographic growth in the modern world, the new reality possesses principally new tasks in the sphere of urban governance and development.

There is a gradual revision of the governance of urban development approaches under these conditions. It is increasingly based on advanced technological solutions, digitalization and platformi-zation.

The book reveals the early period of Life and Creativity of I. A. Bunin, the time of his formation as a poet, prose writer, publicist, literary critic, shows the inseparable connection of his journalistic works with prose and poetry.