The article analyzes the political, economic and cultural development of Egypt over several millennia. It is claimed that Egypt is an ancient civilization, the «heart» of the Arab world and a recognized regional leader. The author explores the history of various state entities that existed on the territory of modern Egypt in the era of the Ancient World, Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern times. The emphasis is consistently placed on the rule of the pharaohs, Egypt’s presence in the Persian and especially the Greco-Roman world, the periods of the Arab conquest, Ottoman and British rule, the functioning of the independent Kingdom of Egypt and the Arab Republic of Egypt that succeeded it in 1953. The article contains a detailed overview of key events in the country’s internal life over the past 70 years, as well as Cairo’s activities in the international arena, including participation in the Arab-Israeli wars, relations with global and regional actors in the second half of the XX – early XXI centuries, the current position of the state as one of the leaders of the African continent. It is indicated that Egypt ranks first in Africa in terms of GDP, third in terms of population, has serious scientific and technical potential and advanced financial system by regional standards, actively attracts foreign investment and new technologies. In the field of foreign policy, Egypt, while maintaining relations with Western powers, is intensely cooperating with new centers of power, including Russia. The author concludes that today the Arab Republic of Egypt is a powerful regional actor that is diversifying its foreign policy and economic ties, as reflected by the country’s entry into the BRICS.

The main problem of water resources in Egypt is the increasing demand and decreasing supply, especially after the construction of the Ethiopian Renaissance Great Dam. One of the best solutions is the use of unusual alternative management techniques, including as a major one, rainwater harvesting and distribution. This paper examines the use of unconventional approaches to water management in arid regions based on rainfall accumulation. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and hydrological modelling, the suitability of the Wadi-Watir catchment (Egypt) for rainwater storage was assessed and optimal locations for the construction of storage structures were identified. The results of the study showed that 19% (666 km2) of the study area is highly suitable for the aims and objectives; 16% (573 km2) of the catchment area has limited realisability. Twelve sites were found to be suitable for the construction of storage dams. Fourteen sites are identified as optimal for the placement of percolation (filtration) reservoirs along watercourses. The area considered ideal for above-ground percolation (filtration) tanks is 25.9 km2. The optimum area for farm ponds is 1.34 km2. As a result, the construction of water storage structures is proposed to improve water management in the Wadi-Watir region. The implementation of the rainwater harvesting structures (SRF) was divided into three phases depending on the severity of the flash flood hazard. The first, second and third phases can meet 62.24% (34.24 mil m3) of the water demand. This approach is a new and modern solution to the problem of water scarcity under socio-economic and environmental pressures while achieving the goals of sustainable development in Egypt. The article is based on the dissertation research of Mohamed Mostafa Ezzeldin Abdelrahim (MGSU, dissertation council № 24.2.339.07, March 2024).

The article explores the main trends in personnel management within modern Russian organizations, identified through surveys of executives and HR managers. From the analysis of these surveys, employee retention has been highlighted as a priority in the face of a growing personnel deficit caused by demographic issues, the emigration of qualified specialists, and an aging population. The article also identifies specific characteristics of young professionals from Generations Y and Z, who make up a significant part of the workforce in today’s labor market. This necessitates the development and application of new approaches to employee retention to ensure organizational competitiveness. The concept of a candidate-driven market, which characterizes the labor market in most sectors of the modern economy in Russia, is explained in the article. Key factors contributing to staff turnover and employee satisfaction are highlighted, underscoring the need to develop comprehensive recommendations for staff retention that consider both macro- and micro-levels of organizational management. Based on the analysis conducted, the article proposes tools for employee retention that can be utilized by modern Russian companies in the context of an existing and intensifying shortage of personnel. The recommendations emphasize a humanistic approach to personnel management, as it focuses on the well-being and needs of employees. This approach recognizes the significance of each individual within the organization, emphasizing respect, honesty, and fairness in interactions. A humanistic approach fosters a trusting and supportive work environment where employees can realize their potential and feel valued. Thus, it not only enhances employee satisfaction and loyalty and reduces staff turnover but also contributes to improving overall productivity and efficiency within the organization.

The representation of women in public authorities reflects a number of more general issues related to gender equality, the peculiarities of women’s political leadership, women’s participation in politics, etc. The aim of this article was to identify gender proportions in the federal executive authorities and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for the period from 1991 to 2023. The study was conducted by statistical analysis of data presented in open sources, on the websites of the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government and other public authorities. This article reflects the dynamics of changes in the gender distribution of positions in the field of politics over the period under study. For the analysis, the highest positions of executive and other state authorities of the country were selected, as well as membership in both chambers of the Russian parliament, which made it possible to consider women’s representation in positions involving direct decision-making. The study raises the problem of the underrepresentation of women in senior political and elected positions in public administration. According to the results of the study, data on women’s representation in government over the past 33 years were systematized. A trend to increase the representation of women in high-level executive positions has been identified. At the same time, the number of women in the Cabinet of Ministers of our country in the entire history of the Russian Federation has not exceeded 11% or two female representatives at the same time. No more than two women at the same time had the opportunity to take the position of Deputy Prime Minister. There are positions that have been held exclusively by men for more than thirty years. The number of women in the country’s parliament is also small, but the positive trend here is more pronounced. With a global average of 26.5% female representation, in Russia there are only 18.4% women among the members of both houses of parliament.

The problem of the relationship between external and internal factors that initiated the events of the February Revolution in Russia occupies an important place not only in historical science, but also in a number of other related fields of knowledge. In this case, the role of the external factor is of particular importance, when foreign countries, pursuing their national interests, actively interfere in the internal life of a particular state. The extreme form of such interference is direct military clashes, but this does not exclude the use of other forms of influence. On the one hand, the countries that were opponents of Russia in the First World War, the leading position among which was occupied by Germany, saw the need to coordinate their military efforts with the incitement of internal revolutionary unrest in Russia. On the other hand, as the victory of the Entente countries in the war became increasingly obvious, the allies saw Russia as a future geopolitical competitor and sought to weaken it, pushing for the overthrow of the imperial power. Great Britain played a key role in this process. The aim of the article is to characterize the role of external factors in inspiring revolutionary events in Russia. To achieve this, a set of methodological approaches was used, among which system and factor analysis are of particular importance, allowing us to see the complexity of the system of international relations during the First World War and to identify the factors influencing Russia’s domestic political development and the forces acting from outside. Comparative analysis allows characterizing Russia’s place and potential in international events at the final stage of the world war. The article characterizes the policy of Germany and the Entente countries to initiate the February Revolution in Russia.

At the present stage of Russia’s development in the prevailing historical conditions, a period of deep conceptual transformations has begun, measures are being taken to free it from its continued dependence on crisis global processes, from the globalism policy of developed imperialist countries. Today, after three periods of permanent systemic crisis, through which Russia went from the early 80s to the early 2000s, the country is emerging from this dependence, returning to its mental ideological and cultural foundations, to state-political, economic, scientific, technical and technological sovereignty, to the status of a world power, renewed civilization, towards the consolidation of society. This period is characterized as a period of transformation and new modernization of society. The article, based on new approaches and methods of a comprehensive historical, sociological and formational-civilizational analysis of the problems of society’s development, examines the issues of the new modernization of society that has begun, analyzes and evaluates the persistent manifestations of the systemic crisis, issues of implementing an innovative anti-crisis management strategy, strategic planning and strategic management. Possible forecasts and alternatives for social development are considered. These processes require a clear, meaningful choice and implementation of a long-term strategy for the dynamic, innovative development of knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy, labor productivity growth, production recovery based on new reindustrialization and the industrial revolution, the development and implementation of achievements of the fifth technological order, scientific, technical, technological, information revolution, the formation of new scientific, human resources, including in the areas of governance of society and the state, ensuring comprehensive security and sovereignty of society and the state, regulatory support for these processes. This implies the choice of a new socio-economic, formational and civilizational model for further progressive development, taking into account positive domestic and foreign experience, and the corresponding ideological basis for these transformations. All this is becoming an urgent issue for the entire spectrum of social and social sciences, for educational practices.

The subject of the article is economic obligations in the implementation of social policy of large business structures. The aim of the study is to describe and summarize the practices of implementing economic obligations in the corporate social responsibility of large business structures, supplemented by identifying its impact on the performance indicators of the enterprise. The object of the study is the public joint-stock company KAMAZ — the largest automobile corporation of the Russian Federation, one of the 20 leading world manufacturers of heavy trucks, promoting the positioning of a socially responsible enterprise, which is reinforced in practice by the company’s leading positions in thematic ratings. The methodological basis of the study was the concept of corporate social responsibility. Research methods include case study, correlation and regression analysis. As a result, the relationship between investments in human capital and labor productivity of personnel was proven. Social programs within the framework of internal corporate social responsibility affect the interest of employees in labor relations, increase motivation, level of involvement and activity of personnel. Furthermore, the analysis revealed and proved the connection between investments in sustainable development of the enterprise and revenue. Social security of employees and satisfaction with working conditions motivates them to work more conscientiously, increase the level of involvement and activity of personnel. Thus, the efficiency and quality of work performed by personnel increases, and this in turn has a positive impact on the financial results of the company.

The development of the young generation potential is one of the most important state priorities in almost all countries of the world. The sphere of public regulation encompasses youth activity; which is a subject to predetermined directions of youth policy implementation. This enables the formation of a “corridor” of constructive youth activity and influence on the social consciousness of the young generation of citizens. This article examines the legal basis of state support to youth social initiatives; drawing upon a number of scientific studies and an analysis of official documents from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. The authors demonstrate that youth social initiatives in the legislative field of the compared countries are interpreted in a vague manner as socially useful labour; socially significant activities; and creative activity in a project format. Such initiatives are often defined in a more formal manner; although the substance of these definitions is not always clear. The official documents of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in the context of supporting youth social initiatives do not acknowledge the subjectivity of young people themselves; nor do they define the content of their activity as a socially significant activity. The normative definition of youth social initiatives fails to acknowledge the role of young people’s personalities and leadership. The diversity of the youth community is not adequately addressed. Public participation of young people is primarily defined by the inclusion of young Russians and Belarusians in political institutions specifically designed for them; as well as network and controlled youth public organisations and associations. The scientific novelty of this work lies in its outlined prospects for the development of Russian- Belarusian cooperation in the field of education and youth policy; based on the support of youth social initiatives; while taking into account the established practices of state support for youth activity. It is recommended that a definition of youth social initiatives be incorporated into various legal documents pertaining to bilateral cooperation. Moreover; the implementation of these initiatives should be facilitated through the involvement of youth organisations and associations; public discourse; and the development of project-based youth initiative ideas in collaboration with higher education institutions.

Currently, the use of alternative energy in the Russian Federation is one of the promising directions of economic activity, however, compared to other countries leading in this field, the pace of its development is not sufficiently high. The wide implementation of alternative energy technologies in Russia is hindered in part by the lack of a unified state policy aimed at forming a unified legislative system capable of creating the necessary legal basis for the energy stability of the state. Based on analysis and synthesis, systemic-structural and comparative legal methods, the authors conducted a study of the current state of alternative energy in Russia and abroad, and examined the existing regulatory framework in this area. As a result of the work done, conclusions were drawn that there are collisions and gaps in some regulatory documents in the field of alternative energy, which hinder their practical application. Regulatory legal acts, due to their diversity and frequent changes, lack a systematic character, significantly impeding the development of alternative energy. Deficiencies in the content of individual regulatory legal acts were identified, including noted fragmentary nature of legal regulation in the researched area. Taking into account the above, a conclusion was made about the necessity of developing and adopting a unified legislative act that will include key aspects of the development of alternative energy, eliminate contradictions and “gray areas” in the field of regulatory regulation of alternative energy in Russia. Such a systematized regulatory legal act could be the Federal Law “On State Policy in the Field of Alternative Energy”, which would become a comprehensive document regulating the foundations of development and activities in this area of economic activity. Other regulatory legal acts affecting this sphere should be adjusted in accordance with the provisions of the new Federal Law. Further development of the legislative and subordinate base in the field of alternative energy should be carried out on the basis of and in accordance with this Federal Law.

The paper considers the practical possibilities of using various methods of qualitative and quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of public policy implementation, detailed in the context of the problem of depressed regions rehabilitation. The aim of the study is to form a holistic and comprehensive model that allows analyzing the effectiveness of the implementation of state projects at the regional level, taking into account the specific features inherent in the economic and administrative spheres of the depressed subjects of the Russian Federation. The relevance of the research topic to these conditions is defined by the dynamic nature of the development of regional depression, as well as the need to improve public administration mechanisms in order to solve urgent problems of socio-economic development of regions and ensure opportunities for sustainable and balanced spatial development of the Russian Federation. The development of this topic includes the use of methods of retrospective statistical analysis, mathematical modeling, as well as abstraction and socio-economic comparison. Based on the results of the study, a theoretical concept has been formed, including a methodological apparatus that allows evaluating the effectiveness of existing models of public administration for the development of depressed regions. The conclusions obtained at the theoretical level are concretized in the context of a practice-oriented analysis of the state and prospects of development of the depressed region — the Ulyanovsk region, the results of the analysis fully prove the validity of the proposed methodological developments. Based on the results of the study, a number of practical conclusions were made, in particular, in the context of analyzing the effectiveness of public policy, the role of integrated non-financial quantitative assessment tools was updated, as well as a number of aspects of their practical application and further improvement were specified. The prospects for further use of the proposed evaluation model are related to the possibility of its implementation into the structure of software and analytical complexes currently used in public administration practice. The results of the study are of practical importance in the context of the possibilities of optimizing the control and evaluation functions of public authorities and, in particular, can be used by subjects of state strategic planning for the formation and subsequent assessment of territorial development plans of the Russian Federation.

Large language models (LLM) are finding new areas of application in practice, including the sphere of public and municipal administration. To increase the efficiency of the practical application of large language models rules and methods of interaction with them are developed, taking into account the specifics, a wide range of their possible use and increasing accessibility. The article examines the issues of improving the efficiency of large language models with various types of content using prompt engineering techniques. An analysis of a significant number of prompts for large language models and methods for their formation is presented. The article discusses the possibilities of using large language models, trained (customizable) using creative prompting for intelligent abstracting of various content with the subsequent generation of original texts and text documents for the sphere of state and municipal administration. The proposed methodology makes it possible to effectively integrate knowledge from various sources

into LLM training and turn it into a truly intelligent tool that expands the possibilities of its work. When applying this approach, the LLM acts as a powerful intelligent assistant that allows you to generate a document authored by the user of the system. The use of large language models opens up wide opportunities for employees in the field of state and municipal administration to automate the process of creating thematic texts, text reports, qualification papers, reviews and analytical notes. It also allows users to see possible new meanings, previously unnoticed associations, and even generate new ideas in the field of management in the process of analyzing the texts received during the abstract. The authors have shown that in order to improve the quality of intellectual abstracting, it is necessary to carry out the iterative use of different methods of teaching (tuning) LLM. At the same time, the initial selection of texts for training, which is made by the user based on his/her own knowledge of the subject area, is important.

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The article examines the issues of regulating the Russian financial system in the context of new challenges. The necessity of state regulation of the financial system development as a condition for the formation of financial relations that ensure the effective development of the economy is substantiated. The process of countering the impact of sanctions on the Russian financial system is analyzed; and it is shown that the increase in the system’s resistance was determined by measures reforming it during the pre-sanctions period. An assessment of the regulatory measures taken in the Russian financial system was carried out in accordance with the effect obtained. In order to assess the potential of adapting the financial system to existing and new challenges; the authors considered the financial indicators of the development of the credit; investment and financial markets; which revealed the development of a positive trend in the credit market due to the adaptation of the banking system to new conditions. The Russian investment market; on the contrary; shows negative trends related to the impact of sanctions; which have paralyzed the inflow of foreign investment. The authors prove that the reason for the development of the current situation is the lack of targeted support from government agencies to ensure the development of financial instruments for financing investment projects at the expense of internal sources of investment attracted from the financial market. The analysis of the financial market has shown that there are discrepancies between the activity of individuals in the financial market to open brokerage accounts and the actual transactions for the purchase of financial instruments due to the low level of financial literacy and lack of experience in conducting financial transactions for a significant majority of participants. To overcome this gap; the authors propose to introduce differentiation into the current system of improving financial literacy of the population by classifying participants by age; orientation to financial transactions; level of risk attitude; and also to include financial organizations that sell financial products to the population in this system.

The paper deals with the comprehensive study of calculation methods and the author’s methodology for adjusting the amount of rental payments for land parcels in state ownership with the permitted use for improvement using the case of Irkutsk city. The paper is focused on the urgent problem of compliance with established principles for determination of rent for land parcels, especially the principles of predictability of calculations, prevention of deterioration in the economic condition of land users and support of socially significant activities. A study of domestic and foreign practice has revealed two main problems in calculation of land rent: the adequacy of the cadastral value of land, mainly due to taking into account the maximum number of relevant factors, and the correctness of adjustment factors to this value when determining the rental rate. Using Irkutsk city as an example, the following shortcomings were found in the existing approaches: inaccuracy of the calculations and fixed coefficients and percentages applied to the calculation of rent within the municipality, regardless of the forms of permitted use. Special attention is paid to areas intended for improvement. These areas cannot be classified as investment assets that bring economic benefits. It is proposed to individualize the determination of adjustment factors to the cadastral value, taking into account the cadastral quarter and the type of permitted use. The developed changes comply with the principles for determination of rent enshrined in the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The proposed methodological improvements were tested by comparison of actual and estimated rent receipts to the budget of Irkutsk city in 2023. The application of the proposed methodology will prevent the termination of land lease agreements due to unreasonably inflated rent costs, ensuring a balance of public and private interests.

The article is devoted to the identification of factors that have a significant impact on the development of startups in the regions of Russia. Based on a system review of the academic literature, a theoretical framework for research has been developed, which include general (economic development, labour market, consumer market, financial stability) and specific (R&D and technological potential, human capital, level of digitalisation) factors in the context of innovative business growth. Using Data Envelope Analysis (DEA), we analyzed the impact of certain factors on startups that had passed specialized expertise reviews and received government support, according to data from StartupID. As a result, specific factors such as the research and technological potential of the region and its level of digitalization most strongly affect the activities of startups in the regions of Russia. Moreover, the consumer market, as well as economic development are essential for startups too; the financial provision of the region, its human capital and the labor market turned out to be insignificant for the successful activities of startups. The findings of the study have allowed us to identify regions that make the most successful use of existing conditions for the growth of innovative entrepreneurship. Based on this research, we have developed recommendations for improving government policies to support startups at the federal and regional levels. These include the development of local innovation ecosystems, which bring together key participants in the innovation process; stimulating cooperation between science and business; supporting interregional migration; and creating innovative and digital infrastructures. The findings of this study can also serve as a basis for business decisions by startup founders as they implement innovative projects.

Since 2011 Russian regions began to develop their own maternity capital programs. Initially their funding was small, but gradually some regions significantly modernized their programs, expanding the categories of participants and significantly increasing payments. In particular, in the fall of 2019, the government of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YNAO) announced a significant expansion of their regional program. The aim of this study is to test whether the positive birth rate dynamics in the YNAO compared to other regions was associated with the introduction of a relatively more generous maternity capital program. It is particularly noteworthy that the effects of updating the regional maternity capital program were observed in the context of a steady decline in fertility in Russia against the backdrop of growing socio-economic uncertainty, as well as stagnation and decline in real incomes of the population. To identify the direct effect of the regional maternity capital program, a discontinuity regression method was applied to individual data on fertility in the YNAO in 2015–2022. In addition to total fertility, models for different birth orders (for the first, second, third, and fourth and subsequent children) were considered. According to our estimates, the change in the total fertility rate (TFR) for all births amounted to 0.15. No effect was found for the first births, the growth of TFR for the second births amounted to 0.12, for the third births — 0.08. The observed changes were primarily related to the urban population’s fertility. Thus, we conclude that the modernization of the maternity capital program in the YNAO made it possible to slow down at the regional level the negative dynamics of fertility observed at the national level.