The article examines the influence of the population’s value orientations on the choice of economic development strategies for small cities. Many researchers emphasize the interconnection between the social field (P. Bourdieu), cultural codes (A.A. Auzan), trust factors (F. Fukuyama), and the results of entrepreneurial activity in a territory, as well as its level of economic development. The research hypothesis posits the possibility of measuring the population’s value orientations as one of the key factors in selecting economic development measures for a territory. The study is based on the theoretical and methodological framework of Spiral Dynamics, which distinguishes eight levels of citizens’ value orientations that can transform from lower to higher levels throughout the life. The aim of the study is to identify the value levels of the population in six small cities of the Ivanovo region (Palekh, Gavrilov Posad, Yuryevets, Rodniki, Teikovo, Shuya), their common and distinctive features, which should form the basis for developing economic development measures aligned with the prevailing value orientations. Data collection was conducted via an electronic questionnaire on the Anketolog platform, with a total of 1663 valid responses from six cities. The findings contribute to the theory of endogenous territorial development based on residents’ values and to theories of social development by proposing mechanisms for incorporating public opinion into targeted state interventions for regional socio-economic development. The practical significance of the work lies in substantiating approaches and scenarios of accounting the differences in population value orientations, which is critical for designing effective social and economic development strategies, as managerial decisions that ignore the dominant values of the population are highly likely to be met with resistance or misunderstanding.

The climate agenda is global in scope, however, the long-term consequences of climate change and mitigation strategies vary across regions. This is due to the natural-geographical, socio-economic, and institutional characteristics of territories. In this regard, the development and implementation of climate policy measures require consideration of regional features, which makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of both adaptation and mitigation measures. The article proposes a Climate Profile Index for Russia’s regions that reflects the exposure of the regions of the Russian Federation to climate risks, their contribution to climate change, and their adaptive capacity, as well as a Climate Concern Index that demonstrates the willingness of regional authorities to respond to the climate change. The comparison of the two indices allowed us to assess the relationship between a region’s exposure to climate risks, its contribution to global warming, and the level of attention given by regional authorities to adaptation and mitigation. The results showed that the level of concern about climate change among regional authorities is not associated with the region’s Climate Profile Index. Regardless of its contribution to global climate change and exposure to climate risks, a region may either demonstrate a high level of concern or refrain from taking active measures. Understanding this discrepancy between the level of exposure to climate risks and the extent to which they are taken into account in strategic decision-making at the regional level leads to two important conclusions. First, it indicates the insufficient maturity of climate policy in most regions of the Russian Federation. Second, this circumstance highlights the need for additional efforts to develop the climate agenda at the regional level, which in turn can be considered as one of the indicators of the sustainability of regional development.

The article analyses professionalization of the civil sector as a factor of its inclusion in multi-actor governance. In the context of polycentric network governance, the civil sector is viewed as a structurally necessary actor in public policy, providing expertise, mediation and promotion of social innovation. The underdevelopment of this sector leads to erosion of public control mechanisms, decrease in the inclusiveness of public policy and increase in paternalistic expectations of citizens. The key mechanism for the transition from spontaneous, episodic activity of civil society organizations to sustainable forms of participation is professionalization, which is understood as the process of institutionalization of managerial and expert competencies of the organization. The aim of this work is to determine the impact of the professionalization of civil sector organizations on their positioning in public policy in various institutional settings. Within the framework of the presented research, a conceptual and theoretical analysis was conducted in the outline of the concepts of network and collaborative management, new institutionalism and the concept of the civil sector track. The article shows that the effects of professionalization depend on the specific institutional context. To analyze the mechanisms of the civil sector influence, a model of the political cycle was used, which makes it possible to consider professionalization as a set of functional resources at various stages of political decision-making. It is emphasised that professionalization is not a linear process and is accompanied by increase in risks that can complicate the activities of civil sector organizations, and pointed out that risk minimization is possible through the development of participation procedures, the implementation of conflict prevention mechanisms, the separation of strategic and operational functions, as well as through the diversification of the resource base, the transition to long-term financing and implementation financial planning tools.

The article describes a methodological approach to the integral assessment of the socio-economic effectiveness of communications (ASEEC), developed by the authors for Russian companies with state participation. The relevance of the study is determined by the lack of a comprehensive toolkit for evaluating communications in this type of organization. Existing evaluation tools — ROI, SROI, media metrics, reputation rankings — capture individual aspects of communication activities but fail to account for both economic and social dimensions simultaneously. The ASEEC methodology addresses this gap through a dual-circuit architecture. The basic circuit relies on publicly available data sources — media monitoring systems, employer rankings, disclosure data — ensuring reproducibility of results without access to internal reporting. The extended circuit integrates management accounting data. The theoretical foundation draws on new institutional economics: communications are viewed as a mechanism for reducing transaction costs. Indicators are divided into flow variables (media stability) and stock variables (social reputation), accounting for the different time-dependent nature of components. The methodology was tested on two hypothetical organizations in the nuclear energy and defense industries. The results demonstrate diagnostic capabilities of the methodology: the gap in index values indicates systemic differences of the communication function in the organizations. The practical significance of the study lies in the applicability of the methodology for comparative analysis of corporate communications, identification of weaknesses, and prioritization of development areas. The methodology is designed for large companies with state participation; applicability to other types of organizations requires further testing.

The issue of classifying the numerous and ideologically diverse branches of Russian nationalism in modern Russia remains unresolved, which complicates both the academic study of the phenomenon and its correct public perception. Existing approaches, whether based on binary divisions (civic vs ethnic nationalism) or derived from value-based frameworks, have either been formulated for the purposes of individual studies, or represented unnecessarily cumbersome constructions. The aim of this article is to characterize the key existing approaches to classifying various trends of Russian nationalism in post-Soviet Russia. The research is grounded in historical-genetic and evolutionary methods, which have made it possible to trace the development of classification schemes in Russian and international historiography (drawing on the works of H. Kohn, L. Greenfeld, V.A. Tishkov, E.A. Pain, A.M. Verkhovsky, V.S. Malakhov, M. Laruelle, and others). The study identifies the principal shortcomings of existing classifications: the value-laden nature of the “good/bad” nationalism binary, the insufficient consideration of the specific features of Russian nationalism when applying general approaches to classifying nationalism as a whole, and the limited effectiveness of using any of the examined approaches in isolation. The research proposes a synthetic model that combines V.S. Malakhov’s value-based classification (“whites/ reds/browns” supplemented by the category of “national democrats”) with the “ethnic/imperial nationalism” binary scheme as interpreted by M.O. Komin² and E.D. Ponarin. A potential application of the proposed model is demonstrated through the construction of dynamic tables showing the distribution of nationalist organizations across three time periods (the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s). The proposed model not only captures the value orientations of organizations but also accounts for their views on territorial issues and their stance towards the state. This approach provides a foundation for further empirical research into the dynamics of the nationalist spectrum and can be utilized in subsequent applied studies. 

The article is devoted to the analysis of the consequences of large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) systems integration in the public administration system of the United States of America. The relevance of the topic is determined by the rapid institutionalization of AI in the administrative and defense structures of the U.S. federal government, which creates precedents and models that are significant for the global practice of public administration. The object of the study is the U.S. public administration system, and the subject is the organizational, regulatory, and strategic consequences of the integration of generative AI systems (GPT, Gemini, Grok, and Claude models) into the activities of federal agencies and defense structures. The aim of the study is to identify the key consequences, opportunities, and risks associated with the integration of AI systems into the practice of U.S. public administration in 2023–2026, as well as to assess the institutional and regulatory mechanisms for regulating this process. The study uses comparative analysis, content analysis of regulatory and strategic documents, and the case study method. The results show that Trump administration is pursuing a policy of accelerated deregulation and commercialization of AI infrastructure in the public sector, which creates a number of systemic contradictions: between the requirements of security and the pace of implementation, between the corporate interests of developers and the objectives of public administration, and between the desire for technological leadership and the need for international legal regulation. The study identifies the phenomenon of “algorithmic path dependence”, where the choice of a specific commercial AI platform establishes the information priorities and values of private corporations in the practice of public administration. The novelty of the study lies in the comprehensive examination of the administrative, defense, and international legal aspects of the use of generative AI in the context of the radical reform of U.S. public administration, which fills a gap in the Russian-language scientific literature.

A systemic paradox of decompensated operational efficiency persists in small businesses. A critical gap is observed between high operational activity, formal achievement of local KPIs, and a lack of strategic growth, indicating a dissipation of resources to compensate for dysfunctions. Existing management approaches fail to offer a holistic methodology integrating a systemic vision, motivational aspects, and accurate measurement of results. This article is devoted to the development and theoretical substantiation of a concept and practical methodology for managing the logistics service system of small businesses, based on the principles of systemic efficiency and teleological management, aimed at overcoming this paradox. The methodological framework of the study is based on the teleological principle (goal setting), E. Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints (TOC), a holistic approach, and the principles of behavioral economics on motivation and meaningfulness of work. The study applies a critical analysis of existing management paradigms, structural and logical analysis, and a case study method. The informational basis was formed by theoretical principles from domestic and international literature in the fields of logistics, performance management, and organizational behaviour. The study revealed the destructiveness of the local optimization paradigm. A concept for managing the end-to-end flow of value through systemic constraints was formulated. A four-stage transition methodology was developed. Principles for constructing a sustainable metrics system that neutralizes Goodhart’s law were defined. This work develops a new conceptual framework and provides practical tools for transforming the logistics service system of small businesses into a value driver, identifying prospects for quantitative assessment and digitalization of the methodology.

This article presents a sociologically grounded methodology for training AI agents to rate videos, simulating human ratings while taking into account socially conditioned models of content perception by real users. It should be noted that there are practically no articles directly on the methodology of training AI agents to simulate human evaluation of videos with sociological evaluation in journals for 2021–2026, but there are similar publications (in foreign and Russian sources), the authors of which focus on AI assessment of social situations in video games and sociological simulation of behaviour. The study addresses the discrepancy between algorithmic ratings and video perception by different social groups, which arises due to the algorithms’ reliance on formalized metrics and their ignorance of the sociocultural characteristics of viewer perception. The methodology draws on theoretical approaches from symbolic interactionism, social representation theory, and social constructivism, as well as concepts from digital sociology and media perception theory. It relies on four key principles: social representativeness of data, modeling of social processes, accounting for variability in perception, and transparency of artificial intelligence (AI) decisions. A system of sociological criteria for assessing the humanlikeness of AI decisions has been developed. Mechanisms for validating results are proposed, including calculating the agreement coefficient between AI and social group assessments, determining the proportion of AI decisions that users cannot distinguish from human ones, analyzing the percentage reduction in appeals compared to traditional systems, and assessing the cultural adaptability index, namely, the model’s ability to operate correctly in different sociocultural contexts. This methodology will bridge the gap between algorithmic and social assessment of video content, and its implementation will increase the relevance of AI systems by taking into account group differences in viewer perception, thereby contributing to the creation of more balanced and socially appropriate decisions in the digital media space. In the long term, this will allow for more sustainable content evaluation practices that focus not only on formal criteria, but also on the dynamics of social norms and audience values.

The article analyses the BRICS countries cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) as a factor in ensuring technological sovereignty amid geopolitical tensions that require each of these countries, including Russia, to counter the threat of technological dependence on Western technologies. The challenge lies in striking a balance between cooperation with other countries possessing complementary resources and competencies, and maintaining control over critical technologies. This requires analyzing various aspects of international interaction, and balancing the benefits and risks of participating in global value chains. The aim of the study is to assess the opportunities and challenges of BRICS cooperation in the field of AI. An analysis of the global competitiveness of the BRICS countries based on international AI and ICT indices shows the heterogeneity of the development of these areas. China, the UAE, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia occupy leading positions in AI development rankings. Scientific activity also varies significantly, with China leading the way in the number of highly cited AI publications from 2019 to 2023, surpassing both the BRICS countries and global indicators. The article highlights the priority areas of cooperation: institutionalization of cooperation mechanisms, the introduction of AI in critical sectors of the economy, the development of unified ethical standards, educational projects and cybersecurity. The main obstacles to joint projects include the coordination of different strategies for the development of the digital economy, regulatory differences, heterogeneity of scientific and technological potential, and financial constraints. As a result, it is revealed that further deepening of institutionalization and harmonization of the regulatory environment are necessary to increase the technological sustainability and independence of the BRICS countries.

The article presents a comparative analysis of value orientations across six generative neural networks of different national origins: American ChatGPT and Claude, Chinese DeepSeek, French Mistral AI, and Russian YandexGPT and GigaChat. The rapid penetration of such systems into everyday information environments raises the question of what ideological attitudes they transmit to their hundreds of millions of users. The study aims to identify and systematize these attitudes and to describe the mechanisms through which they influence the components of political consciousness. The methodological framework combines critical discourse analysis, the concept of algorithmic bias, and frame analysis. A structured questionnaire comprising seven blocks was developed to test the models, covering political values, beliefs, knowledge, interpretations of events, emotional reactions, needs, and evaluations. The study was conducted from June to August 2025; all prompts were submitted in Russian in a standardized form. The findings show that American and European models consistently reproduce liberal-democratic attitudes, while DeepSeek combines relative openness with rigid blocking of topics sensitive to the PRC. Russian models fail to form an independent value framework: on politically neutral questions their responses effectively replicate the Western frame, whereas exposure to contentious issues triggers an avoidance strategy. The frame analysis identified four stable discursive frames: liberal-universalist, sovereign-pragmatic, declared neutrality, and selective blocking. Seven mechanisms of influence on users’ political consciousness were identified: normalization, framing, selective knowledge retrieval, attribution of motives, emotional labeling, agenda-setting, and asymmetric criticism. The study concludes that the declared technological sovereignty of domestic models is not substantiated by any meaningful value alternative and effectively cedes the information space to Western competitors.

The paper analyzes changes in pricing factors of Russian public universities in the context of strengthening state regulation of fee-paying admission. The study is relevant due to the growing role of the fee-paying segment in student admission and the shift from price-based regulation to limits on the number of fee-paying positions. The aim is to identify changes in the factors shaping tuition fees by comparing data for 2018 and 2024. The empirical basis consists of data from the HSE University Monitoring of Admission Quality and the Monitoring of the Performance of Higher Education Institutions conducted by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The sample includes 11,210 observations across 74 aggregated groups of bachelor’s and specialist degree programs offered by 391 main campuses of public universities. The study applies a log-linear regression model estimated separately for five aggregated groups of fields of study. The results show that in 2024 tuition fees continued to depend on regional household income, public funding, the share of income from budgetary sources, admission quality, and selected characteristics of the educational process. Compared with 2018, the role of local market monopolization declined: the Herfindahl–Hirschman index lost its universal significance and retained an effect only in specific subject segments. The paper concludes that the new regulation of fee-paying admission should account for the heterogeneity of pricing factors across regions, universities, and fields of study. Further research should examine branch campuses, private universities, and the effects of new restrictions on fee-paying admission.

In the current conditions of the transition to new technological and global economic systems, the role of horizontal ties between universities, research organizations, and enterprises is increasing. Strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation ensures a seamless connection between the innovations created at universities and research institutes and the real needs of businesses. The state plays a special role in these relationships, as it has the necessary capabilities to align the interests of all stakeholders. The aim of this study is to identify state priorities for developing university-business cooperation based on an analysis of federal and industry strategic documents, as well as the key activities of the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education, which plays a key role in developing this area. The analysis revealed that developing university-business cooperation is not a state priority at either the federal or industry levels. This area is rather “auxiliary” to the achievement of other goals and objectives in science and higher education. For example, only 12 collegial and advisory bodies of the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education (out of 334) participate in setting public administration priorities in the area of university-business cooperation, which also indicates a relatively low priority for this area of governance. At the same time, the experience of the unsuccessful reform to transition to a two-tier undergraduate and graduate system within the Bologna process convincingly demonstrates that university-business cooperation cannot simply be a prerequisite for the successful implementation of stated goals (as it was in the 2010s), but must become an independent public administration priority at the federal and industry levels to develop a unified, comprehensive approach to managing this area and achieving national goals for scientific and technological development and education.

The article examines the instruments of regulating foreign trade in agri-food products in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the directions of its development. The aim of the study is to identify key areas and develop recommendations for improving tariff and non-tariff measures of foreign trade regulation in agri-food products in the EAEU under conditions of sanctions pressure, deglobalization, and the need to accelerate import substitution. The methodological framework of the research is based on comparative and statistical analysis, as well as scenario modeling of the effects of changes in selected parameters of foreign trade regulation. The development of the agri-food market in the EAEU is of strategic importance given its social significance and the particular sensitivity of domestic demand, hence, there is a need to develop new instruments to protect the internal agri-food market of the EAEU member states from excessive foreign competition, reduce import dependence, and enhance export potential. The study employs production, consumption, self-sufficiency indicators, import dependence, and foreign trade flows across key segments of the EAEU agri-food market. The results substantiate proposals for adjusting in-quota tariff rates for meat products, increasing the specific component of import duties on certain types of fruit and vegetable products (tomatoes, cucumbers, apples), introducing seasonal duties on strawberries, establishing a quota for rice imports from India, and modifying the methodology for calculating export duties on grain by incorporating the share of value-added processed products in the export structure. Additionally, the study identifies institutional and infrastructural development directions aimed at enhancing the export potential of the EAEU. The findings can be applied in the development of foreign trade, agricultural, and integration policies of EAEU member states. It is concluded that improving the resilience of the EAEU agri-food market requires a comprehensive combination of tariff, quota, logistical, and institutional regulatory instruments.

This article analyzes the dynamics of women’s political participation in China in the context of the transformation of the party-state system from 1949 to the present. The study is based on the institutional approach and biographical method, which make it possible to identify the scale of women’s political participation, their career trajectories, channels of political recruitment, forms of inclusion in decision-making, and their role in the system of governance. The authors distinguish four periods in the development of women’s political participation: 1) 1949–1956, when women’s participation was grounded in their revolutionary and symbolic capital, laying the foundation for the subsequent institutionalization of the expansion of their political agency; 2) 1957–1977, when women’s participation acquired an egalitarian-mobilizational and ideological character; 3) 1978–2011, when the so-called technocratic model of women’s entry into politics took shape based on professional, administrative, and party capital; 4) 2012 – the present, when the institutionalization of participation expanded women’s career opportunities in politics. The authors interpret the dynamics of women’s political participation as a gradual transition toward more stable representation in line with the goals of national development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 5). At the same time, it is noted that at the present stage women’s participation is most visible at the local and regional levels, whereas at the highest national levels of governance women’s presence remains individualized.

In the context of new global challenges and consequently the increasing complexity of socio-economic issues, it is necessary to revise traditional personnel management practices in government bodies and seek predictive mechanisms for the professional and personal development of civil servants that can reduce the vulnerability of the state apparatus to external shocks. In this context, working with personnel reserves in the civil service is particularly important as a tool for retaining and promoting specialists within government bodies who are capable of effectively solving professional tasks in their official capacity. The aim of this article is to analyze the potential of personnel reserves in government bodies based on assessments of the contingent of employees. The key research method was face-to-face semi-structured interviews with civil servants of federal executive bodies (n=9). The results of the study demonstrated a formalistic assessment to identify promising employees interested in a long-term career. The opinions of civil servants reveal a position of career passivity (low assessments of career advancement prospects, difficulties in career advancement, and a lack of active career planning). The overall perception of the effectiveness of personnel reserves demonstrates ambivalence. On the one hand, the high effectiveness of this technology in government agencies has been expressed; on the other — restrictions on entry of ordinary employees into the reservists (“only for insiders”) have been noted, and the connection between being in the reserve and a subsequent career in government has been questioned. The existence of barriers to entry into the reservist contingent as well as reduced opportunities for rotation illustrate the existence of systemic dysfunctions in the work of HR departments. The conservatism of HR culture, noted in some cases, highlights the need for centralized HR work as a tool for standardizing HR management processes in government agencies, ensuring transparency of employee promotion trajectories, and establishing a unified career planning framework.