Abstract: The article explores the current state of assessing the effectiveness of local self-government bodies in terms of their focus on improving the quality of the urban environment. The criteria used by regional authorities, the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation and the state Corporation VEB were compared.The Russian Federation in various procedures for such an assessment. The urban environment is considered as a complex object of municipal management, directly determining the quality of life in the municipality. The index approach to quality assessment makes it possible to integrate both objective and subjective indicators, obtaining a holistic view of the dynamics of changes in the quality of the urban environment as a result of the implementation by municipal authorities of the state policy of improving the quality of life of the population. It is concluded that the quality of the urban environment is not the subject of assessment of municipal authorities by the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and therefore occupies a secondary place among the areas of work of municipal authorities. An auxiliary role is played by the Urban Environment Quality Index and the Quality of Life Index in Russian cities, which include some indicators that are also used in assessing the effectiveness of municipal management. Thus, in order to intensify the efforts of local self-government to develop the urban environment and improve the quality of life in municipalities, it is necessary to include indicators of improvement and a comfortable environment in monitoring the effectiveness of the activities of local self-government bodies of urban districts.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the multi-aspect impact produced by the system of medical care for the ill and wounded soldiers during the World War I upon the social life of provincial towns that accommodated the military hospitals. The article determines the role of the Central Black Earth Economic Region in treating the wounded; provides information on the number of hospital beds; describes organizational moments of operation of hospitals, as well as the forms of public participation in work of the hospitals. Attention is given to the common and symbolic aspects associated with the figure of a wounded soldier. The study is based on systematization of records on functionality of the medical military facilities in the Central Black Earth Economic Region, making emphasis on the changes and new occurrences in everyday of the city folks caused by establishing and operation of hospitals. The acquires results state that the system of medical care for the wounded during the World War I has become the subject of social consolidation, invoking new forms of charity and active cooperation of various social classes of a provincial city. At the same time, concentration of the wounded was a destabilizing factor of urban life.

Abstract: The subject of the study is science diplomacy that is becoming more and more popular in the sphere of international relations. Meanwhile, the content of this concept remains blurred. The author correlates the concept of "science diplomacy" with the concepts of public diplomacy,"track-II diplomacy" and soft power, which provides a better understanding of its potential in the modern system of international relations. The article focuses on the humanitarian dimension of science diplomacy which, in the author's opinion, most closely corresponds to its mission. Using comparative methodology, the author compares the approach to understanding science diplomacy developed in the domestic discourse with the interpretation of this trend in official documents on Russian foreign policy and the existing domestic practice of science diplomacy. The author concludes that science diplomacy as a form of public diplomacy serves as a means of promoting and protecting the national interests of the state. The direction known as "science for diplomacy" most closely conforms to this role. The diplomacy of scientists is a very promising format of international contacts with the potential of affecting international relations.

Abstract: The author analyzes the basic institutions of support of international ties of Russian regions including specialized bodies of administration and international agreements of Russian regions and investment promoting agencies. The study covers the structure of international ties of 6 neighboring regions of Central Russia: Orel, Bryansk, Kursk, Kaluga, Tula and Lipetsk regions. The author characterizes the role of governing bodies, responsible for international activities, within the regional authorities system, estimates the forms and geography of international agreements of the regions under study. The author uses the information about foreign investments, brought in by the regions, as the criterion of their effectiveness. The author carries out comparative analysis of the existing system of institutions, coordinating international ties of Russian regions, which are the part of the internal, low-active model of international cooperation, in the context of the heightened competition for foreign investment. The author concludes that for the regions under study, the search for optimal configuration of institutions, responsible for international ties coordination, is still the urgent task.