Abstract: The Institute of Public Control in the Russian Federation is one of the most important legal guarantees for the implementation and protection of the constitutional principles of democracy and the participation of society in the management of state affairs. The legal regulation of this institution of civil society is based on a number of principles - the basic, most general principles that determine the content and main directions of regulation of this institution of civil society in the Russian Federation. This article is devoted to the analysis of centralism and decentralization as a principle of public control in the Russian Federation. The paper uses a number of principles of scientific research, in particular, historical-legal, comparative-legal, analysis, synthesis, etc. The purpose of the study is not only to formalize and substantiate the need to include in the current legislation the principle of centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control, but also to identify and formalize the main problems that hinder the implementation according to the principle of this institution of civil society, a system of measures for their resolution has been developed and justified.
The achievement of this research goal involves the implementation of a number of scientific tasks, in particular: 1) analysis of the concept and content of the principles of public control in the Russian Federation; 2) study of the list of these principles enshrined in the legislation on public control, in particular, in Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the basics of public control in the Russian Federation"; 3) justification of the need to supplement this list with new principles (with formalization and indication of the author's definitions of their names and content); 4) analysis of the content of the principle of centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control; 5) identification of the main problems hindering the implementation of this principle; 6) development and justification of a system of measures to resolve them, including by making appropriate changes and additions to legislation of the Russian Federation.