Abstract: The article is devoted to the implementation of the concept of "smart specialization" of regions for the purposes of sustainable development of the Russian Federation. The purpose of the study is to justify making adjustments to the issues of strategic planning and territorial management at the federal level for the effective implementation of the principles of smart specialization in the regions. The current macroeconomic conditions prevailing in Russia have led to the formation of a strategic course of socio-economic development of the state in the public administration system, which is based on diversified specialization and sustainable development of the subjects of the Russian Federation. This article offers recommendations on the formation of the concept of smart specialization of the subjects of the Russian Federation at the strategic level. The subject of the research is the concept of smart specialization for sustainable development and the possibility of its reflection in the strategic documents of the Russian Federation. The relevance of the research topic is beyond doubt, since the issues of sustainable development of the subjects of the Russian Federation are still topical. The present study is based on the dialectical method of cognition, which includes such methods as comparative, institutional analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction. This methodology provided an opportunity to study this problem through the prism of theoretical and practical aspects. It was concluded that "smart specialization" will make it possible to most effectively identify and implement the vector of regional development, select specific measures that are most effective for each of the subjects of the Russian Federation. One of the important tasks when using this approach is to minimize competition between regions, implement the transition from competition for investment and business to joint development of value chains by regions and strengthen interactions between enterprises. The necessity of developing and implementing institutional and methodological foundations for detailing and updating the most economically promising specializations of the regions was justified. The results of this study, the conclusions drawn and the formulated proposals can be used to improve the strategic foundations of territorial management with a view to their sustainable development. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the proposal to make changes to the fundamentals of strategic planning for the territorial development of the regions of the Russian Federation, which will contribute to the implementation of the principles of smart specialization in practice.

Keywords: macroeconomic conditions, subjects of the Russian Federation, socio-economic development, economic growth, production, spatial development, strategy, regional economy, sustainable development, smart specialization

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the first “black swan” for the global economy. Regional authorities in Russia were faced to support their regional economies but they were faced with uncharacteristic independence. The issue of assessing the effectiveness of regional anti-crisis industrial policy measures in Russia during the COVID-19 crisis is becoming urgent. The purpose of this study is to search for the most successful measures of regional support in Russia during the designated period. The study is based on the conceptual framework of the St. Petersburg School of Industrial Policy. Descriptive statistics, cluster analysis, and correlation analysis are used as statistical methods of analysis. 1196 anti-crisis industrial policy measures were classified in all 85 regions of the Russian Federation. A scatter diagram of regions was constructed with indicators of the scale for assessing the intensity of the anti-crisis industrial policy and the scale of the impact of the crisis on socio-economic indicators. Four clusters were identified: (1) regions that practically did not implement an anti-crisis industrial policy and suffered during the crisis; (2) regions that have significant economic stability and are less likely to resort to active anti-crisis policies; (3) regions, the values of indicators of the dynamics of socio-economic indicators of which are at an average and below level, but are pursuing, on average, a more intensive anti-crisis policy; (4) regions that pursued an active anti-crisis industrial policy and achieved good socio-economic indicators. Correlation analysis did not reveal a stable connection between the intensity of the anti-crisis policy and the crisis dynamics of socio-economic indicators. The study also presents leading regions and outsider regions in terms of anti-crisis industrial policy measures for each of the 4 clusters.

Keywords: coronavirus, socio-economic development, industrial policy measures, anti-crisis industrial policy, regional policy, COVID-19, anti-crisis policy, anti-crisis management, industrial policy, regional economy

Abstract: This article examines the impact of socio-economic indicators of the Volga Federal District (hereinafter – VFD) on the number of payers of the special tax - «Professional income tax (hereinafter – PIT)». The relevance of the article is due to the need to assess various socio-economic effects that cause an increase in the number of PIT payers in the regions of the Russian Federation. The purpose of this article is to identify these socio-economic indicators and then assess their impact on increasing the number of PIT payers in the region, which allows us to develop measures aimed at tax management in a particular region. Using econometric modeling methods, the authors assessed the impact on the number of PIT payers of such socio-economic indicators of the regions of the Volga Federal District as the number of individual entrepreneurs (hereinafter referred to as sole proprietors), GRP, the execution of regional budgets on PIT revenues, unemployment and nominal accrued wages. The materials used in the research process were obtained from open sources of official state statistics, consolidated tax and budget reports. The main results of this study are: - the indicator of the number of sole proprietors has a positive relationship with the number of PIT payers, which allows us to conclude that in regions with a larger number of individual entrepreneurs, the number of NPD payers is also growing; - the indicator of the number of unemployed has an inverse relationship with the number of PIT payers in the regions of the Russian Federation; Based on the results of an econometric study, the author concludes that a number of socio-economic indicators of the regions of the Volga Federal District have a significant impact on the number of PIT payers.

Keywords: tax efficiency, tax policy, econometric modeling, choice of tax regime, optimal tax burden, tax management, tax experiment, self-employed, special tax regime, professional income tax

Abstract: The object of the study is the formation of an integrated MSW management system within the framework of the national project "Ecology" and the federal project "Integrated Solid Municipal Waste management System". The subject of the study is organizational, methodological, legal, financial, economic, industrial and technological problems that make it difficult at the federal and regional levels to achieve the annual and final planned indicators of these projects in 2024. The purpose of the work is a general description of the integrated MSW management system being created, as well as to identify the main problems of its formation in the new financial and economic environment reality. The author considers the planned target indicators of the federal project and their correlation with the indicators achieved in 2019-2022. Special attention is paid to the three-fold decrease in the initial planned indicator for recycling, which occurred due to insufficient development of the MSW recycling infrastructure, and the threat of non-fulfillment of the utilization indicator in 2024, which persists even after that. The methodological basis of research is an integrated approach that allowed the use of methods of systematic, comparative, factorial and economic-statistical analysis, content analysis, and also synthesis. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the disclosure of an integrated system as a set of methods for handling MSW, located among themselves in a certain hierarchy of applications, the last of which is waste disposal, and the smaller its scale and the damage caused to the environment, the greater the level of consistency the system demonstrates. Neutralization and energy utilization do not fully solve the problem, since they leave a lot of harmful combustion products. Recycling is much more environmentally friendly, the degree of development of which should be considered as the second important criterion for the development of an integrated waste management system. The reduction by the curators of the MSW management reform of the initially stated recycling targets for 2024 by three times is actually an official recognition of the global underdevelopment of the domestic recycling and processing industry and the lack of real state participation in its formation and development.

Keywords: MSW disposal, MSW processing, MSW recovery, recycling, MSW conversion, complex MSW management system, effective management, MSW management, garbage reform, municipal solid waste

Abstract: The subject of the study is the potential of the Latin American energy market in the context of the demand of the European Union market for the replacement of Russian energy resources. The object of the study is the energy resources market of the European Union, Latin America, and Russia. The purpose of the study is to identify the possibilities of Latin American countries in replacing Russian energy resources in the energy market of the European Union. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the dependence of the EU economy on Russian energy resources, changes in the conjuncture in the fuel and energy sector of the European Union, and also touches on the consequences for European economies in connection with the abandonment of Russian energy resources. Special attention is paid to the opportunities of the Latin American region in the development of the European energy market. The prospects of the Latin American energy market are being explored from the point of view of the availability of natural resources, as well as from the point of view of real opportunities for exporting energy resources. The methodological basis of the research is a systematic and comparative analysis, a method of generalization, methods of grouping and classifying quantitative and qualitative data, methods of analyzing quantitative data. The main conclusions of the study are that in the short and medium term, the role of Latin America in Europe's energy security is small due to geographical remoteness and the lack of technological opportunities for Latin American countries to increase production capacities in the shortest possible time to increase energy production. For this reason, in the near future, the countries of the Latin American region will not be able to significantly replace Russian fuel in the European market of traditional energy resources. However, European companies are interested in the potential of the Latin American region in the field of "green" energy. In the long term, cooperation between the EU and Latin America in this area seems to be the most mutually beneficial for both sides. A special contribution of the author to the research of the topic is the study of the conjuncture of the EU fuel and energy complex in the context of energy imports. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time in the domestic literature the question of the prospects of the Latin American energy market as a substitute for the Russian energy market for the European one is raised.

Keywords: fuel and energy sector conditions, replacement of Russian energy resources, energy security, energy trade, EU energy market, EU fuel and energy sector, energy dependence, Russian energy resources, Latin American energy market, energy diversification

Abstract: This article is devoted to the analysis of the Institute of public budget control in the Russian Federation. The paper explores various points of view in the scientific and educational literature regarding the legal nature and essence of public budget control in Russia. The authors have developed and justified the author's definition of public budget control, which should be understood as the activities of subjects of public control for the organization and conduct of public control measures in relation to the activities, acts and decisions of subjects of budgetary legal relations caused by the processes of drafting state and municipal budgets, budgets of extra-budgetary funds, their consideration and preparation of reports on their execution (in part the legality of the formation, distribution and use of these budgetary funds). The article analyzes the common features and differences between the institutions of public financial control, public tax control and public budget control.  The article uses a number of scientific research methods: formal-logical; comparative-legal; historical-legal; statistical; sociological; financial analysis; method of analyzing specific legal situations. The authors analyze modern problems that hinder the optimal organization and implementation of public budget control measures in the Russian Federation, among which are: the lack of formalization of the concept of "public budget control" both in the Constitution of the country and in current legislation; the absence in the Russian scientific doctrine of public control of a unified approach to the definition of this concept, its content, objectives, tasks, specific forms, methods and types of measures; insufficient use in this area of positive foreign experience of civil society control over budgetary legal relations; weak organizational and technical base of subjects of public control; lack of real powers for these subjects to exercise public budget control. The article develops and substantiates a system of measures to resolve these problems.

Keywords: audit, budget, democracy, problem, Russian Federation, budget control, public control, optimization, efficiency, effectiveness

Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of exotic currencies, namely the history of the development and formation of the dollar of the East Caribbean Islands. The object of study in this article is the East Caribbean dollar. The subject of this article is the main historical stages of the cash circulation of the East Caribbean dollar. In this article, the authors highlight and analyze the main historical stages of the functioning of currency: from private bank notes of the British Caribbean territories to the modern stage of currency development, at which the process of transition to digital currency has already begun. The bibliographic base of the article is represented by current research on the topic of work, official data from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, as well as the online resource CBDC Tracker. The research methodology is based on general scientific methods: classification method, analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction (abstract logical method). Also, due to the historical context of the work, historical research methods are additionally used: historical-genetic and narrative methods. The scientific novelty of this article lies in the detailed study and analysis of the main stages in the history of the development of the East Caribbean dollar, namely: the dollar of the British Caribbean Territories (1949-1965), the dollar of the Eastern Caribbean Islands before the founding of a common central bank (1965-1983) and the dollar of Eastern Caribbean Islands today (1983-2023). In conclusion, the authors define the role of the East Caribbean dollar in the economies of the countries that use it and draw a conclusion about the colonial genesis of this currency. It is noted that the first experience of launching a digital version of the East Caribbean dollar was controversial.

Keywords: CBDC, banknotes, cash circulation, East Caribbean dollar, monetary union, digital currencies, British colonies, Eastern Caribbean Islands, currency board, offshore jurisdictions

Abstract: The article is devoted to the public law analysis of activities in the field of trade and consumer services as a promising object of public control in Russia. The authors explore the role and place of the public control in the system of legal guarantees for the implementation and protection of both the constitutional principles of democracy and the participation of citizens in the management of affairs, the entire system of human and civil rights and freedoms, as well as the rights and legitimate interests of public associations and other non-governmental non-profit organizations. The organization and implementation of public control are associated with numerous problems, one of which is the determination of the optimal list of objects of public control. The purpose of the study is to formalize and analyze the main problems associated with the organization and implementation of public control over activities in the field of trade and consumer services, as well as the development and justification of a system of measures to resolve these problems. A number of scientific research methods are used in the work, including: formal-logical; comparative-legal; historical-legal; statistical; sociological; method of analyzing specific legal situations. Among the above-mentioned problems, in particular, the following are investigated: the lack of formalization of this institution of civil society in the Constitution of Russia; unjustified, in the opinion of the authors, the removal from the subject of legislation on public control of activities, acts and decisions of a significant part of legal entities affecting the rights and freedoms of citizens; the lack of real powers for the subjects of public control to control activities in the field of trade and consumer services; insufficient use of positive foreign and Soviet experience in this field in the development of the institute of public control; weak financing of the activities of subjects of public control from budgets of all levels; their lack of practice in applying modern technologies in the field of control over new forms of trade and consumer services (for example, electronic trade in goods, works, services, cryptocurrency turnover, cross-border trade).

Keywords: public council, democracy, public law analysis, ways of improvement, problems, consumer services, trading, Russian Federation, public control, public chamber