Autors

While the term ‘postmodernism’ may have been exhausted, the temporality of our own era remains trapped in a postmodern consciousness of time, a ‘now-time’, visible in the short-term focus of governments and the emaciation of planning, in low interest rates encouraging spending rather than saving, in the dominance of immediate gratification, in the ‘curation’ of culture via Instagram and social media. Modern conceptions of time were vital in the transition from traditional to modern societies – namely, the emergence of the idea of linear time instead of cyclical notions of temporality. This chapter will identify three temporal modes within modernity: the focus on the past, which was critical in Enlightenment and was accompanied by the emergence of modern historiography; the focus on the future, which begins with the modern utopians Saint Simon and Charles Fourier and reaches its nadir with postwar planning; and the focus on the present, which will be associated with neoliberalism and postmodernity. All these, it will be argued, are modern, and differentiated from traditional societies’ temporalities. The following chapter will anchor these temporal notions in key issues relating to our cities via the lenses of architecture and planning, two disciplines in which time plays a crucial part.

Keywords: time; postmodernism; modernism; modernity; architecture; planning

The article proves that the valuative discussion about social-political model is possible not only in the West, but also in Russia. The author compares five social projects for Russia: conservative, ethno-cratic, social-democratic, left-central and communitarian, and comes to the conclusion that the left-central project of “good society” is the most compelling.

Keywords: justice discourse, comparative analysis, modernity, political ethics, communitarism, elitism, “good society”, critical function.

Problems of defining extremism (extremist activity) in legal and scientific practice are discussed, peculiarities of this concept in Russian linguistic consciousness are described. Based on the results, possible questions are specified, which can be used in judicial linguistic expertise in cases of extremism; signs of information, which stimulates national, race or religious hostility are singled out. In conclusion, the necessity of correction of the definition of "extremism", as well as expansion of the list of questions solved within the frameworks of judicial expertise and increase of the number of experts is proved. 

Keywords: extremism, extremist activity, forensic linguistic examination, inciting information. 

The article deals with the concepts of “originality”, “form” and “idea” in terms of their relationship to the problem of copyright. Formation of the first laws on the protection of creativity parallels the formation of modern European entity as the holder of individuality. The author does not just hover to the reader ideas, which convey in the air, but creates new content, putting ideas in their original form. The article makes an attempt to trace German philosophical concepts, which are especially important for the copyright. The concepts of “ideas” and "forms" in Kant's philosophy are closely related to the creative ability of the imagination. Originality is inherent in both forms and ideas – but if the originality of idea is in its geniality, the originality of form is entirely the merit of the work of imagination of the writer. G.V.F. Hegel spoke about the difficulty of defining the boundaries of the fair use of works, because inevitably there is a chain of debt, citations, repetitions.The original form of the work is the subject of protection by copyright. On the contrary, the idea could not be protected in principle, and therefore it is freely available.

Keywords: form, idea, copyright law, composition, author, the creative ability of the imagnation, originality, German classical philosophy.

The article is devoted to the issue of relevance of applying the category of trust to the analysis of Internet communications, and to the analysis of the integration in online communities in social networks, in particular. Nowadays, the issue of trust or distrust towards online communities and integration in Russia becomes the factor that sharply splits society and pushes the state to tighten control over the Internet; the issue of trust as an internal factor of the online communities becomes relevant not only theoretically but also politically. The authors attempt to understand the processes of horizontal integration in online communities that quite differ from the genesis of real communities arising in vertically integrated social structures, or adapt to a vertically oriented social environment. We use “grounded theory” approach to analyze the dynamics of mobilization-type online communities in the social networks Vkontakte and Facebook. Weak significance of the interpersonal trust factor in the functioning and development of the observed communities is revealed. The contradiction between this fact and the established ideas of trust as the basis of social interaction and a key component of the social capital can be explained by clarifying the specifics of interaction in online communities. This specific can be described through following features. Firstly, there is institutional trust “at the entrance” to the group, based on the user's loyalty to the values, rules, and norms of the group. Secondly, there is the lack of a hierarchical structure that reduces the role sets and role expectations to minimum. Finally, it is the prevalence of the “weakest” type of links comparing with “strong” and “weak” ones, implying the absence of personal links, and preventing the expansion of the “culture of distrust” into online reality. Horizontal integration is not typical for all kinds of online communities. Nevertheless, the growth of online communications in the world, and inRussia, in particular, allows us to predict the growing influence of the “trust culture”of “online sociality” as an alternative to the culture of distrust inherent in hierarchical societies.

Keywords: trust; institutional and interpersonal trust; online communities; horizontal and vertical integration

The article was retracted!

Abstract: The article analyzes the strengthening of the principle of independence of judges on both domestic (constitutional and legislative) and international law levels. The reasons and procedures for the termination of judge’s office established at the legislative level as guarantees for the independence of judges, as well as the right to resign, are considered. The article investigates the reasons for termination of judge’s office, which either grant or do not grant the right to resign. The reasons, which do not imply termination, are the ones associated with committing crime, or misconduct; the violation of the restrictions provided by legislation; intention to change the job; engagement in the activities incompatible with the judge’s status. The reasons eligible for resignation are written statement of the resignation; reasonable excuse or circumstances, which do not depend on judge’s will and do not allow exercising judge’s powers. The possibility to regulate on the regional level reasons and procedures of the resignation of judges of the Constitutional (Charter) Court of the subject of the Russian Federation, as well as the practice of normative legal regulation of the case by the legislator of the Chelyabinsk region, are observed. Such reason for termination of judge’s office as a refusal from the transfer to another court due to the court’s abolition is analyzed. The author concludes that the composition of the judicial facts, which form the legal relations connected with the judge’s resignation, includes the abolition of the court and the refusal from the transfer to another court. Nevertheless, such judicial facts have different meanings. The abolition of the court is the priority (basic) judicial fact eligible for resignation and compensation. The possibility of the transfer to another court in connection with the abolition of the court should be considered as an additional guarantee of the judge’s independence. According to the Chelyabinsk regional legislation, the judge of the Charter Court is considered to be resigned (voluntarily or forcibly) in the case of abolition of the Charter Court. According to the author, it is a “simplification” of the federal legislation by the regional legislator, and the deprivation of additional guarantees of judge’s independence in the form of the transfer to another court. Based on the analysis of Federal and Chelyabinsk regional legislation, as well as of the law enforcement practice, the author concludes that the reasons for termination of powers are sufficiently resolved on the level of the Federal legislation. The attempts of their shaping or adapting on the regional level could lead to a serious decline of the level of guarantees of judge’s independence. Therefore, they are unaccepted.

Keywords: constitutional justice; Constitutional (Charter) Court of the constituent of the Russian Federation; principle of independence of judges; retired judge.

The article describes characteristics and composition of the law. The definition of regional legislation is given. Additional arguments in favor of understanding the law as a set of regulations, not just laws, are provided. For the first time in jurisprudence, the classification of laws depending on their nature is proposed. Within this classification, laws are divided into primary legislation (including perpetual laws, emergency laws, operational law), and secondary legislation (including laws on establishment, modification and repeal laws, laws of suspension, renewal or extension of laws). The definition of regional lawmaking is given; its principles are revealed. The definition of law-making bodies of the Russian Federation, and their classification is proposed. The location of regional legislation in the legal system of the Russian Federation is shown. The relation between regional and federal legislation is considered.

Keywords: regional law, regional law-making, primary law, secondary law, permanent law, emergency law, operational law, principles of law-making, subject of law-making, law-making body.

For the first time in the legal science, the article obtains the system data on the array of legal acts and, accordingly, on the legal regulation in the field of biological collections. Particularly, it describes and analyses the hierarchic and substantive system of legal regulation in the sphere of biological collections. The article estimates current legal regulation (legislation) in this field, and concludes on the unacceptably low level of development of legislation on biological collections. At least, it is expressed in the lack of consistency and completeness of legislation on biological collections, as well as in the fact that the legislation in the areas related to biological collections not always takes into account the specifics of biological collections. Based on the conducted analysis, the article defines further developments in the biological collections’ legislation, provides concrete proposals for improvement of the legislation, and, what is mostly important, formulates the basic legal statements on the scientific collections.
Original definitions of the scientific and biological collections elaborated in the article are the following: “Scientific collection (biological, archeological, ethnographical, other) is recognized as purposefully collected, ordered set of objects, which is organized on the scientific basis, has scientific value, and can be used in scientific, scientific-technical, innovative, scientific-educational activities”: “Biological collection is a scientific collection, which is formed by the set (fund) of zoological, botanical, microbiological, genetic, and other biological objects, can be used in scientific, scientific-technical, innovative, scientific-educational activities, including the purpose of preserving biological diversity and use of biological resources”.
Keywords: scientific collection; biological (bio-resource) collection; collection object (sample, exhibited object); legal regulation in sphere of biological collections; legislation on biological collections; legal regime of biological collection; center for collective use.

The notion of a Civil-Law Contract regulation is formulated in the article, its place in the legal regulation of contractual relations is defined. The interaction between civil contract regulation and legal regulation of contractual relations is examined.

Keywords: civil-Law Contract, civil law contractual regulation, legal regulation, administrative legal regulation, court legal regulation, legal regulation, centralized, decentralized (autonomous, private) legal regulation.

The author advocates the concept of property contract, in according to which the latter is a result of classification of civil-law contract as the object of contract regulation.

Keywords: property contract, property-promissory contract, property legal relation, the object of civil-law contract regulation, civil-law contract regulations.

The author advocates the presence of relative property relations and the possibility of their civil-law contract regulation.

Keywords: property legal relation, relative property legal relation, co-ownership, titlepassing property legal relation, the object of legal regulation, civil-law contract, civillaw contract regulations.

The article describes two important aspects of regional legislation (legislation of subjects of the Russian Federation): tendencies of development and level of performing. The periodization of regional legislation development is offered: formative period (December 25, 1993 – August 1, 2000); period of stabilization (August 1, 2000–2008); period of optimization of regional legislation (2009 – to the present day). Characteristics of these periods are given; tendencies of establishing of regional legislation including negative ones and their reasons are defined. Indicators of rejecting the federative foundations in law making, as well as in federalism in general, are determined. The author concludes that regional legislation has to be developed on the way of optimizing the correlation between regional and federal legislation, and between the system of municipal legal acts, as well as on the way of improving the system of regional legislation and its hierarchic and objective structure. The systemization of regional legislation has to be the main direction of the development of regional legislation. The system of indicators (criteria) of the quality of regional legislation (and legislation in general) is produced. The author formulates the definition of regulatory legal act as the combination of its attributes (characteristics). The factors, which influence the level of the performing of regional legislation, are identified and estimated.

Keywords: regional legislation (legislation of subjects of the Russian Federation), tendencies of regional legislation development, periodization of development of  regional legislation, quality of regional legislation, quality indicators of regulatory legal act and legislation, level of performing of regional legislation, disadvantages of regional legislation.

The author proposes and justifies the original multi-level classification of civil contract, where conditions are classified in terms of freedom of parties in determing the content of conditions.

Keywords: civil contract, the condition of the contract, the classification of contract terms, the mandatory term of the contract permitted by clause, invalid stipulation, predetermined stipulation, non-predefined clause. 

The relevance of this study is dictated by the fact that relations in the field of urban planning presuppose the interest of citizens in the formation of urban space, as well as by the fact that the provisions on the need to ensure an appropriate level of public participation have been consolidated in regulatory legal acts emanating from the authorities. The reasoning presented in the article was aimed at establishing the legal nature of the right of citizens to participate in making urban planning decisions, as well as identifying the key problems of its protection within the framework of both judicial procedure and using extrajudicial methods. The article analyzes the constitutional and legal basis of this law, substantiates the correspondence of its essence to the concept of subjective public law, examines the problems of its judicial protection, and also reveals various ways of its protection out of court. The authors come to the conclusion that the protocol and the conclusion on the results of public discussions or public hearings are non-normative legal acts, as a result of which it is possible to file an administrative statement of claim declaring them illegal in accordance with Chapter 22 of the CAS RF, as well as that cases of local referendums, which are subject to issues that can directly affect the adoption of final urban planning decisions, require a positive assessment due to the obligatory nature of the decisions taken by the population. Meanwhile, the prospect of such an extrajudicial method of protecting the right to participate in making urban planning decisions as the cancellation of a municipal legal act issued by local self-government bodies in the order of self-control is interesting.

 Keywords: participation of citizens in making town planning decisions; principles of town planning law; public discussions; public hearings; judicial protection; local referendum; survey; cancellation of a municipal legal act by way of self-control

This article deals with the possibility of studying social justice in the neoliberal political doctrine within the theoretical analysis. The research problem is theoretical and practical uncertainty of the main consensus concerning the doctrinal principles of social justice in the situa-tion of its high political relevance, as well as the multiplicity of its social contexts through the prism of the implementation of neoliberal reforms in the Russian society. Due to the ambiguity of the neoliberal doctrine, the author identifies three approaches, which allows viewing it as political phenomenon and as the category of political science. Firstly, it is neoliberalism of Keynesian type; secondly, the libertarian kind of neoliberalism; thirdly, the Washington Consensus as a model of ne-oliberalism of modern societies. The author makes emphasis on the last one. He proposes under-standing the model of Washington Consensus as a complex system with liberal theoretical and methodological roots and as a certain kind of philosophy, according to which the model of the poli-tics is constructed in the contemporary context of globalization and interdependence of existing institutions of state and society and ideological and political paradigms. At the same time, the Russian model of neoliberalism is syncretic; in particular, it is based on the principle of social justice. Historically, the issue of justice attracted serious attention of researchers from Socrates to D.S. Mill, J. Rawls, R. Dvorkin, etc. The domestic political science pays enough attention to Western theories of justice, as well as develops own theory by T.A. Alekseeva, A.A. Guseynov, S. Grigoriev, L.G. Greenberg, G.Y. Kanarsh, A.I. Novikov, V. Maltsev. Works of N.A. Vedenina, R.K. Shamileva, B.N. Kashnikov, V.S. Martyanov and others are very notable. The author concludes about the need to define fundamental concept of social justice in the current political situation in Russia based on the convergence of its basic understanding in conservative and liberal political trends. Modern political “reading” and the implementation of the principles of social justice in Rus-sia seems to be contradictory and inconsistent.

Keywords: neoliberalism, political doctrine, discourse analysis, social justice, neo-conservatism, “welfare” state.

The article examines basic features of neo-liberal discourse, and describes main components of neo-liberal doctrine. Special attention is paid to the analysis of “left” criticism of neo-liberalism, presented in the works of D. Harvey, P. Dardo, K. Laval, N. Khomsky, S. Zhizhek, etc. It is noted that neo-liberal discourse is directed strategically toward constructing of new subjectiveness, which interiorize principles of competitiveness and jouissance. The article reveals manipulative peculiarities of neo-liberal media-discourse. The discourse of neo-liberalism is presented as a variation of the Soft Power.

Keywords:  discourse, neo-liberal discourse, constructing of subjectiveness, manipulative technologies, Soft Power, jouissance.

This article examines the applicability of virtue epistemology within the philosophy of science discourse. It argues that contemporary approaches in the philosophy of science often overlook the significance of subjective epistemic characteristics in scientific practice, tending to focus either on the social conditions of knowledge production (as seen in the Science and Technology Studies project) or on methodological and demarcation criteria (as emphasized in postpositivism project). Meanwhile, the recent value turn in epistemology introduces a subject-centered perspective to the philosophy of science, suggesting that disciplinary boundaries should be understood not only in terms of methodological differences, but also in terms of intellectual virtues cultivated by scientific communities. The relevance of this study arises from the need to employ conceptual frameworks from contemporary epistemology to discuss scientific disciplinary norms that encompass both value and cognitive content. The aim of this article is to propose a method for applying virtue epistemology as a theoretical framework for evaluating the role of scientists’ subjective qualities in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. The author based his research on the hybrid virtue epistemology developed by Heather Battali and Christopher Hookway, which integrates reliabilist and responsibilist perspectives to defining intellectual virtue. This article discusses various levels of intellectual virtue, their impact on scholarly activity, and the conceptual challenges associated with such integration. The main findings underscore the importance of a hybrid approach to different intellectual virtues in achieving scientific objectives, such as obtaining verifiable truths and supporting a shared understanding within the scientific community. Additionally, the study also emphasizes the necessity of considering the values that underlie scientific inquiry, and the influence of personal beliefs on knowledge formation within the scientific domain. 

Keywords: intellectual virtue; relativism; responsibilism; philosophy of science; hybrid virtue epistemology

The problem of the validity of the differentiation of legal regulation of parttime work within the framework of the current Labor Code of the Russian Federation is based on the idea of this phenomenon that was developed in the Soviet period of history. Modern socio-economic conditions require a significant transformation of this institution of labor law on the basis of an adequate reflection in the norms of labor law of the change living conditions of a person and society. Within the framework of this study, an attempt was made, based on the understanding of the term “secondary job” in the current labor legislation and the labor law science, to identify essential differences between secondary job and main job, i.e. to reveal objectively existing conditions of secondary job from the main job, which were the reason for differentiation of legal norms, regulating secondary job. In the course of the analysis of the legal norms governing the institute of secondary job, the analysis of the achievements of the science of domestic labor law and judicial practice, taking into account the history of legal regulation of this institution, it was found that the existing signs (characteristic features) of secondary job are either an external sign that does not reflect the internal nature of the phenomenon, or represent a discriminatory norm based on the simple fact of recognizing a particular job as secondary job. As a result, it was concluded that it was unreasonable to single out secondary job in a separate category, and the existence of a special chapter of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, dedicated to the peculiarities of regulating the labor of persons working secondary job, was groundless. As a practical recommendation, the author suggests adjustment of the provisions of labor legislation. It is proposed to abandon the traditional understanding of the term “part-time”, which implies the main and additional work, it is proposed in this situation to talk about the simultaneous presence of an employee of two or more equivalent employment contracts, none of which has priority over the others. It was proposed to move from limiting the time of part-time work to the establishment of a general maximum working time at all available jobs for the employee; to attribute the solution of the issue of simultaneous or separate granting of leave to an employee who has several places of work on a contractual basis (with the involvement of trade union organizations); to abolish a number of discriminatory norms currently in force against part-time workers.

Keywords: secondary job; signs of secondary job; main job; main place of work; signs of main job; differentiation of legal regulation; work book; electronic work book

In empirical studies of environmental law and policy, an important place is occupied by the issue of the underlying mechanisms that determine the relationship between territorial state structure and environmental performance. Duplication is among such mechanisms in the federations, including Russia. This paper addresses a specific aspect of the problem, i. e. the duplication in the establishment of regional categories of specially protected natural territories. The goal of the research is to determine the combination of originality and duplication among regional categories and to provide a legal interpretation of the observed phenomena. The objectives are (1) to collect a database of legal information about all regional categories; (2) to compare each federal category with each regional category and to find out whether the given regional category is original or duplicated; and (3) to aggregate the results of the comparison and make their legal interpretation. The main method of the study is a comparison made with a special quantitative technique. Additional methods are analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, abstraction. Also, a few methods of statistical data analysis are used. As a result of the research, it is determined that duplication among regional categories in Russia often prevails over originality, and the median level of similarity between federal and regional categories is higher than the normal level of similarity. Most likely, part of the duplication results is explained by the fact that regional legislators do not sufficiently regulate the specifics of regional categories. Duplication has negative and positive consequences; i. e. it could result in lax legal protection of valuable territories,but it also could act as a compensatory mechanism overcoming the drawbacks of the federal regulation, and as a safeguard against negative changes of federal legislation. Thus, it may be proved that duplication could be unreasonable or justified. The regional legislators should avoid unreasonable duplication and regulate in detail the specifics of regional categories.

Keywords: specially protected natural territories; categories of specially protected natural territories; kinds of specially protected natural territories; governance types of protected areas; comparison of categories; federalism; regional legislation; duplication; statistical analysis; empirical legal studiest

 The article analyzes traditional philosophical category of «Other» understood as fundamental principle of modern European concept of self-knowing. According to the philosophical tradition, the understanding of «Other» was conducted within two key areas: one based on the phenomenological tradition (E. Husserl, P. L. Berger, T. Luckmann); and the second belonged to versions of dialogism (J.P. Sartre, M. Buber, J. Lacan etc.). The author characterizes two directions in understanding of «Other» (general and specific), and refers to synthetic position of E. Levinas, which combines (as it follows from the analysis) the phenomenological options and dialogism. Concept of «Other» is particularly treated within postmodern philosophy and is defined in relation to problems of inter-subjectivity, communication and dialogue. At the same time, the emerging of European tradition of «Other» discourse is closely related to the formation of the «identity» concept. The study of «Other» within the identity theory reveals similarities of the problematic fields: self-knowing of individual personality and processes occurred on the level of collective political identity. In both cases, questions of contradictions and self-determination in systems «I – Something Else» and «We – They» appears in the centre of debate. 

Keywords: concept of «Other», phenomenology, dialogism, post-modernism, life-world theory, face-to-face relationships, identity.

The article focuses on problems of studying identity of Russian regions using the example of Chelyabinsk oblast. The authors carry out qualitative sociological research of identity, which provides the basis for the article. While conducting the focus groups in five municipal units of Chelyabinsk oblast, the authors purposed to reveal positive characteristics of the regional identity. The intensity of utterances about different identification characteristics makes possible to define and rate several groups of such characteristics. The article describes the following identifiers in descending order of importance: “nature”, “industry”, “people”, “sport and culture”. Negative identification characteristics are included into separate group. Special attention is attracted to the fact of the significant amount of such identification characteristics, which relate to industry and sport. This is not typical for Russian regions. At the same time, those identifiers, which seem to be traditional for Russia and relate to history and culture, are poorly represented in the identity of Chelyabinsk oblast. It is concluded that the use of methodology for studying regional identity proves to be successful, and the perspectives of the second stage of research oriented on application of the qualitative sociological approaches are estimated as promising. The article provides recommendations for authorities concerning construction of regional identifiers, and evaluates perspectives of the development of regional identity of Chelyabinsk oblast.

Keywords: regional identity, Chelyabinsk oblast, Ural, methodology of identity studying, focus group.

The article observes basic methodological problems in the study of the structure of local communities in Russian Federation, i.e., the issues of implosion, identity construction and formation of groups of interests in local communities. The author analyses the main tendencies in the development of the structure of local communities and presents the classification of interests and structures of local communities.

Keywords: local communities, local democracy, groups of interests, the structure of local communities, methodology of study.

The author analyzes the myth about middle class, its content, construction base, political functions and main types of deconstruction.

Keywords: middle class, social structure, mythology, myth, deconstruction of myth.

The paper presents the semantics of deontic logic, which is implemented on the basis on propositional dynamic logic. The standard version is a relational semantics (J.-J. Ch. Meyer), which uses the semantic idea of A. Anderson – the definition of normative operators (“obligatory”, “forbidden” and “permitted”) by means of propositional constant “sanction”. The standard semantics of multimodal way (without the mutual definability of deontic modalities) is complemented by “strict” operators (the concept of “degree of responsibility” is discussed), then – “pragmatic” operators (through propositional constant of S. Kanger “positive sanction”). The opportunity to refuse from total reduction of deontic logic to dynamic logic and to semantically questionable constants “sanction” and “positive sanction” is offered. An autonomous intensional semantics of deontic operators, which is relative regarding the rating system, is constructed. The proposed semantics being close to the “constant” version retains the ability to express a class of deontic operators “in the strict sense” and combines standard and pragmatic interpretation of deontic operators. However in our opinion, the most important fact is that “non-reductionist” multimodal version of deontic semantics is more than natural.

Keywords: deontic logic, propositional dynamic logic, logical semantics, normative operators, sanction, degree of responsibility, ratings system.

The paper investigates socio-cultural aspects of contemporary status and development of logic. These aspects become very important with respect to the deuniversalization of the classical logic and proliferation of different types of logic systems.

Keywords: logic, history-of-logic, deuniversalization-of-classical-logic, non-classical logics, social-aspect-of logic, logic-and-the-humanities.

This article discusses the versions of Leninist reflection theory in the Russian philosophy of the first half of the twentieth century. The very nature of the discussion made the problem of understanding the features of the theory of cognition a “hard” problem. This was facilitated by the ideological and political impurities characteristic of philosophical inquiry at the time. The “diamat” (short for “dialectical materialism”) reflection theory is compared with M.A. Lifshits’s “ontognoseology”. The task is to show the process of dogmatization of Lenin’s reflection theory in the discussions of the 30s–40s, as well as the transformation of this theory in Lifshits’s ontognoseology in the 1940–50s. The article highlights the variations of reflection theory in the Soviet philosophy of 1930–70s. This theory in Diamat is considered in comparison with the “ontognoseology” of Mikhail Lifshits. The ideological catalyst for the development of the “Leninist reflection theory” was the principle of partisanship. As its consequence, vulgar sociology and Diamat were fixed in the humanities, and only in the early 1950s they began to be gradually overcome. At the beginning of the Stalinist phase in the history of Soviet philosophy, the debates around Lenin’s book Materialism and Empiriocriticism became a landmark phenomenon. The tone was set by the students of the Institute of Red Professors, headed by Abram Deborin. The example of several works written by them in the mid-thirties shows the peculiarities of interpreting the concept of reflection, as well as the ideological conjuncture that largely determined the content and course of the philosophical discussion. The principle of partisanship demanded that class interests (as understood by the leaders of the proletarian party, of course) should come first, and in the theory of knowledge and consciousness, it meant that the dialectical-materialist position should be defended in the struggle against all varieties of idealism. It was under this sign that the discussion of Lenin’s theory of reflection took place. The article also analyses contemporary polemics, in the course of which opposite assessments of Deborin’s role in the formation of Soviet diamat and in solving the “hard problem” of Lenin’s theory of reflection are given. The postwar years of Soviet philosophy are represented in the article by Mikhail Lifshits’s “ontognoseology”. An associate and friend of Georg Lukács, Lifshits made the greatest contribution to overcoming vulgar sociology and renewing the tradition of creative Marxism. He described the dialectics of being and consciousness, of the subjective and the objective, proposing a profound and original interpretation of the theory of reflection. In Lifshits’s ontognoseology, the reflection of being in consciousness is conditioned by the property of reflectivity inherent in being itself. 

Keywords: “Materialism and empiriocriticism”; reflection; being; consciousness; partisanship; ontognoseology; M.A. Lifshits

Abstract. This paper considers the problem of the limited resources of extensive modernization and urbanization. The center-periphery polarization between Russian cities is described. The outlines of urban development are explored. City development in Russia is treated through neo-Marxist critical theory. This approach allows 1) to reveal paradoxical contradictions in the current system of fiscal federalism; 2) to raise the question of the reassessment of the cities' status in the state management system; 3) to detect a systemic problem in attempts to implement creative development strategies into peripheral capitalism; 4) to substantiate the importance of the struggle for the right toward the city in order to escape the demodernization's trap. The socio-political and economic specifics of Russian urban development are inscribed into the global context. The fact of interest of power subjects in neoliberal rhetoric is fixed. Limited attempts to pass to a post-industrial urban economy are described. On the base of the issue of fiscal federalism's consequences, the authors justify that maintaining the asymmetric exchange of resources between the federal budget and budgets of the cities contradicts the task of Russian cities' modernization. A structural solution that allow to stimulate the development of the biggest Russian cities under the existing conditions is proposed. It is necessary to withdraw them from the territorial logic of subordination to the regional authorities. This step can stimulate a short-term increase of social and economic inequality; but in the long-term perspective it will create own urban development resources which are related to their human and social capital. A reorientation to new subjects of modernization is proposed as a strategic decision. Decentralization of power, increasing the administrative status of the biggest cities, involving citizens in resolving issues of common good become the main alternatives to the existing demodernization logic of the state.
Keywords: creative city; the right to the city; human capital; decentralization; delegation of authority; local government.

The article presents the results of a study examining urban spatial conflicts and their resolution strategies in Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude and Kaluga (all – Russian Federation), based on expert interviews and media analysis conducted over the past 15 years. The study identifies the most common interaction models between city authorities, developers, and local activists regarding controversial territorial development projects. Key factors contributing to the success of urban activists are determined, including the formation of protest groups within existing community; mentorship in protest strategies; the escalation of local protests to a citywide scale; collaboration with political structures; the emphasis on the non-political nature of urban conflicts, positive history of protests, and the development of a strong activist identity. The findings indicate that the interaction models between urban activists and government officials are significantly influenced by major ‘constituent’ conflicts that result in victories for the protesters. Contrary to the belief that Russian cities lack effective tools for resolving urban conflicts, the study reveals that, in response to rising civic activism, city managers and developers are adapting their approaches to interact with local residents, often striving to prevent conflicts or reach compromises. The article identifies key strategies for conflict prevention, including the establishment of new advisory committees and various platforms that facilitate dialogue between local authorities and activists. It also outlines the main methods of conflict resolution categorized as autonomous-municipal, political-technological, and corporate – many of which have proven effective. In addition to that, the study uncovers a number of significant challenges that hinder the effective resolution of urban conflicts, noting that new management practices often stem from individual initiatives, typically in response to conflicts that escalate to the federal level. This experience rarely transcends individual municipalities, and tends to lack robust institutional support. Consequently, in numerous cities, government representatives often lack the competencies necessary to respond effectively to urban initiatives. Furthermore, local authorities happen to lack the resources to find compromise solutions. Complicating matters, it is often federal entities who initiate controversial projects, leaving local authorities to manage disputes with protesters. Finally, even when attempts at dialogue and compromise are made, they do not always guarantee resolution, since local activists’ positions may still remain uncompromising, and while the interests of residents who could potentially benefit from the disputed projects may not be adequately represented. The key recommendation of this study is to systematically document and expand the experience of resolving urban conflicts, thereby enhancing the competencies of city managers in those municipalities that have yet to encounter such conflicts. 

Keywords: urban conflicts; social movements; urban policy; protests; civil society; urban studies

The article considers the systematization of law as the type of legal activity and analyzes its role in the state law policy. The author pays special attention to the legal character of systematization acts as law sources and demonstrates their peculiarities in the system of legal information.

Keywords: systematization of legislation, The Law Code, law sources.

The article discusses the history of formation of outer Russian legislation in domestic justice in the second quarter of the 19th century - a section in legal science, which studies the legalization of the sources of law in the retrospective projection. The impetus for the creation of this trend in the Russian law was the systematization of legislation, the publication of The Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, and the development of legal education. Due to rapid development of legal science in Russia, the question of sources of knowledge of law becomes the subject of research and teaching; and it results in the establishment of the sources of law as a section of legal science. M.M.Speransky raised this question and marked the importance of studying law as a reflection of the political and legal development of Russia. K.A.Nevolin,Professor of  Kiev University, allocated the outside part of law as section of encyclopedia of law, and founded the basis for historical knowledge of sources of law and their values in the periodization of the history of Russian law. Professors N.F.Rozhdestvensky and I.D.Belyaev continued study of the sources of law, and justified the selection of the external history of legislation as special section of the historical and legal science. In the second half of 19th – early 20th centuries, the legal chronology was rooted in Russian legal science as its part, which provided study of sources of law and the history of legislation.

Keywords: History of State and Law of Russia, source, sources of law, sources of knowledge of law,  external history of legislation.

The article is devoted to the definition of the principle of legality in the policy of Russian authorities as the basis for activities of state administration. This principle is analyzed within framework of positive law and legislation of 17th – early 20th centuries. The author de- scribes the genesis of legislative consolidation of the principle of legality, as well as the develop- ment of legalistic mechanisms in the activities of state apparatus. It is argued that by the middle 17th century, authorities had recognized the need to ensure legality and had started to embody this principle into public consciousness of Russian state. By the beginning of the 20th century, the principle and regime of legality had become characteristic feature of the policy of Russian authorities, and had obtained legislative status.  Keywords: history of state and law, state authority, state administration, law, legality, legal order, systematization of legislation. 

Abstract. The development of energy, agriculture and industry, the growth of consumption of natural resources inevitably increases the risks of environmental offenses, and lead to increase the negative impact on the environment. In accordance with the Strategy of Environmental Safety of the Russian Federation until 2025 (Decree of the President of the Russian Federation “On the Strategy of Environmental Safety of the Russian Federation for the Period up to 2025” 2017), minimization of damage caused to the environment, elimination of negative consequences of anthropogenic factors on the environment, as well as the rehabilitation of territories and water areas contaminated as a result of economic and other activities, prevention of environmental harm are named as the main directions of solving the main tasks in the field of environmental safety. The current system of accountability for environmental damage in our country could not be called effective. Improvement of legislation on compensation for environmental harm should start with the norms of material (environmental) law. According to N. Robinson and L. Kurukulasuriya, “To be an effective means of environmental protection, liability regimes should cover not only traditionally accepted forms of compensation, but the damage caused to the environment. The main task of developing special regimes of environmental responsibility is to help people understand the consequences of the negative impact on the environment – the public good, which is the basis of the system of life support of people and all living things. However, many countries have not introduced special liability regimes for environmental harm, relying on traditional civil liability standards applied in the environmental context”. As noted by leading foreign researchers in the field of environmental law, one of the main problems in solving the issue of compensation for environmental harm in the framework of classical tort law is the need to belong to an environmental good, which is public in nature, to any person. Another equally important problem that characterizes liability for environmental damage largely as public law is the methods of assessing the damage caused. Environmental damage may not be quantifiable from an economic point of view, for example, in the case of loss of fauna and flora that have no market value, and in the case of damage to ecosystems or landscapes, economic value may not be assessed using traditional approaches to damage assessment.
Keywords: compensation of harm to the environment; environmental damage; environmental courts; environmental remediation; environmental court expertise.

The beginning of 2021 was marked by the adoption of several important regulatory legal acts in the field of ecology. One of these documents was the Methodology for calculating the amount of damage caused to atmospheric air as a component of the natural environment, approved by Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation No. 59 of 28.01.2021 (hereinafter referred to as the Methodology). This article examines the legal grounds for causing harm to atmospheric air as a natural component, provides a comparative legal description of the regulation of public relations on compensation for damage to atmospheric air, and also analyzes the text of the Methodology itself. 

Keywords: environmental damage; atmospheric air damage; environmental damage; environmental offenses

The concept of the article includes comprehensive analysis of the recommendatory international documents, devoted to the protection of the basic environmental human rights.

Keywords: environmental human rights, the human rights to favorable environment, the human right to the access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision making, the human right to the compensation of the injured or property losses due to environmental law violation.

Among priorities of international policy of the Russian Federation is the entry into Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The condition of the entry is the implementation of OECD decisions and recommendations into Russian legislation. Decisions and recommendations of OECD concerning environmental protection and ensuring ecological safety deserve special attention. OECD requirements concerning the need to change several Russian normative legal acts are contained in the «Road map» for the entry of the Russian Federation into OECD Convention, which was accepted on November, 30, 2007 by 1163 session of OECD Council. The main directions of modernization of ecological legislation are the following: waste management, polluter pays principle, environmental monitoring, ecological information, ecological safety of industrial activity. OECD requirements’ concerning modification of Russian normative legal acts actually stimulates the reforming of ecological legislation in our country.

Keywords:organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), environmental legislation, ecological safety, waste management, polluter pays principle, environmental monitoring, ecological information.