Moscow University Public Administration Bulletin. 2024. 4.

Th e article analyzes the features of public administration in the Russian Federation in the context of a Special military operation. Th e author focuses on the processes taking place since February 2022 in key sectors of the economy and the main spheres of life of the Russian state and society. It is noted that the domestic economy and administration system turned out to be much stronger than Moscow’s geopolitical rivals believed. Even before the start of the Special military operation, the authorities managed to build a technically independent national payment system from external players, which, combined with the skillful actions of various departments, made it possible to maintain financial stability. One of the main priorities of the country’s socio-economic policy has become the development of new subjects of the Russian Federation — the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. According to the author, the state and society, as has always happened in the Russian history, have united to combat external threats. It is indicated that, unlike the Kiev regime, Moscow has not refused to hold elections of authorities at all levels and referendums, including the presidential elections, which were won by Vladimir Putin with a record result. Th e author concludes that the Russian socio-economic and political system has met the realities of a sharply complicated geopolitical situation almost without failures, and Russia has continued its course towards successful sovereign development.

2024 is an anniversary year in terms of sanctions policy. It was in 2014 that the first sanctions packages against the Russian Federation were introduced. Based on the results of the study commissioned by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, a report was prepared in which the author and colleagues suggested a positive effect of sanctions from the standpoint of implementing the import substitution policy. Aft er that, a number of other articles were written, including methodological ones, but ten years later, taking into account the significant increase in sanctions pressure in 2022–2024, the author is glad that our assumptions were justified. The rate of economic growth significantly exceeds the rate before 2022, unemployment is at its lowest level, previously lost competencies and entire sectors of the national economy are being restored, investments are increasing and household incomes are growing. Yes, one cannot but acknowledge the existence of problems, such as high infl ation, difficulties with making payments in foreign trade — one must be objective, however, one cannot but acknowledge that there are clearly more positive aspects. It is important to note that representatives of state and supranational authorities openly declare that the goal of the sanctions policy is to undermine the Russian economy. Th is article contains a literature review onthe issue of sanctions  policy, highlighting blocks of research related to the justification of the sanctions policy and its goals (here, authors from the countries initiating the sanctions are mainly presented, but works by Russian scientists are also presented), the response measures of the Russian Federation, including assessments of the state of the domestic economy and its individual sectors (here, Russian authors prevail), as well as strategies for overcoming the sanctions pressure (here, works by both Russian and foreign authors are presented, including from countries that have long been subject to sanctions pressure from Western countries).

At the moment, youth policy is becoming one of the main priorities for the development of the state and society. At the same time, the problem of the demand for the potential influence of youth policy on the development of an educational organization of higher education, as well as the difficulties that arise in the process of implementing youth policy in the university development program, remains insufficiently studied. Th e research methods used were expert questioning, analysis of cause-and-effect relationships, general statistical analysis and analysis of regulatory documents, construction of matrices and graphs. Th e information base consisted of a survey of 145 vice-rectors of Russian universities from 52 regions of the Russian Federation, conducted from October to December 2023, which examined practical approaches to the implementation of youth policy. In practical terms, the article identifies the levels of influence and interconnection of the activities under study on other university policies, and presents conclusions about the high role of youth policy in terms of the strategic and economic development of the university. The most significant factors influencing the increase in university recognition, economic efficiency and strategic through the prism of youth policy were identified, and possible
criteria for its effectiveness were identifi ed. As the main results and results, the
publication contains conclusions about the specifics and significance of youth policy, promising directions for its implementation, and recommendations are given regarding measures to include youth policy in terms of effective integration
into university development programs.

The formation of a qualitatively new managerial elite became one of the key directions in the transformation of the Russian public administration system in the 18th century. A key role in this process, in relation to the second half of the century, was played by the creator and first curator of Moscow University, Count I. I. Shuvalov. The purpose of this article is to identify and systematize conceptual approaches to the process of improving the education of the country’s managerial elite, proposed by I.I. Shuvalov in the process of his managerial activities. The basic method for implementing this task is to analyze texts written by Shuvalov. This analysis was carried out using methods of documentary, system and semantic analysis. The main result of the analysis was an understanding of the place and role of Shuvalov in the process of transforming the system of training the country's managerial elite. I.I. Shuvalov outlined all the shortcomings of the old system of training the nobility, which, by the middle of the 18th century, had become archaic. He highlighted two key problems of the education system in force at that time: weak motivation to study and the lack of social elevators. At different stages of his activity, as the founder and first curator of Moscow University, he proposed measures to improve the education system. Some of Shuvalov's proposals were implemented and justified themselves. The other part of the measures he proposed was not implemented in the 18th century. In the next century, transformations similar in spirit to Shuvalov’s proposals were carried out.

The purpose of the article is to analyze the background, history and current state of research on issues of ensuring equality between men and women in Russia (gender studies). The gender system exists in any society, determining the behavior, social roles, professions, self-awareness of people depending on gender. The formation of this system (or gender order) is influenced by the forms and types of basic social institutions (such as family, education, economics, politics, religion), as well as the prevailing ideology, cultural norms and values in society. Achieving and observing gender equality is considered by the world community as a necessary condition for the development of social progress. This approach is enshrined in official international documents of the UN, which Russia joined in different years. Gender studies are an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies inequalities in all spheres of human and social activity, and in this sense, they influence public policy, various programs and projects aimed at solving the problems of existing gender inequality. The article briefly presents the history of the emergence of gender studies in Russia, their connection with the policy of ensuring equal rights for women and men and the possibilities of their implementation; the evolution of analytical and organizational principles of the research conducted, as well as their implementation in management institutions at the national, regional and global levels; the current state and vectors of gender studies in Russia are considered; various measurement methods that appear in the study of promising areas of knowledge at the interdisciplinary junction of scientific research of different disciplines are shown.

The article is devoted to the study of the formation and development of a new scientific discipline – Bricsology. The paper examines the key stages of the evolution of the BRICS, the role of this group in the modern system of global governance and its importance for each of the member countries. It is argued that this international format, representing a real Concert of civilizations, is today an important construction of the emerging polycentric world. The main milestones in the study of the BRICS at the School of Public Administration are highlighted. Special attention is paid to the activities of the Department of International Organizations and Global Governance Issues, whose staff has been actively researching problems related to the functioning of the alliance since the early 2010s. The long-term work on the implementation of International BRICS Models on the basis of the School of Public Administration is separately noted. The author comes to the conclusion that at the moment a new interdisciplinary knowledge system has already been created at the Moscow State University School of Public Administration – Bricsology. The study of this discipline in the context of changing historical epochs and the creation of a multipolar world is a prerequisite for the training of highly qualified specialists.

The problem of assessment and trust validation of applied artificial intelligence systems is examined. Despite the diversity of studies in this area, it is shown that in fact there is no unified approach to trust validation. At the same time, different researchers emphasize one or another aspect of trust without attempting to cover the problem as a whole. The trust feature is reduced to an emotional characteristic, the constructive meaning of which in the context of artificial intelligence systems lifecycle management is not defined. In some cases there is an unjustified ‘humanization’ of the concept of trust, as a result of which the characteristics of a technical system are completely replaced by the subjective treatment of its creators, suppliers or owners.

The paper attempts to substantiate a holistic trust model for artificial intelligence systems based on formalization of the relationship between trust and system quality. In this case the paper shows that the characteristic of trust can be used to make a decision by the operator, regulators and other interested parties about the possibility (or impossibility) to use the system as intended in certain operating conditions. The main aspects of trust are identified, taking into account both the general issues of trust in automated systems (technical reliability, information security and import independence) and the specifics of AI systems based on machine learning algorithms (functional correctness), and an approach to evaluating the characteristics of the artificial intelligence systems according to these aspects is proposed.

The obtained results can be used for the development of conformity assessment system in the field of AI technologies, as well as for the selection of systems that provide the solution of intelligent data processing tasks in various industries and social sphere.

A new round of technological revolution combined with the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies has led to the fact that generative artificial intelligence (GII) has opened an era of deep integration between artificial intelligence and education. GII determines the introduction of new teaching scenarios in higher education institutions and generally contributes to the high-quality development of higher education. The article is a study of the possibilities and limitations of using GII in higher education. The uniqueness of the material consists in the use of a wide range of materials in Chinese, which allows us to compare domestic and Chinese educational practices and enrich Russian approaches to understanding the role of GII in the educational space. Despite the fact that the use of GII is of great importance for higher education, it also creates certain potential and real risks, among which one can highlight the alienation of the "academic spirit" among students and teachers, risks in teacher-student interaction, as well as information security risks. It is concluded that in the context of digital transformation, the use of GII in higher education has significant essential consequences, including both positive ones (expanding opportunities for working with information from all educational subjects, more active involvement of students in the educational space through the formation and content selection, reducing the burden on teachers by performing routine tasks of GII), and negative results in the form of ethical dilemmas, equality of access to higher education, a decrease in the quality of higher education, leveling the role of the teacher in the educational process. Based on the identified limitations and opportunities for the implementation of GII, recommendations are proposed to improve the efficiency of management of educational and administrative processes in the field of higher education.

The relatively recently formed academic discipline of Data Science has taken a strong position in the structure of sciences and includes the top concepts of our time: artificial intelligence, big data, digitalization, etc. The article reveals the development of data science at one of the divisions of Lomonosov Moscow State University - the Faculty of Public Administration. Taking into account the specifics/profile of the faculty, the article considers such industry areas/applications of Data Science as management, personnel management, regional administration, national security issues, social management, electoral behavior, migration processes, problems of civil service ethics. The results of applying Data Science methods, tools and technologies in these areas are consistently presented: adaptation of the data science methodology to management and socio-economic disciplines, introduction of new metrics for studying the state, society, individual organizations. The importance of cooperation between the faculty and the Academy of Sciences (RAS), Russian scientific foundations, government bodies and administration, and foreign partners is emphasized. The article reveals the scientific and organizational activities (conferences, scientific seminars, publications) of the faculty as an important factor in the institutionalization of data science in Russia. It is noted that this science is historically inextricably linked with public administration. The article also discusses the prospects for data science in the near future, the role of Moscow University as a leader in scientific knowledge and the contribution that the faculty has made to the development of data science. The article also shows how, on the foundation of scientific research in Data Science, new master's programs, new disciplines for bachelor's and master's degrees have been created at the faculty. It is especially important that this area of science is not localized in one department; more than half of the departments of the faculty participate in it.

The article is devoted to a number of problematic issues of conceptualizing the state and is aimed at overcoming common errors in reasoning on this phenomenon, on its features, elements, functions and other characteristics, on the classifications of states, on the origin of the state and on the evolutionism in its development and in the development of its notion.

In the first part of the article the author analyzes the emergence and expanse of the term “state”, the differences in its use in different languages and the specifics in perception of the state in different cultures. He substantiates the naturalness and inevitability of problems in defining the state, analyzes typical approaches to its understanding, argues the unsuitability of legal definitions of the state for revealing its essence and the need to focus on drawing up practically functional legal constructions.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the state national policy of the Russian Federation, the problems of national unity in the light of the concept of Russia's civilizational identity. Taking into account the growing turbulence of the modern world, the authors stress the importance of measures to ensure the national security of various states associated with the understanding of their civilizational identity, their role and place on the world stage. These processes directly affect Russia. The understanding of Russia as a distinctive state-civilization is currently enshrined in official documents. The task arises of ensuring Russia's civilizational security, which is closely related to ethnopolitical security. However, solving the problems arising in this area - first of all, the problem of ensuring all-Russian national unity - faces a number of difficulties. They are connected mainly with the insufficiently clear elaboration of ideas about the content of Russian civic identity. The latter, as experts note, should take into greater account the importance of the ethnocultural factor in the life of the country. Understanding the role of this factor and its place in the system of governmental administration is now an urgent task for government authorities and the expert community.

The relevance of improving the forms of interaction between business and the state is due to the need to improve the efficiency of managing socio-economic development in the face of modern challenges. Against the background of globalization, digitalization and growing demands for the sustainability of economic systems, there is a need for new approaches to cooperation between government agencies and the private sector. Successful cooperation allows us to ensure a balance of interests of society, business and the state, contributing to the achievement of strategic goals of economic growth and social well-being. The study is based on a comprehensive retrospective analysis of the evolution of the established practices of interaction between business and the state in Russia at specific historical stages, as well as an analysis of their effectiveness. Statistical data analysis and expert interviews with representatives of government agencies and business communities were used to assess the effectiveness of modern mechanisms. The results of the study showed that one of the most promising areas is the introduction of flexible and adaptive forms of interaction that take into account the specifics of regional characteristics and the sectoral structure of the economy.