The involvement of Western Balkan terrorist-fighters in armed conflicts in Syria and Iraq

The primary purpose of this article is to explain the meaning and consequences of foreign fighters’ participation from Western Balkan countries (WB6) in armed conflicts in Syria and Iraq. In the first part, the issue of foreign fighters is discussed in historical terms. The author focuses on the examples of the Soviet inva-sion of Afghanistan and the ethno-religious conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the second part of the text, the definition framework of foreign fighters’ concept and its evolution towards foreign terrorist-fighters is dis-cussed. Then, a detailed analysis of the main problem is conducted, and several research questions are an-swered: 1) What is the scale of the phenomenon of Balkan volunteers (e.g., their number, the structure of origin, and others) in comparison to fighters from other regions? 2) What are their motivations and goals, and what are their recruitment process and ways of moving into the war zone? 3) What is the threat posed by returning fight-ers to the security of the Western Balkans, and how do individual states counteract this phenomenon? The au-thor uses mainly the following research methods: critical content analysis (literature, scientific articles, docu-ments, reports, press materials), and historical and comparative analysis. The author’s visits to this country in 2018-2020 constituted an essential contribution to the part concerning the case of Kosovo.

Electronic Document Management System as an IT tool for processing accounting e-documents in Polish local government

Purpose: This paper explores the level of use of Electronic Document Management Sys-tems (EDMSs) to process electronic accounting documents in local government in Poland, as well as the kind of basic activities related to electronic accounting documents that are supported in EDMSs. Registering electronic accounting documents in an EDMS is a vital step towards e-accounting because the automation of the processes related to registering accounting documents in accounting software is possible only when the accounting docu-ments are electronic, i.e. in the form of a structured XML file. Methodology/approach: Survey research was conducted among local government units (LGUs) in Poland to examine whether they use EDMSs to support accounting work related to the handling of electronic accounting documents. One thousand, five hundred and forty-nine units were examined, which is approx. 57% of the total population. The study is qualitative in nature. Findings: The results showed that the Polish local government is poorly prepared to regis-ter electronic accounting documents in EDMSs. Of the 1,594 units examined, 1,058 use an EDMS and 536 have not yet implemented one, which means that these LGUs are not at all prepared for electronic communication, including registration of electronic accounting doc-uments. Of those units already using an EDMS (1058), 685 use it to register electronic accounting documents, while 373 do not use it for this purpose. Research limitations/implications: The limitation of the study is that despite the rela-tively large number of LGUs surveyed, the qualitative study does not allow for the general-isation of the results for the entire population. Practical implications: The study will be of interest to all those who plan to automate accounting processes based on loading metadata to the accounting software directly from electronic accounting documents in the form of XML files. Even though the empirical study covered only Polish LGUs, the issues related to IT applications used to develop e-accounting documents will also be of interest to local governments of other EU Member States, as the regu-lations and principles mentioned in the study have entered into force in all Member States. Originality/value: The originality of the study lies in the fact that e-accounting, e-documents, and e-signature are relatively young phenomena, so this study may be one of the voices in the future discussion on this topic. The originality and value of the study lie in the attempt to approximate the degree of current EDMS use to process electronic accounting docu-ments in local governments and the plans for implementing an EDMS in those local gov-ernments that do not yet use one in their activities. This will allow us to predict and assess the state of development of Accounting Information Systems (AIS).

Life and Activities of Garifullah Ishan Gainullin (1894–1984)

The article is the result of extensive research and generalization of available sources and literature that reflect the life and spiritual activities of Garifulla Ishan Gainullin – one of the most authoritative religious figures of the Middle Volga region of the Soviet period. He was the last Tatar Sheikh of the Naqshbandi tariqah, who was related to Dagestani Sheikh Bayazid Ishan Khairullin through Zainulla Ishan Rasulev. In his youth, he received a good theological educa-tion in a pre-revolutionary madrasah, passed many trials and overcame hardships of his time on his life's path. Despite the difficult situation in the country, he managed to gain additional reli-gious knowledge, spiritually improved himself and became an authoritative spiritual mentor (Ishan) in the Middle Volga region. Published for the first time are personal photos and docu-ments of Ishan, with some of them used in his biography. In Russian historiography, the person-ality of Garifulla Ishan Gainullin has not been studied in detail and many of its aspects are little known to general readers.

Реформа децентрализации в Украине: институционально‑правовой аспект

Goal – the goal of the paper is to put into perspective the institutional and legal framework of the decentralization reform in Ukraine, as well as to identify problems, explore trends, and provide proposals in reference to the relevant foreign experience in the field. It argues that the decentralization reform in Ukraine has positive results and is an important step towards increasing the autonomy of local authorities. In concludes with arguing that Ukraine should apply the relevant experience of foreign countries while conducting its decentralization reform. Research methodology – the methods used in the article are analysis of official docu ments coming from the Ministry of finance, the Ministry of Economics and the Tax Service of Ukraine, as well as analysis of the factors that promote the autonomy of local government in Ukraine. Score/results – the article is distinguished by a sufficient level of scientific analysis and has provisions, suggestions and practical recommendations that can be used for further research on decentralization issues. Originality/value – the article presents the original complex approach to the problem of decentralization reform in Ukraine and provides substantial analysis of its legal and institutional framework.

SOME ASPECTS OF THE ORGANIZATION OF PROSECUTOR'S SUPERVISION OVER EXECUTION OF LAWS ON MINORS IN THE FIELD OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT

The article deals with topical issues of assessing the legality of the Prosecutor's office documents of territorial planning, planning and placement of facilities for minors, taking into account the practice of land and urban planning legislation. As, undoubtedly, in the existing rates of design and construction works the measure of responsibility for observance not only the town-planning legislation, but its compliance to requirements of ecological standards also increases. The necessity of more thorough implementation of Prosecutor's supervision over the quality of planning, construction and reconstruction of infrastructure facilities for minors, as well as compliance with the requirements defined by the state in the field of urban plan-ning, up to bringing the perpetrators to the statutory responsibility. The authors also considered the issues of information and analytical activities of the Prosecutor's office, assessment of the legality of urban planning activities of local governments. The authors used the methods of analysis of documents and official materials, the establishment of features in the field of land use, urban planning, taking into account the legislation of territorial planning docu-ments and special technical standards. The conclusion about the need for interaction of the Prosecutor's office with the public and the scientific community, as well as the possibility of their involvement in interdepartmental meetings, working groups, and other assistance to the Prosecutor's office. As a result of the study, the need for prosecutors to take into account the shortcomings allowed by local authorities in the implementation of their functions for the development of territorial planning documents is justified, recommendations are proposed to prosecutors, which can be used in assessing the legality of territorial planning documents. The recommendations that can be applied in assessing the legality of the implementation of urban legislation and the implementation of prosecutorial supervision in this area. On the basis of the rules of law, a General approach to the use of special expertise and the production of expertise is presented.

DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION QUALITY INDICATORS IN THE SPHERE OF NATIONAL SECURITY

In the context of the escalating struggle for leadership between the United States and China, the tasks of realizing its own interests, ensuring national security and improving the quality of public admin-istration are becoming especially urgent for Russia. The purpose of the article is to substantiate an approach to the development of indicators of the quality of public administration in the field of national security. The analysis of terminology and connectedness of syntactic constructions in strategic planning docu-ments, as well as prospects for the realization of the national interests of the Russian Federation in the context of economic relations between the countries of the strategic triangle Russia – China – USA is carried out. The results allowed us to propose a list of indicators of the quality of public administration for the implementation of national interests. The proposed approach to the development of indicators of the quality of public administration in the field of national security in the context of the intensification of the struggle for leadership between the United States and China makes it possible to significantly increase the level of information and analytical support and im-prove methods of state control and monitoring of relevant indicators of national security. The proposed approach can be used to substantiate recommendations to the leadership of our country to improve state control and monitoring of relevant indicators of national security.

ANALYTICAL JUSTIFICATION OF THE CHOICE OF SOLUTIONS FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

An important practical result of the proposed prospective electronic document management system should be the expected benefits for the transport industry in the direction of increasing its production efficiency through the introduction of such a system. It should be noted that the documentation support of man-agement is one of those categories of management activities that are only partially amenable to accurate estimates. Many aspects of document management can have a qualitative impact on the results of the com-pany's activities, which causes uncertainty in the choice of methods for evaluating the effectiveness of such innovations. If at the first stages of the introduction of electronic documents, their advantages over paper documents had an unambiguous quantitative dimension (for example, a reduction in the time required to carry out various operations with documents, a reduction in the cost of paper and consumables for printing docu-ments, etc.), then at the current stage, when the electronic document management system has become a fa-miliar phenomenon, the advantages of its implementation have mainly a qualitative dimension - an increase in intra-organizational efficiency.

“Non-Title” Status as a Basis of Collective Status and Self-Identification of Russian Compatriots in the Kyrgyz Republic

The present research presents the study of the polit-ical and legal situation of Russian compatriots in the Kyrgyz Republic. It analyzes various versions of the Kyrgyz constitution, other normative legal docu-ments and political statements defining the political and legal status of the “non-title” population of this state, provides statistical data and monitoring re-sults of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It is shown that the political and legal environment where Russian compatriots live is characterized by the fact that the numerically dominant part of society has consolidated its group self-identification as a “title nation” in the Constitu-tion, as well as in the main regulatory legal acts and strategic planning documents. As a result, “non-title” status turned out to be the main factor in the self-identification of Russian compatriots in the Kyrgyz Republic. There is substantiated the conclu-sion that purposeful diplomatic efforts are needed to overcome the structural discrimination of the “non-title” population of the Kyrgyz Republic, which includes Russian compatriots. Since the au-thor has been dealing with this topic for a long time, the research partially uses previously published ma-terials from the author's archive (factual data; ex-cerpts from regulatory documents, quotes from speeches of political leaders, many of which have now found themselves in opposition and exile; cur-rently unavailable documents), copyright definitions and conclusions.

War and Trust: a Sociological Analysis of the Results of Surveys of German Prisoners of War in 1941–1942

The work on the declassification of archival docu-ments allowed researchers to familiarize themselves with the materials of surveys of German prisoners of war, organized by specialists and political workers of the Red Army. The purpose of this article was to analyze the trust of the Nazi soldiers to their military and political leadership, propaganda, as well as their attitude to the prospects for further combat opera-tions in 1941–1942. Contributions to the study were made by reviews prepared by the Political Depart-ment of the North-Western Front. The documents present the dynamics of changes in the opinions of German prisoners of war on various military-political, social and cultural issues. The surveys were of a regular nature and were conducted anon-ymously. As a method, a secondary analysis of the results of the survey of captured soldiers and offic-ers of German fascist units in the period from Sep-tember 1941 to April 1942 was used. (N = 326). The analysis made it possible to trace the decrease in the level of trust in the Wehrmacht units, which was caused both by failures on the battlefields and by individual circumstances in which German soldiers found themselves. The prospects of further work on studying the reporting materials of the political or-gan of the Red Army were emphasized.

A.A. Shcherbatov's role in the activities of the Moscow city duma on urban development (1863–1869).

Introduction. A number of works are devoted to the study of the activities of the Mos-cow City Duma in urban landscaping in 1863–1869, but the reforms are described de-scriptively and the role of the Moscow mayor in this process is not highlighted. In turn, it is precisely his interest in improving the life of the city that is reflected in the quantity and quality of the implemented reforms of the Duma. There is a need to outline the terms of reference of the mayor, which will contribute to the effective implementation of reforms. Hence the interest in this problem. Materials and methods. The study is based on a number of sources, including: a) documents of the Office of the Moscow City General Duma, stored in the Central State Archives of Moscow; b) published documents of participants in the events; c) the regulatory legal acts of the Russian Empire; d) press materials, including journalism on the development of urban amenities and reports on the work of the Duma. The problem under study was already in the field of view of researchers [1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6;]. One of the main researchers of the Moscow city Duma (1863–1869) is L.F. Pisarkova. In the field of her interests was the issue of vowel elections, determining the powers of the elected Duma and the role of A.A. Shcherbatov in the process of implementing key reforms of local self-government in Moscow. Also noteworthy are the collective Works of Komissarova S.A., koshkidko V.G., Solovyov K.A., as well as Zhukova L.A. and Romanov A.A., which contain a description of the Duma's reforms to improve the city of Moscow. The research methodology consists of: methods of documentary analysis of docu-ments, which made it possible to compare different documents on a specific issue, compare the available data and establish the essence of the reforms being carried out; the historical and genetic method, on the basis of which it was possible to identify the cause-and-effect relationships of the phenomenon under study and to determine the role of the Moscow mayor in the ongoing reforms; historical-comparative method, which made it possible to determine the difference in the state of development of the city before and after the reforms. Research results. An analysis of sources and historiography on the issue under study allowed us to determine the role of the Moscow mayor in enhancing the reform activi-ties of the Moscow City Duma, as well as to highlight the features of the leader's political behavior that contributes to the successful implementation of reforms.