The article analyzes the issues related to the phenomenon of political veto players, which can be interpreted in various actor-institutional frameworks. On the one hand, the classical approach focuses on formal and legal mechanisms of political governance that correlate with the functioning of the political system of society. On the other hand, the political–regime configurations of modernity and their dynamics lead to the fact that the role of veto players is postulated much more broadly, especially in the context of an authoritarian political process that devalues the formal institutional architecture and automatically actualizes informal practices. At the same time, attention is focused on the category of “institutionalized subject”, which correlates with the veto player. In addition, the concept of selectivity is considered, which contributes to explaining the nature of socio-political differentiation.

The article employs institutional, structural-functional methods, and method of analysing regulatory and legal literature to identify the primary mechanisms that promote Russian national interests within the Central Asian region in the context of migration. These include concluding bilateral migration agreements and intergovernmental agreements in the humanitarian sphere with countries that send migrants, as well as managing cross-border remittance conditions. The results of the study can inform the development and implementation of Russia’s foreign policy strategy in Central Asia.

The study analyzes the current state of Belarusian-Russian integration in 2020–2025. The author shows that under the influence of the political crisis in Belarus and Western sanctions pressure, Union building has moved from the phase of declarations to the stage of practical implementation. The greatest progress has been achieved in the military-strategic and economic spheres, where the basis of a single defense and market space has been created. Integration has acquired a forced pragmatic character and has become a tool for survival and security, rather than an ideological unification, which determines its further evolution.

The article comprehensively analyses the features of emerging foreign political identity of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Based on a cross-subject approach, it reviews the institutional, legal and symbolic dimensions of this phenomenon, including the concept of international personality, treaty practice, as well as cultural and historical grounds. The author outlines distinctive aspects and significance of the symbolic identity resource, including the image of a negotiation-friendly and responsible partner, commitment to a peaceful settlement and constructive dialogue. Summing up, the foreign political identity of Pridnestrovie is a strategic resource that allows strengthening the international presentation of the republic in the context of an uncertain and transforming world order.

The article examines the institutional models of political socialization of youth in modern Russia. The author conducts a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of various agents of socialization – government agencies, youth parliaments, party organizations, educational initiatives, public associations and the digital environment. Based on structural-functional, institutional and comparative approaches, the degree of youth involvement in political processes, the stability of political attitudes and motivation to participate in public life are investigated. Special attention is paid to the interaction of formal and informal channels of socialization, as well as the transformation of youth political identity in the context of digitalization. As a result of the research, practical recommendations are formulated for improving existing socialization mechanisms with an emphasis on subject-oriented, dialogic and interactive practices.

This study is aimed at analyzing protectionism as a strategic tool of the Russian Federation’s foreign policy in the context of the formation of a multipolar world order. The relevance of the work is due to the increasing trends towards deglobalization and the revision of international trade models. However, the problem lies in the insufficient systematization of the motives, forms and consequences of Russian protectionism in the context of its foreign policy, and not only economic, expediency.
Based on the methodology of neorealism in international relations and applying a systematic analysis, as well as a comparative legal approach, we analyze the evolution of Russia’s protectionist measures from 2014 to 2024, including import substitution, counter-sanctions and the development of national payment systems. Results. The work reveals that Russian protectionism has transformed from a forced response into a comprehensive strategy aimed at achieving economic sovereignty, reorienting trade flows to alternative centers of power (Asia, the Middle East) and strengthening political influence within the EAEU.
The study proves that under the conditions of sanctions pressure, protectionism has become a key element in building a national economy resistant to external shocks and a tool for weakening the unipolar hegemony of the West. 
Thus, the study showed that protectionism in Russian foreign policy practice is a multifaceted tool that serves the goals of both economic security and geopolitical positioning.
Its results can be used to further predict the development of the international system, develop strategies for adapting national economies to new realities, and understand the logic of Russian foreign policy in a multipolar context.

The article examines the impact of the expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on the ability of the association to maintain a balance between security priorities and the objectives of economic cooperation. The expansion of the membership, which included India, Pakistan and Iran, gave the organization new geopolitical dimensions, increased its multi-vector nature and international importance, but at the same time exacerbated internal contradictions. Based on SWOT analysis and analysis of the work of Russian and foreign researchers, it is shown that the SCO remains more consolidated in security issues than in the economic sphere. The expansion has increased the imbalance between China’s economic capabilities and Russia’s political role, which in some cases has led to fragmentation of the economic agenda. At the same time, multi-vector nature has become a factor contributing to the growth of the SCO’s international flexibility and its adaptability to the new system of global interactions. It is concluded that the further effectiveness of the organization depends on the ability to develop institutional mechanisms that allow maintaining a balance between security and economic development in the context of a growing diversity of interests.

This article provides a brief overview of Russian research on organizations that employ foreign workers. The results of a survey of Moscow employers who hired foreign workers in 2021–2023 are presented. It examines which companies most frequently hire migrants, the reasons why Russian employers employ foreign workers, the main channels for finding foreign workers, and the reasons and locations for the most widespread practices of illegal and informal employment of foreigners.

The study of the integration policy of the Russian Empire (18th – early 20th centuries) through the lens of the “challenge-response” concept (A. Toynbee) reveals a hybrid governance model that combined autonomy (preservation of language, religious identity, and local laws in Finland and the Kingdom of Poland) with gradual centralization. Using these regions as case studies, the research demonstrates that the empire adapted to the challenges of multiethnicity by balancing local institutions (the Finnish Diet, the Polish judicial system) with administrative unification, thereby ensuring systemic stability (elite loyalty, territorial control). The late 19th-century crisis, driven by rising nationalism and external geopolitical pressures (diplomatic support for the Polish movement by European powers, threats to territorial stability in border regions), is interpreted as a phase of systemic breakdown: the shift toward rigid unification (restrictions on Finnish autonomy via the 1890 Manifesto, abolition of Polish institutions in 1864–1867) disrupted equilibrium, accelerating disintegration. The findings, building on J. Burbank and F. Cooper’s approaches to analyzing imperial strategies, reinterpret integration as a process of seeking stability amid civilizational confrontation, highlighting the cyclicality of balance and breakdown as an adaptive mechanism.

The article examines the influence of the korenization policy of the 1920s and 1930s on the formation of national political elites in the Union republics of the USSR. Based on a comparative analysis of the Central Asian experience, regional features of the involvement of national cadres in party and state structures are identified. It is shown that the combination of linguistic, personnel, and educational components of korenization contributed to the institutionalization of national elites, ensuring the controlled integration of the republics into the Soviet system.

The article is devoted to the study of the evolution of Russia's humanitarian influence in Central Asia in the context of geopolitical changes and the increasing presence of external actors (China, Turkey, the Middle East, the United States). The historical analysis examines the transformation of the role of the Russian language as a key element of the common socio-cultural space that developed during the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. The main threats to the preservation of the Russian humanitarian presence are identified, including the reduction of Russian-language education and competition from alternative cultural and educational initiatives. Special attention is paid to the factors determining the continued interest of the countries of the region in cooperation with Russia, such as labor migration, educational ties, cultural heritage and political and legal mechanisms for supporting the Russian language. Based on the analysis of historical experience and current trends, recommendations are formulated for improving Russian humanitarian policy aimed at strengthening Russia's position in the region and preserving the common historical and cultural heritage. Strategies for the development of training programs, network diplomacy, joint cultural projects and systematic monitoring of public opinion are proposed.