Abstract: The article explores the current state of assessing the effectiveness of local self-government bodies in terms of their focus on improving the quality of the urban environment. The criteria used by regional authorities, the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation and the state Corporation VEB were compared.The Russian Federation in various procedures for such an assessment. The urban environment is considered as a complex object of municipal management, directly determining the quality of life in the municipality. The index approach to quality assessment makes it possible to integrate both objective and subjective indicators, obtaining a holistic view of the dynamics of changes in the quality of the urban environment as a result of the implementation by municipal authorities of the state policy of improving the quality of life of the population. It is concluded that the quality of the urban environment is not the subject of assessment of municipal authorities by the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and therefore occupies a secondary place among the areas of work of municipal authorities. An auxiliary role is played by the Urban Environment Quality Index and the Quality of Life Index in Russian cities, which include some indicators that are also used in assessing the effectiveness of municipal management. Thus, in order to intensify the efforts of local self-government to develop the urban environment and improve the quality of life in municipalities, it is necessary to include indicators of improvement and a comfortable environment in monitoring the effectiveness of the activities of local self-government bodies of urban districts.

Abstract: The author examines the system of labor assistance to the families of soldiers during the World War I. The object of this research is the problem of decline in living standards of the families which members were called up to the army. Along with government ration, labor assistance was intended to compensate for the impact of this factor. The phenomenon of labor assistance that established during war in the Russian Empire was multi-component, including charitable initiatives, their encouragement by the government, as well as participation of the local structures of self-governance. The article summarizes the information on labor assistance in the agricultural Central Black Earth region. The author determines the differences in the types and designation of labor assistance in cities and rural areas. Labor assistance in rural areas, provided in the form of communal mutual aid, agronomic and technical assistance, work of student labor squads, was oriented towards supporting the potential of peasant economy. Labor assistance in cities consisted the distribution of orders for sewing of linens and establishment of sewing workshops, which was a form of social support for wives of the soldiers. It is demonstrated that creation of the system of labor assistance can be viewed as a vector of state policy of the Russian Empire in the social sphere.

Abstract: The subject of the study is science diplomacy that is becoming more and more popular in the sphere of international relations. Meanwhile, the content of this concept remains blurred. The author correlates the concept of "science diplomacy" with the concepts of public diplomacy,"track-II diplomacy" and soft power, which provides a better understanding of its potential in the modern system of international relations. The article focuses on the humanitarian dimension of science diplomacy which, in the author's opinion, most closely corresponds to its mission. Using comparative methodology, the author compares the approach to understanding science diplomacy developed in the domestic discourse with the interpretation of this trend in official documents on Russian foreign policy and the existing domestic practice of science diplomacy. The author concludes that science diplomacy as a form of public diplomacy serves as a means of promoting and protecting the national interests of the state. The direction known as "science for diplomacy" most closely conforms to this role. The diplomacy of scientists is a very promising format of international contacts with the potential of affecting international relations.

Abstract: The author analyzes the basic institutions of support of international ties of Russian regions including specialized bodies of administration and international agreements of Russian regions and investment promoting agencies. The study covers the structure of international ties of 6 neighboring regions of Central Russia: Orel, Bryansk, Kursk, Kaluga, Tula and Lipetsk regions. The author characterizes the role of governing bodies, responsible for international activities, within the regional authorities system, estimates the forms and geography of international agreements of the regions under study. The author uses the information about foreign investments, brought in by the regions, as the criterion of their effectiveness. The author carries out comparative analysis of the existing system of institutions, coordinating international ties of Russian regions, which are the part of the internal, low-active model of international cooperation, in the context of the heightened competition for foreign investment. The author concludes that for the regions under study, the search for optimal configuration of institutions, responsible for international ties coordination, is still the urgent task.