The paper considers the need to design a new conceptual model of the modern labor market, encompassing its structural heterogeneity, institutional dependency, and high vulnerability to external and internal changes under digitalization, the spread of platform economy, and the transformation of traditional employment forms. The purpose of the research is to synthesize the ideas of fundamental economic theories (neoclassical, neo-Keynesian, and institutional) with contemporary interdisciplinary approaches to create a complex theoretical and methodological foundation for investigating labor market transformations. The work employs conceptual modeling as well as general and specific scientific methods of cognition. The theoretical basis comprises academic research by the founders of economic thought, recent publications by Russian and foreign authors, and analytical materials from international organizations. Using the aforementioned methods, the study identifies the heuristic potential and limitations of each theory in analyzing the modern labor market. It is demonstrated that, despite the unrealistic assumptions of perfect rationality and full information, the neoclassical paradigm remains relevant for explaining the price determinants of employment and interregional labor redistribution, as well as defining the efficiency of investments in the labor force and human capital. With the focus on sticky wages, coordination failures, and the need for stabilization policy, the neo-Keynesian approach allows for an adequate description of labor markets characterized by high inertia and employers’ monopsony power. Moreover, the research conducted by numerous Russian scientists in institutional economics highlights the unique attributes of Russia’s labor market. This market’s structure, characterized by labor hoarding, includes phenomena such as low-wage employment, occupational segmentation, and the potential for automation. The conducted analysis justifies the necessity of integrating a novel behavioral approach into the established research methodology to account for cognitive biases, social preferences, and the cultural conditioning of the behavioral responses peculiar to labor relations participants. The investigation results in a sound conclusion that a synthesis of price, institutional, and behavioral regulation mechanisms is a promising way to develop the labor market, overcome the constraints of traditional labor market models, and provide an optimal strategy for addressing current structural challenges.

The article examines the role of universities in social and economic development in the Central Federal District regions. The paper aims to detect and substantiate the efficient models of the regional university-economy interaction. The objectives are to comparatively analyze the university models, including the entrepreneurial, regional innovation system, Mode 2, Mode 3, and engaged models; correlate the education development with the social and economic situation in the areas and present it as a matrix; and identify the dependency between the parameters. Furthermore, the research tasks include elaborating practical recommendations and defining the implementation risks of the proposed approaches. The methodology comprises comparative analysis, the matrix method, and case studies. The scientific novelty lies in integrating the theoretical university models into a unified analytical framework, their experimental testing in the Central Federal District regions, and formulating the criteria for evaluating the efficiency of the regional university-economy interaction. As a result, the work justifies the positive correlation between the degree of education development and social and economic situation in the areas, as well as highlights the pros and cons of each university model. The author proposes mechanisms incorporating universities into regional development, which focus on the optimal practices systematization, tasks synthesis, and sustainable sources of funding. The conclusion emphasizes the efficiency of the flexible approach that combines the constituents of different models, considering the regional specifics. These results can help improve regional development strategies.

An essential factor in improving higher education quality is its assessment by the consumers, i.e. bachelor students. The article aims to define how consumers evaluate the quality of higher education, using the aforementioned population group as an example. To achieve this goal, the author justifies the need for consumer quality assessment, distinguishes the strengths and weaknesses of the studied phenomenon, and detects the gaps in its evaluation by consumers (students) and experts (lecturers). The author’s technique lies in applying several methods to assess quality, thereby providing a comprehensive insight into students’ views on the quality of education. The research novelty consists in demonstrating the peculiarities of bachelors’ education evaluation and their preferences in the examined field. Consequently, the main results are the clarification of the criteria and attributes of education quality, quantitative and qualitative assessment of education quality within bachelor’s degree programs in economics at Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk. The paper identifies the correlation between students’ and lecturers’ assessment of education quality while revealing the external and internal environment factors that affect the subject matter. Moreover, the work substantiates the students’ role in evaluating education quality. Results can be beneficial to researchers as well as higher education and marketing specialists.

Given external instability, growing demographic constraints, and structural imbalances in the labor market, enterprise digitalization is becoming not only a determinant of improving economic stability, but also a social adaptation mechanism. Thus, the paper seeks to examine the social effects of enterprise digitalization, which alleviates the problems of the labor market and ensures its adaptation to the aforementioned conditions. The study tasks are to identify demographic constraints and structural imbalances of the Russian labor market; determine and systematize the key social effects of enterprise digitalization; substantiate a comprehensive strategy for enterprise digitalization; and develop measures of state support for fostering compensatory social effects. The research involves economic and comparative analysis, as well as systemic, institutional, structural and functional approaches. Applying the specified methodology, the work reveals that the modern labor market in Russia is developing under steady population pressure and worsening structural employment imbalances. It is shown that enterprise digitalization creates a new type of adaptation mechanism that changes the structure of employment and enhances its technological mediation. Furthermore, the main compensatory social effects of digitalization are classified; these are technological substitution of labor, demographic shock mitigation, inclusive employment, redistribution of individualized labor risks, and increasing job polarization. The investigation results in confirmation of enterprise digitalization transitioning into a controlled social and economic process that requires institutionalization. Additionally, the authors define priority areas of state policy aimed at realizing the compensatory potential of enterprise digitalization and reducing social risks in the labor market.

The article addresses the issues of fragmented digital interaction between the customs authorities of the Eurasian Economic Union member states and their impact on the efficiency of foreign trade and customs transit. The authors propose a multi-level model that utilizes the Integrated Information System of the Eurasian Economic Union with an application programming interface and ensures end-to-end processing and real-time data synchronization. The model implementation reduces the time required to complete customs procedures, increases the goods transportation transparency, and lowers transaction costs. In addition, the specified factors improve the trade competitiveness of the Eurasian Economic Union member states and form the foundation for their effective cooperation within the digital customs space.

The modern labor market in the Russian regions is characterized by growing territorial asymmetry, structural imbalances, and rising level of frictional and long-term unemployment. Under the aforementioned conditions, digital technologies become increasingly important in the transformation of the labor market mechanisms. The article seeks to evaluate the role of contemporary technological solutions in alleviating tensions within regional labor markets and to define their influence on the employment efficiency and adaptability of economic systems. The tasks of the research are studying the regional labor market challenges; covering the peculiarities of the state-of-the-art technological solutions and their feasibility in mitigating the labor market tension; and developing guidelines for application of the specified techniques in addressing the structural issues of the regional labor market in Russia. The paper utilizes such statistical methods as comparative analysis of regional parameters, calculation of the variability index to assess labor market segmentation, and regression analysis. As a result, the work demonstrates a substantial gap in the duration of job search and general and long-term unemployment rate between core (Moscow and Moscow Oblast) and peripheral areas of the Central Federal District. This fact confirms the existence of distinct territorial asymmetry in the District’s labor market. Furthermore, regression analysis shows that the increase in internet users exercises positive influence on the listed manifestations. The authors underline the specifics of the Central Federal District labor market, i.e. structural and frictional imbalances with consistent population engagement in economic activities. Thus, comprehensive implementation of digital technologies and institutional mechanisms is required to reduce regional disparities and advance the efficiency of the labor market.

The article analyzes the challenges associated with concessional agreements to finance the construction of social facilities, on an example of Surgut. The authors consider the current financing mechanism and underline that existing practice needs to be revised due to the concessional agreements’ inefficiency in resource allocation. The research seeks to study the limitations of utilizing concessional agreements and substantiate a transition to direct contracts for the construction of social facilities such as schools and sports complexes. The paper examines the concession projects in Surgut and identifies the following flaws in the practice: rising project costs, construction delays, and frequent conflicts with contractors. The main determinants of the specified outcomes are listed; these are related to the changes in economic conditions and growing market uncertainty. The work shows that in recent years the situation has resulted in loan difficulties, increasing financial risks and budgetary burdens. This makes present concessional agreements insufficient for financing and using municipal funds. Instead, it is proposed to return to the traditional state (municipal) procurement, which may provide greater control over the projects, improve the construction products quality, and maintain the stability of the city budget.

The article examines the constitutional and legal principles for the protection of the rights of personal data subjects in the Russian Federation. The purpose of the study is to identify and systematize the constitutional provisions that form the basis for the protection of the rights of personal data subjects, as well as to determine their functional significance within the mechanism of constitutional and legal protection of the individual. A novel classification of the constitutional and legal principles for the protection of personal data subjects’ rights within the context of personal data processing is presented by the authors. A systematic analysis of the relevant constitutional provisions reveals their functional connection and determines the place of the institution of personal data protection within the system of contemporary Russian Law.

The paper is devoted to the scientific and legal understanding of the “patriotism” concept in legal science. The author argues that purely sociological or philological readings of this term are insufficient, and that it requires more precise legal definition. The relevance of the topic is dictated by the need to create a conceptual basis for improving legislation in the field of patriotic education. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the existence of the characteristics of a legal category in the concept of “patriotism” and determine its place in the system of public law sciences, identifying possible directions for its further legal formalization. Objectives of the paper: 1) to analyze current regulatory legal acts and conceptual documents governing patriotic education; 2) to identify and systematize the main legal characteristics of patriotism as a legal phenomenon; 3) to examine existing alternative approaches to understanding patriotism in science and provide a critical assessment; 4) to determine the correlation between the category of “patriotism” and related public law categories (state sovereignty, national security, state-building). The study integrates general scientific methods, including analysis, synthesis, and generalization, with formal logic tools such as the law of identity and the principle of sufficient reason. The article also utilizes the comparative legal method, encompassing the legislative practice of Russia and several countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and a critical-analytical method for assessing alternative scholarly positions. The works of classic Russian jurisprudence (S. S. Alekseev, D. I. Meyer, and others), combined with an ontological analysis of legal statuses and an etymological analysis of the term itself, form the theoretical foundation.       The study demonstrates that patriotism goes beyond a moral and ethical attitude, possessing a number of characteristics of a citizen’s legal status. Patriotism exhibits certain legal characteristics: normativity, formal certainty, and a general binding nature, which is confirmed by the institutionalization of patriotism through the status of veterans, Heroes of Russia, and participants in the special military operation. However, scholars note that further theoretical analysis is required to fully recognize patriotism as a legal category. The author defines patriotism as a distinct legal status, which an individual expresses through active participation in the state’s defense and development. The author concludes that further development of this concept in legal practice can contribute to ordering the system of state guarantees and benefits, and also become a tool for ensuring national security and shaping value orientations for future generations.

The article studies the issues in applying the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation in the “new territories”, i.e. the Republic of Crimea, Sevastopol City, the Luhansk People’s Republic, the Donetsk People’s Republic, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, under their integration into the legal space of Russia. The paper analyzes conflicts arising when prosecuting acts committed before and during these territories’ transition into parts of the Russian Federation, as well as in the Ukrainian areas of the special military operation zone. The study’s relevance lies in the absence of established provisions determining the change in the criminal law’s operation upon expanding or altering state borders, which define the state’s jurisdiction. In practice, the legislative resolution of this spatial conflict is situational; thus, it is based on a comparative analysis of the degree of divergence between the criminal legal systems of the state that relinquished and the state that acquired jurisdiction over a certain territory. The study aims to justify that the procedure for qualifying crimes, set by the separate federal laws and providing for retroactive effect of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, represents the legal fiction that contravenes general rules of Article 12 and Part 1 of Article 1 of the aforementioned Code. The research employs formal legal, comparative legal, and formal logical methods, as well as an analysis of judicial practice (including the appellate decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation). Results demonstrate that, conditioned by exceptional political circumstances and the principle of social justice, the application of the specified fiction contradicts the principle of subjective imputation and the operation of law in time and space. Consequently, it is proposed to eliminate the identified conflicts not by incorporating norms into the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, but via guidance notes of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (by supplementing Resolution No. 10 of June 24, 2025, in particular). The authors also suggest extending a similar mechanism to the territories of Ukraine that have been de facto under control of the Russian Federation throughout the special military operation.

The article is devoted to the public relations in criminal law prevention of fraud committed using deepfake technologies. Comprehensively analyzing the criminal nature of deepfake fraud, the work aims to develop a system of preventive measures against this type of crime. To achieve the goal, the research addresses the essence of deepfake technology and defines its criminal nature as a tool of fraud. The author investigates foreign models of legal regulation in this field and assesses their applicability to the Russian legal system. The additional study objectives are to analyze doctrinal approaches to the criminal assessment of the artificial intelligence (AI) use in fraud and to propose methods to modernize the system of measures to counter fraud committed using synthetic media content.                                               The research utilizes general and specific scientific methods of cognition, including dialectical, formal legal approaches as well as analysis and generalization.

It is revealed that the use of deepfake technologies significantly transforms fraud methods, as it simultaneously boosts the audiovisual reliability of the deceptive materials and the dark figure of such crimes. Moreover, the work identifies no special norms and criteria for independent qualification of the subject in the current Russian and global criminal legislation. Predominantly, legislators articulate the use of synthetic media content as a means of deception, i.e. traditional fraud, without changes to its legal nature. Nevertheless, there are multidirectional doctrinal approaches to the criminal legal assessment of this phenomenon, which dictate its required refinement.                                         The conclusion substantiates the necessity to comprehensively improve the preventive measures against the aforementioned type of crime. This includes legally clarifying the signs of AI use in fraud and the corresponding guidance notes of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, while also introducing specialized expertise in synthetic media content and strengthening preventive measures.

The article is dedicated to the phenomenon of workhouses and explores its societal influence. The author considers the factors contributing to the criminalization of workhouses and describes preventive measures against illegal activities in the specified institutions. The applied techniques are systemic and critical analysis of scientific literature, theoretical and criminological analysis, induction and reduction, as well as predictive methods. The investigation is based on scientific materials, including the works by Yu. M. Antonyan, K. K. Pochitaeva, R. S. Ramazanov, and others. Using key criminological theories, the paper analyzes the criminological risks of workhouses, the most significant of which are labor exploitation, forced labor, spread of drug abuse and alcoholism, recidivism assistance, lack of social reintegration, worsening social exclusion, and others. The conclusion emphasizes the need for a multi-level approach in preventing illegal activities within workhouses. Here, both general social and specific criminological measures are introduced.

The article is devoted to exploring how the novel “integrative” penitentiary legislation operates in time and space, as its scope of regulation may encompass implementation of criminal procedure, criminal law, and post-penitentiary coercive measures under certain circumstances. The paper’s purpose is to study the retroactive effect in the examined branch of law and its potential to be represented in the Penitentiary Code of the Russian Federation after the codification of laws governing the penal justice system. Alongside universal cognition approach, the methodology comprises general and specific scientific, i.e. formal logical as well as predictive, methods. The work focuses on the possibility to grant retroactivity to legislation. This would cover not only the legal liability but also coercive measures (enforcement, preventive), which do not constitute liability. Here, closer attention is paid to the provisions on the law retroactivity outlined in international acts, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and the decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. In addition, the author demonstrates the cases where exceptions to the standard operation of “integrative” penitentiary legislation in time are required.