The paper provides the author’s vision of implementation of the definition of «cultural sovereignty» in order to counter socio-cultural threats to Russia’s national security and the characteristics of some of its properties. Ensuring cultural sovereignty is considered as a key element of coordinated actions in the field of strategic planning of public authorities and civil society institutions to protect state sovereignty, achieve the goals of strategic administration, protect the foundations of the constitutional system of Russia and axiological foundation of statehood and historically established constitutional identity. In the author’s opinion, the properties of cultural sovereignty are disclosed in the results of state policy that are measurable from the point of view of strategic administration, requiring the implementation of a set of management measures and efforts. The property of cultural sovereignty «protection of the people and the state from destructive ideological and informational impact» should be expressed in the measurable results of coordinated actions of all structures of the State to suppress the destructive impact on culture with the active participation of civil society. «Preservation of the historical memory and identity of the people» as a property of cultural sovereignty requires expression in the results of state policy that are measurable from the point of view of strategic management, including a decrease in the number and activity of transnational «identity communities» in the country that are not complementary to all-Russian civil and cultural identity. «Conducting a national policy in accordance with traditional Russian values» as a property of cultural sovereignty should find its expression in the concrete results of strengthening the existing historically established institutions of public authority in terms of their modernization in order to achieve strategic goals of ensuring national security and development on the basis of the constitutional principle of solidarity, which forms civil unity and self-awareness. The quality of cultural sovereignty of Russia is defined by maintenance of spiritual powers of the state and the people, the main public institutes at the level necessary for formation of sovereign political will and achievement of the goals of strategic management.

The author analyzes the problem of the multidimensional concept of domestic sovereignty, the ratio of compulsory state ideology and national idea. To study the question posed from different perspectives the author applies the most important provisions of the theory of state and law, as well as the methodology of historical and legal analysis. It seems that sovereignty is an integral feature of any power that has gone all the chronological way from understanding its own identity to ethnic identity. On the one hand, this is the supremacy of state power in the indivisible territories of a multinational federation. On the other hand, the independence and inalienability of sovereignty make up its external side, which is seen in the relations of the state with world communities. By delegating its autonomy to another, the power risks losing its freedom. Nevertheless, it should be remembered that the essence of sovereignty and unlimited state power are very different, because the latter in a democratic society should be based on law and be limited by it. This idea is directly combined with the basis of constitutionalism, which solves the problem of the coexistence of moral and ethical aspects of the norms of justice and the power of legislation. The centuries-old history of the Russian Federation as a civilization with an extensive material and spiritual heritage, recognizing ideological diversity, proves the primacy of popular sovereignty in relation to the State. The domestic chronicle clearly demonstrates that in Russian reality both total ideologization and the absence of popular values are not viable. The Eurasian paradigm of our power, like a pendulum, staying on the convergence of the path of Europe and Asia, forces us to respond to the ideological tendencies of the West and select the legal ideals of the East. Eternal disputes, confrontations and the birth of myth oblige the sovereign, without renouncing reality, on a par with the people to preserve the integrity of the Russian idea present in the domestic identity.

The USSR Constitution of 1924 is an important legal document that formed a new political and legal entity on the world map that existed about 70 years. It made a great contribution to the historical course of events both for Russia and for the whole world. Its adoption took place in spontaneous and turbulent conditions, but despite this, it was able to lay the foundations for a stable existence. The Constitution of the USSR changed the paradigm of perception not only of political management, but also of other areas of life. It established freedom, equality, cooperation of the people, the principle of national self-determination. At that time, such provisions were very progressive even for international law. This instrument, from a legal point of view, is not unambiguous. Discussions regarding individual issues are ongoing to this day. Thus, disputes over the legal nature of the Agreement on the Formation of the Soviet Union still do not subside. A number of researchers consider it an international legal document. Others talk about its intrastate character, while someone even note its dual character. All these is important to determine the legitimacy of the procedures for accepting and terminating this document. Another controversial issue is the state territorial structure of the Soviet Union. Indeed, it was not directly defined in the 1924 Constitution, and the actual structure of the country did not fall under the criteria of any of the existing forms of device. It was supposed to create a completely new form of government. Nevertheless, at the moment, the prevailing point of view is that the Union was a federation with certain significant features. In this regard, it is also interesting to consider approaches to the sovereignty of the country. The paper carries out a detailed study of the structure and content of this Constitution, gives an assessment of the role of the Constitution in structuring the legal foundations of the Soviet state and its impact on the political and legal development of the country.

The paper carries out a historical and legal analysis of the features of the first Soviet Constitution, adopted by the 2nd Congress of Soviets of the USSR on 21 January 1924. The 1924 Constitution is considered as the fundamental legal document of the new socialist State. The first Constitution of the USSR would become the political and legal foundation for the institutionalization of Soviet government bodies. The author analyzes the chapters of the Constitution of the USSR that regulated the activities of the main political institutions of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities of the USSR. Particular attention is paid to describing the competencies of the Congress of Soviets of the USSR, the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR and the Supreme Court of the USSR. After conducting a historical and legal analysis, the author demonstrates the inconsistency of political practices with the provisions of the 1924 Constitution on the accountability of executive bodies to the institutions of the legislative branch. It is emphasized that the CPSU (b) had a significant role in public administration, but was not mentioned in the 1924 Constitution. It is noted that, despite the peculiarities of the implementation of constitutional norms in practice, the importance of the 1924 Constitution in the field of assigning competencies to the branches of government of the USSR is recognized. The first Soviet Constitution delimited jurisdictions of the executive, legislative and judicial authorities. The delimitation of competencies of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR and the Supreme Court of the USSR was declared in the Constitution of 1924, despite the fact that its developers were opponents of the political and legal theory of the separation of powers. The author concludes that the adoption of the first Soviet Constitution would contribute to the consolidation of competencies for state authorities and accelerate the process of international recognition of the USSR.

The paper describes the economic institutions that gave striking economic results in the development of Soviet statehood: the USSR State Planning Commission, the national heritage, the right to work. The USSR State Planning Commission was the engine of the Soviet economic miracle that had no analogues in world economic and political history. The core of economic interests and needs is the institution of property law. Ownership is the main institution in the economic organization of state-hood. Legally, the Soviet era began constitutional innovations, where private property and the entire land fund was declared a national (peoples’) heritage. This historical and political thread was reproduced in the legislation of the Soviet Union throughout its existence and was interconnected with the results of the work of the USSR State Planning Commission: the objects of planning for Soviet economic development were primarily the national heritage, and the main subjects of the planned market were large-scale state enterprises organized on the basis of the national heritage, creating high income for the development of high rates of industrial economy and raising the living standards of the population. The right to work on a 70-year scale of the history of the USSR, the right to work and its state security had an unconditional socio-economic effect both for citizens and for the country as a whole. The constitutionally guaranteed right to paid work in accordance with its quantity and quality was indeed provided by the socialist organization of the national economy. The most significant role in the growth of workers was played by five-year plans for the development of the national economy — the so-called «five-year plans.» The author urges not to forget the achievements of the economic system of the past, and highlights that both the human factor as a whole and the role of an individual — the Head of State who historically determines the vector for the life of the entire state organism — is of tremendous importance in the economic movement of the country.

The paper explains the author’s position regarding the 4th convocation of the State Duma of the Russian Empire as the main representative legislative body of the Russian Empire, whose activities were highly affected by the First World War, elucidates the influence of the State Duma of the Russian Empire of the 4th convocation on the February Revolution of 1917, the October Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War in Russia. To identify the aforementioned influences, the paper considers the legislative initiative of the State Duma of the Russian Empire of the 4th convocation, provides an analysis of the texts of regulatory legal acts adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Empire of the 4th convocation, analyzes general information about the State Duma of the Russian Empire of the 4th convocation, which is of an explication nature. The paper provides links to the texts of contemporaries, researchers and specialists in this field of the history of law and the State of Russia. Examination of sources and analysis of information leads to the conclusion that the work of the State Duma of the Russian Empire of the 4th convocation, as well as the work of state bodies of that time, had a tremendous impact on the development of revolutionary ideas in the Russian Empire, subsequently expressed in the radicalization of Russian socialist movements and public support for the February Revolution of 1917 and the October Revolution of 1917. Nevertheless, contrary to popular belief, such influence was indirect, and the State Duma itself often acted blindly, trying, on the one hand, to maintain its positions limited by the imperial government, and on the other hand, not to enter into sharp confrontations with the emperor himself. The State Duma itself, as it turned out, with the beginning of the Revolution lost authority and, in fact, surrendered its position to a new body — the Provisional Committee of the State Duma. The paper examines how the momentary desire of the authorities led to the collapse of the great empire and to the beginning of a terrible period of Russian history — the February and October Revolution and the Civil War.

The paper analyzes the first steps of women lawyers to be admitted to the Russian Bar. During the period under review, it was possible to observe different opinions both on the issue of the admissibility of women’s participation as lawyers, and on the issue of the application of existing legislation to them. In this regard, it is of particular value to analyze trials that have become examples of the participation of females as defenders on conviction, as well as trials in which decisions were made in favor of the defendants, largely due to the professionalism of women lawyers. An important role is played by cases of admission to the professional community of women to a position or a reasonable refusal to obtain such a right with a normative justification. Particular attention is paid to overcoming legislative and social barriers to achieving gender equality in the legal community. The paper explains the main contradictions between women lawyers and officials, in particular prosecutors who objected to the admission of women to participate in court. However, the author also drew attention to the situations of approval of the actions of women to protect the rights of others in civil or criminal proceedings by the justice authorities. A rather significant aspect is the study of public opinion on litigation involving women as defenders. The author concludes that, despite the difficulties discussed, it was the continuous struggle of women for their rights that became the primary factor in the subsequent consolidation of equal opportunities for men and women to be lawyers.

The paper analyzes measures aimed at supporting and strengthening the family discussed in the process of developing the RSFSR Code on Marriage and the Family of 1969, as well as the specifics of their further implementation in practice. It is noted that serious changes in the socio-economic and political development of the country, caused by post-war changes in the usual way of life, predetermined the need for a consistent and flexible policy on the part of the state in relation to family well-being. Over the period from the 1940s to the 1960s lasted the period of development of a new marriage and family code. During this time, various government commissions and working groups were formed, several versions of the draft law were considered. The materials of the discussion of the drafts show that the legislators were guided primarily by the idea of involving fathers in families, as well as ensuring the interests of children and families. Thus, from now on, early marriages were allowed, the possibilities of establishing paternity in court and voluntarily expanded significantly. The unpopularity of implementation of those measures in practice was explained by the lack of awareness of the population. To eliminate this problem, significant work was done to study the new legislation, explain it to the population and implement it. However, in the future, there was still an increase in the number of divorces, an increase in malicious failures to pay child support and alimony. The author analyzes the practice of applying innovations and elucidates other problems in the implementation of these provisions. The root cause of the «blockage» of cases for the recovery of alimony and the increase in the number of malicious defaulters was that for a long period of time there was no social concept of paternity. The experience of building a relationship with the father was not formed, not as a «holder,» but as a parent whose relationship is valuable regardless of marriage registration and material support.

To date, the prospect of reform of both state and non-state control has become acute. To solve this problem, an integrated approach is required. This should include improvement of forms and methods of control and supervisory activities, analysis of ways to increase their effectiveness. To ensure stability and development in society, the state needs to carry out control measures using control functions. These functions include coverage of areas such as economic, social and political.

The paper presents and analyzes the problems associated with the development of patent law. The development of the patent system in Russia will have a positive impact on economic growth and will provide a certain autonomy in the economic sphere. The urgency of this problem is associated with the rapid technological development of other states. The author gives three main reasons for the weak development of the patent sphere in the Russian Federation: intellectual migration, imperfection of the legal regulation of patent legislation and problems associated with the legal protection of a patent, in particular, with the judicial protection of patent rights. The author analyzes the experience of foreign countries in solving the problem of human capital out-flow and assesses the possibility of using various approaches in solving this problem in the Russian Federation. The author concludes that these approaches cannot be fully used in Russia at the moment. Therefore, a radical change in the economic situation in the state is necessary. Imperfect legal regulation is associated with the relatively recent introduction of the law regulating patent law, as well as with a small amount of developed practice under this legislation. Therefore, the author does not propose large-scale changes in the legislation, but adjustments in some areas of patent law are necessary. The problem of judicial protection of patent rights associated with the large workload of courts due to the large number of cases is also indicated. Thus, as one of the possible solutions to the problem the author proposes to change the mechanism of pre-trial settlement of disputes.

The highest normative legal acts of most countries pay special attention to such an institution of direct democracy as elections, through which citizens exercise the right to participate in state affairs administration, determining the vectors of its development. The voting procedure allows you to take into account the opinion of everyone when making the most important decisions, which, in turn, serves as a necessary element of the harmonious development of society. This paper is devoted to active suffrage. The authors of the paper analyze the practice of holding elections at different stages of the evolution of statehood. Thus, the work describes the procedure for the implementation of active suffrage in ancient Greek policies (Athens and Sparta), the Novgorod and Pskov veche republics, on the Don among the Cossacks, as well as in a number of modern countries. After that, a conclusion is made about the variety of voting models. The authors also analyze one of its new forms — electronic, which implies the use of digital technologies. Currently, the Russian Federation is successfully using foreign experience for the most efficient functioning of electronic voting systems throughout its territory. This is a great merit of the President and the Government of the Russian Federation, the State Duma, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation (CEC of Russia). To sum up, the authors conclude that due to information technology, citizens have the right to choose the method of voting, and now, regardless of the location, the voter has the opportunity to express his will. This makes it possible to implement one of the basic principles of a democratic state.