Over the past 30 years in Russia, the priorities of state regional policy have shifted from the tasks of stabilizing and equalizing the conditions of spatial development to supporting internal competition in regions, creating growth points and stimulating localized initiatives, changing the goals of territorial management, redistributing powers between levels of government, and reviewing approaches to strategic planning. This study defines the cycles of regional policy development, taking into account regulatory dynamics, transformation of institutional mechanisms, redistribution of powers and changes in political and economic priorities in Russia in 1990-2022. For a comprehensive analysis of these transformations, a structural and chronological approach has been applied, which makes it possible to systematize the cycles of regional policy development and establish internal relationships between institutional changes, legal mechanisms and substantive priorities of government activities in different time periods. The proposed approach is based on a comparison of the stages of regional policy with the regulatory framework, mechanisms of federal interaction and socio-economic priorities. Periodization is considered as an analytical tool that makes it possible to study the continuity and consistency of state regional policy at various stages of its implementation. A comparison of legal and administrative decisions with the phases of the institutional development of the territorial management system reveals the logic of its functioning and the ability to adapt to changing conditions and challenges. The structural and chronological approach proposed in the work allows not only to identify the main phases (periods) of transformation, but also to reveal the internal logic of changing cycles - from decentralization and “contractual federalism” in the 1990s to strategic management in the context of foreign policy restrictions and sanctions pressure in the 2010s and 2020s. This, in turn, allows us to re-evaluate the correlation of various (political, economic, socio-demographic and other) factors on the formation of the regional agenda of our country.

The article analyzes a fundamental paradox: despite the high demand for managing demographic development in contemporary Russia, a comprehensive theoretical framework for such management has yet to be established. Based on an analysis of Russian scholarly works, the genesis of the concept of “population development” in Soviet science during the 1960s–1980s is traced, three main theoretical approaches (socio-economic, demographic, and population development) are examined, and the way the problem of management was interpreted within each is shown. The key reasons for the gap between profound theoretical developments and management practice are identified: methodological abstraction, the deductive nature of laws, the absence of an indicator system, ideological constraints, and institutional fragmentation. The evolution of research in the post-Soviet period is considered, its main features-regionalization, instrumentalization, and the search for a new theoretical paradigm – are characterized, with the institutional approach being its most important achievement. The necessity is substantiated for a conceptual synthesis of the systems approach, the concept of population quality, institutional analysis, categorical modeling, and typologization of demographic states as a foundation for developing an effective, scientifically grounded, and regionally differentiated demographic policy.

The achievement of the country’s food independence and import substitution in the agro-food market happened through the intensification of agricultural production, which inevitably worsened the environmental problems of farming. At the same time, as people’s well-being gradually increases, so does the demand for quality food. All of this brings the need to tackle the environmental issues in agriculture and develop organic production into focus. The article looks at the current environmental situation in the agricultural sector – the condition of farmland, the impact of agriculture on pollution of the natural environment, and the level of development of organic farming. The need to move toward sustainable agricultural development is explained, along with the main directions for improving environmental policy in the sector (encouraging the use of soil protection technologies, increasing investment in environmental protection and the efficient use of natural resources in agriculture, and supporting organic product producers).

Regional tax policy is a strategic tool for stimulating economic growth and development in the region. Mechanisms for applying preferential tax regimes (simplified tax system 1%, automatic simplified tax system) influence the dynamics of the gross regional product, investment activity, and tax revenues. A study for the Chechen Republic for 2015–2025 demonstrates that a targeted tax policy contributes to the growth of the GRP from 154.4 billion rubles in 2015 to 397.0 billion rubles in 2025 (an increase of 116.6%), an increase in tax revenues by 41% in 2024, and the attraction of investment in the amount of 198.8 billion rubles in 2024. The Chechen Republic occupies a leading position in the North Caucasus Federal District in terms of tax revenue growth rates, exceeding the regional average by 17.5 percentage points.

In the current conditions, when society is faced with a significant number of internal and external challenges, the socio-economic development of regions directly depends on tools for identifying problems in all spheres of life of the population, among which the basic and easiest to use is the operational monitoring system. For “new” territories, such as the Donetsk People’s Republic, monitoring in accordance with their specifications is of key and paramount importance. Despite the limited data in the context of the ongoing military conflict, the official statistical data and reports of the urban districts of the DPR, which are publicly available, were used as the basis of the study. The monitoring system confirmed the need to move from emergency recovery to intensive structural transformation. It is recommended to focus management decisions on the accelerated launch of long-term investment programs in the lagging urban districts of the Republic.

The strategic goal set by the country’s leadership to transform the spatial organization of modern Russia has put forward in the first row of the scientific and research agenda the justification of conceptual approaches adequate to new circumstances and challenges and the mechanisms implementing them. In this regard, attention should be paid to such tools of space restructuring as its zoning and zoning, which have long been known, but have not lost their potential. According to the authors, they can be useful today, provided they are updated and developed. In order to evaluate the modern capabilities of this tool, to understand its updated meaning and content, it would be useful to turn to the origins, in particular to the little-known events of the 1920s, marked by discussions and innovations in territorial economic research and the implementation of their results. Given the large scale of the Russian space, special attention was paid to the problems of the first level of organization of spaces – macro-regions and macrozones. Historical experience shows that zoning and zoning can be useful not only to identify the diversity of Russian spaces, but also to form institutions and organizations responsible for their modernization. It is proposed to consider macroregions and macrozones as a result of not only delimitation, but also the spatial organization of Russian society as a whole.

In November 2026, the USA will hold the interim elections for the Congress and the authorities of most states. In the current Congress, both chambers are under the control of the Republican Party, which allows its leader, President Donald Trump, to control the legislative process and pursue his own initiatives without regard to the democratic minority of the parliament. The midterm elections could change the balance of power in both chambers of Congress. If the Republicans lose their majority in at least one of the chambers, the administration will lose its ability to pass legislation, and the opposition will gain a mechanism for parliamentary oversight and investigations. The regional dimension of the midterm elections is also important: during the election period, the configuration of power in the states and the role of the regional component in the life of the state increase, reflecting the underlying trends of American federalism. The article examines the features of the electoral geography in the 2026 midterm elections; the phenomenon of swing states; the political configuration of the midterm elections; the primary stage of the midterm elections and forecasts of their results, as well as the activation of various regional movements, including the growth of separatist sentiments. The outcome of the midterm elections in the United States is quite important for Russia from a foreign policy point of view, especially regarding the conflict in Ukraine and sanctions pressure. The American experience is also important for understanding some domestic Russian electoral processes.

The countries of the Anglo-Saxon world (USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) consistently occupy the top positions of the world rankings for the quality of life of citizens and the Human Development Index (HDI). This reflects not only strong economic indicators, but also developed social standards, as well as effective mechanisms that help to maintain a fairly high standard of living for citizens, even if they are in a difficult life situation. The article presents a statistical analysis of social standards in Anglo-Saxon countries. The key aspects of social systems are considered: mechanisms for regulating minimum wages, social protection systems, pension standards, and programs to support the poor. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the possibility of applying foreign experience in Russian practice.

A reliable assessment of the socio-economic processes taking place in Russia is impossible without taking into account the regional characteristics of their course. The spatial picture of these processes is much more complicated than the sectoral one: the economy of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation is not an arithmetic sum of enterprises and social facilities. This is a polysyllabic organism, the characteristics of which impose special requirements on the methodology for determining problems and directions of its development. Special requirements are also imposed on the organization of management of processes occurring within the boundaries of the regions. The economic space of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation includes several decision-making niches (federal, regional, municipal, sectoral). This makes the functions of the regional management system in many ways similar to the federal, that is, state. This level determines the requirements for information support of decisions. For this reason, the methods of static analysis and forecasting of the development of regional economies are qualitatively different from the methods used at the sectoral level. In the presented article, as in the previous publications of the authors, the relationship of the three basic components of the economic space of the Russian regions is investigated: the quality of the social environment, economic and investment activities, sources of financing for the development of the social sphere. Based on the constructed indices of social development, economic activity and the indicator of budgetary self-sufficiency, a Final index was built reflecting the general state of the economy of each region in the period 2021–2025. The analysis of the data obtained indicates that there is a generally upward trend in the dynamics of regional economies and a high probability of breaking this trend after 2025.

The article considers and analyzes the current steps of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) towards the transition to a circular economy, taking into account the fact that the main revenue-generating activity in the region is the extraction of oil, gas, coal, and diamonds. The authors emphasize the high relevance of the transition to a circular economy for the region due to the need to reduce anthropogenic pressure on unique natural ecosystems while maintaining high rates of industrial development. The authors emphasize that the experience gained in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is o f significant practical value for subjects of the Russian Federation characterized by comparable climatic and infrastructural constraints, such as extremely low temperature conditions, prolonged heating periods, significant remoteness of settlements from each other, as well as increased operating costs for energy supply. The results achieved in the region form a solid foundation for the implementation of the carbon neutrality strategy by 2040 and have a high potential for replication to other territories of the Russian Federation.