The article reflects the most interesting opinions expressed during the international round table “Humanitarian Policy of Extra-Regional Actors in the South Caucasus”, organized by the National Research Institute for Communications Development in partnership with the Center for International and Strategic Studies of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. A comprehensive view of humanitarian policy in the context of geopolitical and economic interests of countries is presented. Emphasis is made on the policies of the United States, Turkey, Iran, and their rivalry among themselves. Humanitarian policy is considered an integral part of foreign policy. Historically, the United States views South Caucasus as a space for a geopolitical game in the struggle for influence with Russia. But the general course for the “strategic defeat” of Moscow forced the American leadership to look for options on how to increase pressure, this time through Armenia. Iran’s humanitarian policy is characterized in the article as “smart power”. The concept of cultural diplomacy in Iran’s foreign policy indicates a shift in emphasis in resolving interstate contradictions from the level of military and political rivalry to the socio-cultural and spiritual level of cooperation. Turkey skillfully combines the tools of economic and cultural influence to achieve political interests. Russia’s humanitarian policy is based on preserving cultural and historical ties, forming an objective image of Russia, and preserving the Russian language as a language of communication.

Currently, BRICS is one of the most important trans-regional organizations based on the political, national and economic interests of participating countries. China, as one of the founders of BRICS, considers this organization as not only a platform for developing economic relations with important suppliers of raw materials like Russia, Brazil and South Africa but also as a tool to confront the West and create an alternative model for international relations. In the framework of financial security and independence from the US dollar, the People’s Republic of China contributed to the creation of the New Development Bank (formerly known as the BRICS Development Bank). It proposed making the yuan a working currency, which is used among other things in mutual settlements with BRICS countries. The use of “soft power” by China through promoting cultural, educational, and scientific cooperation, including within BRICS, allows it to occupy leading positions in political and economic spheres.

This article examines the instruments for implementing the pan-Turkism policy and the positions of regional and extra-regional actors. The fundamental principles of the ideology of pan-Turkism laid at the basis of the created instruments. On the one hand, the author shows this connection and on the other hand, she analyzes the role of these instruments in the context of Turkey’s foreign policy. The activities of these instruments in Turkic-speaking countries are assesses particular the programs and possibilities of the Organization of Turkic States and “Turkic integration”. The author analyzes the position of regional and extra-regional actors in relation to Turkey’s integration projects, as well as the specifics of these actors’ policies. The argument of the article is that a number of structures and organizations created by Turkey after the collapse of the USSR, such as the International Turkic Academy, schools, universities, Yunus Emre Institutes, TIKA, TURKSOY, OTS, are the instruments for the implementation of pan-Turkism or “Turkic integration”, and their main goal is to achieve the creation of a political unit on an ethnolinguistic identity.

The article examines the situation in the field of water resources in the Central Asian region. Due to the uneven distribution of water resources and unilateral steps taken by some countries to use them from transboundary watercourses, interstate relations have been exacerbated. The article reveals the level of water resource management by the Central Asian states. Using the example of the Kyrgyz Republic, efforts to regulate transboundary water resources are considered. An assessment is being made of the ability of state governments in the region to resolve water issues without conflict. International water projects in the states of the region are considered to ease tensions. A number of features of the water policy in Central Asian countries which have not been resolved as problematic issues since the collapse of the Soviet Union are highlighted. The article reveals the importance of water resources for development of the Central Asian states. 

In recent years, regional integration processes have created a number of opportunities for ensuring mutual economic ties between countries of the world. In this regard, the countries of Southeast Asia are increasingly considered as one of the potential partners for accelerating integration processes in Central Asia and interregional cooperation. The purpose of the article is to show that the countries of Southeast Asia are an important vector for the diversification of economic relations of Central Asia countries, and to reveal the main directions of their interrelation’s development. Based on a comparative analysis, the state of political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian relations between the countries of Central and Southeast Asia, the factors influencing the slow development of cooperation and the possibilities for its improvement in the future are studied. In the context of the world unstable situation, the active participation of the Central Asian countries in integration gives impetus to strengthening contacts with the countries of Southeast Asia, which have historical experience in this regard. This process shows the need to develop economic, political, cultural and humanitarian ties between the countries of the two regions. In conclusion, the similarities and differences between the countries of these regions, achievements and shortcomings, as well as opportunities for further development of relations are substantiated.

International students who studied at the American universities are reasonably considered highly qualified specialists with relevant theoretical knowledge and applied skills in their field, especially in natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, and technical specialties. During their studies, they establish connections with the American academic and business communities, and gain an understanding of American culture and values. Together, these factors make foreign graduates of American higher education who have returned to their home country potential mediators for establishing international cooperation involving the United States in scientific, educational, and business fields. The study of the parameters of American educational immigration is of interest, among other things, in order to improve the system of attracting foreign citizens to study at Russian higher education programs.

The article considers the development оf “soft” skills among civil servants using as an example, the experience of the Russian Federation. The methodological basis for writing this article was the competence-based approach, which is actively used in the theory and practice of public administration. Based on this approach, methodological recommendations were developed and published to set qualification requirements for filling civil service positions, and to assess the professional service activities of civil servants. These recomendations specify groups of competencies that civil servants should possess, including “soft” skills. Regulatory documents on the civil service do not explicitly mention the concept of “soft” skills, but include them as a part of the required competencies for civil servants and are an integral part of their work. The article provides an example of how “soft” skills are developed and assessed by civil servants using the Moscow Regional Training Center as an example. Their connection with the development of digital skills is demonstrated. The authors conclude that there is a need for further improvement of “soft” skills among civil servants, and they propose building models based on the formation of a digital society.

Labor migration of the population is one of the most complex social processes, the occurrence of which is caused by changes in the location of production, economic and political situations, as well as growth in labor and social mobility. The article examines internal and external migration processes in Kyrgyzstan, its main causes and positive and negative effects on the country. Current trends in migration movements in Kyrgyz society reflect a series of changes in socio-economic development and political situation. The author identifies the most significant factors influencing external migration among young people of rural areas, including the desire for improved education and the desire to change material and socioeconomic status. Along with ethnic emigration, economic emigration is becoming more prominent, caused by a decline in living standards, uncertainty about future prospects, and ineffective social protection for the population. The author notes that rural youth are the most mobile, so it is possible that, if the situation continues to worsen in Kyrgyzstan, especially in the southern regions, the number of young people who migrate to other countries such as Russia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Korea, Japan, and Great Britain will increase.

The article examines the documentation of population migration records in prerevolutionary Russia, the USSR, and modern CIS countries. Documentation of population migration records is primarily associated with the introduction of the passport system. Already in ancient states, a passport system was introduced that allowed recording of population movements. In the 18th century, different types of passports were introduced, and the formation of the Russian passport system began. Internal migration records were mainly introduced in the 1920s. During the 20th century, one of the best systems of recording population migration was built in the USSR. At the present stage, a number of information systems and several types of documents are used for this purpose: passports, temporary residence permits, residence permit, etc. In different CIS countries, based on similar legislation, different but comparable in their functions documents (identification cards, migration cards, etc.) are used. This causes certain problems with accounting for international migration and requires the improvement and harmonization of national information systems.

The article focuses on Russian-Tajik relations during the Soviet era. The authors have analyzed articles from two popular science magazines published by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Tajikistan: “Agitator of Tajikistan” and “Communist of Tajikistan”, as well as materials from archives of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, and other documents. The authors identified four categories of articles, depending on their content: anniversary articles, articles about Russian workers-craftsmen, articles about interethnic marriages, and articles about friendship between Tajiks and Russians in Tajik poetry. In the journals “Communist of Tajikistan” and “Agitator of Tajikistan”, articles dedicated to the friendship of these nations were published by people with academic degrees or chairmen of district, city or regional committees of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. Of course, the view from the position in 2024 on the topic of the friendship between peoples in Soviet times differs from the view that the authors held in the 1970s and 1980s. The study showed that the concept of “friendship of peoples” was a super-ethnic concept for Soviet people.

The article discusses the role of Imanaly Aidarbekov in the formation of the KaraKyrgyz Autonomous Region, considered from the perspective of his development as a national leader. His activities as the head of the land and water department and chairman of the Jetysu regional executive committee, where he played a key role in resolving territorial and interethnic issues, as well as in conducting socio-economic reforms are studied. Particular attention is paid to his participation in national-territorial demarcation, integration of various ethnic groups and local authorities strengthening in conditions of political instability. The article emphasizes that it was this experience that became the basis for his further activities as the leader of the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Region and played an important role in the formation of Kyrgyz statehood. The article emphasizes that through these aspects one can understand the depth of their influence on the development of the region and the formation of its identity.

In the context of the integration of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics into the political, economic and cultural space of the Russian Federation, the relevance of studying the history and issues of legal, social, and religious development of new entities within Russia is increasing. Based on historical analysis and data collected by the author during a trip to Severodonetsk in June of 2014, this article presents materials covering the regional and religious features of the area. A distinctive feature of Severodonetsk is that, since 2014, it has become the administrative center and received the status of capital of the Lugansk region of Ukraine. Later, the Ukrainian military-civil administration started working here, and the “SBU directorate for the Donetsk and Lugansk regions” was established. Since this period and up to the liberation of the city by the Russian Army in 2022, Severodonetsk has actively implemented a policy to suppress all pro-Russian movements. 

The article contains a study of the formation of a model of state policy in the field of higher education in Kyrgyzstan in the period from 1991 to 2021. The author attempts to analyze the educational policy of Kyrgyzstan based on models identified by B.Clark: statepaternalistic, liberal, corporate models. The comparison of models is based on the following criteria: educational policy goals, level of government intervention, financing of education, accessibility of education. Some aspects of the influence of foreign actors of educational policy on the formation of a national approach to higher education are analyzed. Two periods of development of the state educational policy in Kyrgyzstan are defined and their features are considered. The key political, economic, social and technological factors that influenced the choice of the educational policy model in Kyrgyzstan are identified. It is argued that by now a mixed model of higher education policy has been formed in the country (with signs of state-paternalistic and liberal models), which has retained the features of Soviet higher education with elements of national and European approaches.