Financial policy and stabilization : the case of Russia

The article looks into the state financial policy and, in particular, its most important component at the modern stage, the budget policy. A brief review of the main problems and the Russian financial policy development prospects is presented in the article. Practical tasks of the Russian economy, anti-crisis stabilization and the transition process to the innovative models of the Russian Federation’s economic development are also analyzed in this article. It is impossible to implement the proposed priorities without a balanced and reasoned financial policy carried out at all levels of the administration without a budget regulation as a catalyzer of the required processes. The main tendencies to form income, expenditures and the Russian Federal budget balance management for the ongoing and perspective period are singled out. Consequently such a detailed factor analysis of the dynamics of the receipts from budget-forming taxes is necessary to be conducted. To increase the budget operational effectiveness it is necessary to widen the application of the treasury support of state contracts and to develop a state financial control system.peer-reviewe

Organization of Artistic World of Fantastic Work: Categorical Concepts (dilogy of O. Gromyko “Year of Rat”)

The features of the organization of the artistic world of a fantastic work are considered. The material was the works of O. Gromyko, written in the genre of fantasy. The main parameters of the organization of the artistic world are analyzed: artistic space, artistic time and the picture of the heroes’ world, understood as a system of their value attitudes and rules. The relevance of the study is due not only to the wide popularity of works of science fiction, but also to the ability to analyze the linguistic means of creating a “secondary world” using this material. The scientific novelty of this work is seen in the fact that linguistic nominative means of forming the main categories of the artistic world: space, time and the picture of the world are investigated. It is shown that the understanding of a fantastic work as a special “otherness of reality” is associated in literary science with the problem of artistic convention. Attention is paid to the description of the main scientific approaches to understanding the primary and secondary artistic conventions. It is noted that the idea of creating a special artistic world in fiction correlates with secondary conventions and fiction, which are interpreted as essential features of any work of art. The author concludes that the exceptional plausibility of the universe under consideration is due to the conceptuality, associativity and duality of the created narrative

Unusual Presentation Of Self-Limiting Chorioretinopathy Possibly Associated With COVID-19

The paper reports on an unusual presentation of self-limiting chorioretinopathy possibly associated with COVID-19 in a 47-year-old woman previously tested positive for SARS-COV-2 by PCR, who presented with decreased VA in her right eye on day 15 after testing. The only symptom she had was anosmia and аgeusia. No therapy was taken during the 14-days quarantine period. The anterior segment was unremarkable on slit lamp examination in both eyes. Fundus examination of the left eye showed no significant findings. On the other hand, the examination of the right eye revealed yellowish creamy deep chorioretinal lesion in central retina. Two weeks later the patient came back for follow-up and it was found that the lesion was decreased in size, with VA improvement. Ocular signs in COVID-19 cases are rarely reported, and most of the ophthalmological changes have been associated usually with viral conjunctivitis. Researchers report also finding such as cotton wool spots, microhemorrhages and some OCT-changes. This case illustrates the possible association between COVID-19 and retinopathy despite the almost asymptomatic presentation

Inversionless light amplification and optical switching controlled by state-dependent alignment of molecules

We propose a method to achieve amplification without population inversion by anisotropic molecules whose orientation by an external electric field is state-dependent. It is based on decoupling of the lower-state molecules from the resonant light while the excited ones remain emitting. The suitable class of molecules is discussed, the equation for the gain factor is derived, and the magnitude of the inversionless amplification is estimated for the typical experimental conditions. Such switching of the sample from absorbing to amplifying via transparent state is shown to be possible both with the aid of dc and ac control electric fields.Comment: AMS-LaTeX v1.2, 4 pages with 4 figure

Leadership potential of professional teacher associations in Russia: Formation of middle leaders

This research study is aimed at investigating distributed leadership practices in the Russian school system, of which professional teacher associations (PTA) constitute a distinct feature. In particular, we set out to investigate the PTA leadership potential, as well as the role and specific personal characteristics of middle leaders in the Russian school education system. These associations are formed by the school administration on the basis of subject areas, bringing together teachers of maths, history, etc. Teachers join PTAs on a voluntarily basis. The key function of such organisations consists in the implementation of innovative educational approaches and techniques. In order to analyse their leadership potential, we carried out a sociological survey among the employees of high-profile secondary schools (gymnasiums and lyceums) situated in the major Russian city of Ekaterinburg. The research methodology comprised structured interviews with 110 respondents, along with in-depth interviews with 2 school directors, 4 school deputy directors and 6 heads of professional teacher associations. Our results show that the fundamentals and principles of distributed leadership are actively implemented in Ekaterinburg schools. The school administrations encourage the creation of professional teacher associations grouped around subject areas, delegating to these structural units the functions of improving the quality of teaching the respective subjects and disseminating educational innovations, at the same time as fulfilling the requirements of the state and regional education authorities. Such associations are headed by middle leaders, who are nominated by their colleagues and whose candidacy is approved by school seniors, taking into account their professional achievements, experience of leading pedagogical innovations and the presence of the right personal qualities necessary for productive collaborative work. These people perform the role of mediators, operating at the interface between various levels within the school. Although viewed as a school’s personnel reserve for the positions of principals and head teachers, our respondents consider themselves to be ‘more teachers’ or ‘innovators in education’ than administrators. The development of the leadership qualities of such professionals in the Russian school system is shown to be hindered by a ‘glass ceiling’ – a certain limit in their career growth. This discouraging factor results in some middle school leaders searching for professional self-realization opportunities outside the school system, in the spheres of business, science or culture that are believed to provide more opportunities for self-advancement. © 2019 National Research University Higher School of Economics. All rights reserved

Electrotransport and magnetic properies of Cr-GaSb spintronic materials synthesized under high pressure

Electrotarnsport and magnetic properties of new phases in the system Cr-GaSb were studied. The samples were prepared by high-pressure (P=6-8 GPa) high-temperature treatment and identified by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). One of the CrGa$_2$Sb$_2$ phases with an orthorhombic structure $Iba2$ has a combination of ferromagnetic and semiconductor properties and is potentially promising for spintronic applications. Another high-temperature phase is paramagnetic and identified as tetragonal $I4/mcm$

Evaluation of economic effectiveness of the state purchases system : criteria and priorities

The purpose of the article is to develop new criteria and priorities of evaluating the economic effectiveness of the state purchases system in modern Russia. The methodology of the work consists of the general scientific methods (induction, deduction, formalization, synthesis, etc.) and specific methods of the economic theory. The authors conduct the problem analysis of the methodology of evaluation of economic effectiveness of the state purchases system which is applied in modern Russia and analyze the causal connections of its application in practice, as well as conduct the comparative analysis of this methodology and the specially developed proprietary method that allows eliminating the determined problems of the existing methodology. The authors conduct the criterial evaluation of economic effectiveness of the state purchases system in Russia with the specially developed method and conclude that the effectiveness of the state purchases system in modern Russia is high due to a large per cent of economy of budget assets, domination of orders for domestic products within the import substitution policy, stimulation of economic growth, and increase of the society’s well-being. Perspectives of further growth of its effectiveness according to the offered criteria and priorities are related to simplification of the procedures of applicants’ participation in auctions for stimulating their competition, increase of the share of electronic orders, and moderate reduction of the average sum of order.peer-reviewe