About the Role of the Russian Federation Subjects Legislation in Achieving the Goals of "Green" Economy (by the Example of Three Caspian Regions)
Authors: Ryzhenkov A. Ya. , Tsuglaeva N. V. 
Published: July 2024

Introduction. In the states with the federal form of government the task of transition to the "green" economy is solved not only through the legal regulatory acts adopted by the central authorities, but also through development of the legislation of the subjects of federation. With this regard, the Russian Federation is not an exception. It should be noted that the legislation of each of the Russian Federation subjects can be studied separately (individually), as well as within the framework of interregional environmental problems that can be solved by contribution of each of the Russian Federation subjects. The completeness and complexity of the Russian Federation subject legislation (or the legal technique level thereof) has been defined. Based on this criterion the subjects of the Russian Federation can be clustered: the ones located near the Lake Baikal, the Volga regions, etc. According to such understanding of the problem, this study aims at analysing the environmental legislation of the Caspian region (comprising three subjects of the Russian Federation: the Republics of Daghestan and Kalmykia and the Astrakhan Region). The access of these Russian Federation subjects to the Caspian Sea determines a number of problems common for these regions, which can be solved by legal means.

Materials and Methods. The legal, organisational, ideological, economic and other aspects of the environmental legislation development of the Russian Federation subjects are studied using the commonly accepted methods of scientific cognition: general scientific and specific scientific methods (dialectical method, analysis, synthesis, concrete-historical, logical methods, etc.).

Results. The doctrinal analysis of the anticipatory rule-making concept of the Russian Federation subjects is carried out, its advantages and prospects are revealed. The environmental legislation of the three Caspian regions (the Republics of Daghestan and Kalmykia and the Astrakhan Region) is analysed. The advantages and disadvantages of the laws regulating environmental protection of the three subjects are described. It has been proved that the environmental legislation of the three Caspian regions poorly reflects their maritime status, and recommendations have been made on the ways of respecting their environmental specificity.

Discussion and Conclusion. In Russia, the authority differentiation between the Russian Federation and its subjects within the joint jurisdiction matters, including the environmental protection issues, has no proper legal regulation. The Federal Environmental Legislation lists the main directions of environmental protection which can be regulated under the Russian Federation subjects legislation, however, the federal laws which have been adopted on all (or almost all) of these issues sometimes obstruct the regions from following their own legal regulation and prevent them from observing the regional environmental specificity. As a result, in the most of the Russian Federation subjects there is no clear plan of legislative work on the environmental protection issues. On the other hand, many regions have similar environmental problems, this is clearly seen by the example of the three Caspian regions. To coordinate the Caspian regions rule-making, organisational and managerial efforts, it is necessary to develop the Caspian regions environmental protection concept (a political and legal act containing the environmental problems analysis and suggestions on their solution by legal means of the three regions), as well as establish, by voluntary will of the three Caspian regions, the coordinating body, thus enhancing their environmental legislation quality.