The purpose of this article is to determine the nature of the influence of digitalization on the political process, identifying the associated risks and prospects for the stability of the political system. The research question is how the transformation of the elements of the political process under the influence of information technologies changes it at the micro, meso, and macro levels. The methodological basis is structural-functional analysis, which allows us to consider digitalization as a destabilizing but adaptive factor in the development of the political system, and the modeling method, which makes it possible to consider the political process as a model existing at three levels. The findings of the work demonstrate that digital transformation modifies political institutions and actors, creates new challenges, but at the same time does not create a fundamentally new political reality, but acts as a key factor forcing the political system to adapt.

The article analyzes the phenomenon of information fakes, the use of which in the contemporary digital space becomes an instrument of confrontation between economic and political actors and a threat to national security. The theoretical and methodological framework of the study is based on the concept of a digital society, while the authors emphasize the transformation of the nature of communication in a contemporary digital society. It is concluded that the predominantly emotional consumption of news replaces the cognitive component of communication itself. Taking into account the increasing orientation of the audience towards the short-term perception of information and with the constant simplification of production and improvement of the technical quality of fakes, favorable conditions are being created for the increasingly massive spread of fake information.
The materials of the Russian Federation shows the main directions of countering the spread of fake information, including law regulation, the establishment of legislative responsibility for the spread of false messages, the creation of a media field monitoring system, the development of state and public resources specializing in exposing fakes, etc. It is concluded that an effective strategy to combat fakes should include not only identifying and blocking false information, but also increasing the digital literacy of society and developing information hygiene.

This article examines revolution as a socio-political phenomenon through the prism of the views of two outstanding Russian social thinkers — V. V. Rozanov and P. A. Sorokin. Despite the obvious differences in their personal and professional biographies, they both, having offered in their own way a deep and comprehensive analysis of the causes, nature and consequences of the revolution from the point of view of individual, social and historical development, coincided in essential assessments that sound relevant later more than a hundred years. A common feature of the work of Rozanov and of Sorokin is the antinomy, contradictoriness of one’s views, which modern researchers pay attention to. Using the personal biographies of the presented scholars as an example, the article examines the phenomenon of revolution and the social and political context in which it was matured over many years. Rozanov was a direct witness to the revolutionary events, and Sorokin was even a participant. Such close acquaintance with this phenomenon allowed both authors to conclude that, as Sorokin put it, “the real nature of revolution is very different from these romantic representations of it which are usual among its apologists.” Both of them initially shared common inspiration and hopes, and both authors saw a common inevitable pattern in the development of this process — disappointment in ideals, the aggravation of all problems and revolution’s eventual reversal into its opposite.

Central Asia as an important subject and actor in the emerging world order draws attention of regional and global powers. Since the beginning of the 21st century, China and India have also initiated a more proactive foreign policy towards the Central Asian states. This article explores the specificities of the implementation of China’s and India’s foreign policies in the Central Asian countries in the political and economic domains. It also conducts a comparative analysis of China’s and India’s foreign policy approaches, priorities, similarities, and differences in Central Asia. It is pointed out that “soft power” constitutes an essential instrument in the implementation of the foreign policies of both countries in Central Asia. It is noted that the main differences in the formation of the Central Asian policies of the two countries include the disparity of trade and economic presence and the difference in the degree of autonomy of the Central Asian policy vector.