Specially Protected Nature Reserves of Russia: Analysis of Changes in Legislation on Specially Protected Natural Territories in the Period 1991-2024

Introduction: the article presents a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of legislation on specially protected natural areas Russia for the period 1991-2024. The article examines the key stages of the formation of the legal framework of protected areas, starting with the adoption of the fundamental Federal Law No. 33-FZ "On Specially Protected Natural Territories". Special attention is paid to the transformation of the legal status of various categories of protected areas: state nature reserves, national and natural parks, nature reserves, natural monuments, arboretum and botanical gardens. Materials and Methods: legislative changes in Russian regulatory legal acts have been studied; key trends in the development of environmental legislation have been identified, and the consequences of these changes for the functioning of the country's conservation system have been assessed. The methodological basis was analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, logical, formal-legal and system-structural methods, through which it became possible to study changes in legislation on specially protected natural territories in the period 1991-2024. Results: the practical significance of the research lies in the systematization of the regulatory framework of protected areas and the identification of trends in the development of environmental legislation. Discussion and Conclusions: the research results can be used to improve the legal regulation of specially protected natural areas and in educational activities.