Russian federology in modern periods: the legal nature of the federation, it's essential features and purpose

the study of federalism and the federal structure in domestic science does not lose its relevance, since the country is still in search of the optimal form of organization of state power. in the scientific study of federalism and its essential features, a systematic approach is extremely important, excluding one-sidedness in the interpretation of its essence and legal nature. this issue is of particular relevance in connection with the changes that have taken place over the past three decades: the collapse of the soviet union, the transition to a democratic model of governance. scientific developments on federalism by soviet scientists require their own analysis and comprehension, which will allow us to look at the legal nature of the federal structure in a new way. materials and methods: the solution of research problems was achieved by analyzing and comparing the scientific developments of soviet and modern jurists on issues of federalism and the federal structure. the methodology of the work includes the use of both general scientific methods (analysis, observation, generalization, comparison, description) and special methods of legal science, including historical and legal and formal legal. the results of the study: showed that despite the change in the socio-political system, the developments of soviet jurists on federalism have not lost their relevance and are largely consistent with its modern understanding. findings and conclusions: the review has demonstrated many theoretical approaches to understanding the essence of federalism, its purpose and the possibility of russia’s development as a federal state. throughout its existence, the concept of federalism is filled with new content, it develops in the light of the experience gained in federal construction, its new features are revealed, new models appear, and therefore it is extremely difficult to bring this phenomenon under one denominator. nevertheless, among all the campaigns described, we find something in common, characteristic of all federations: a federation is a state in which its constituent parts - the subjects of the federation, have a legally defined independence: from an extremely wide one, where, for example, even criminal legislation is largely falls within the competence of the subjects, to a narrow one, where the scope of powers of the subjects includes a small list of powers, mainly in the socio-cultural sphere.