The Foreign Ministry's council of heads of constituent entities of the Russian Federation as a mechanism for coordinating regional international relations: historical and methodological aspects of the problem

This article is devoted to the problem of activities of the Foreign Ministry's Council of Heads of Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation, which is little represented in the scientific literature. Being established in 2003, the Council is an important mechanism for the interaction of the federal center with the regions of Russia. Its goal was to improve the coordination of the international relations of the regions for the implementation of a common foreign policy of the Russian Federation in the international arena. The article discusses the main directions, tasks, forms, methods and problems of the Council’s activities, shows the results of its work against the background of a common foreign policy of the Russian Federation in the international arena.