Issues of Legal Support of Socio-economic Policy and Environmental

Security of Russia in the Context of Digital Transformation

Lidia Vladimirovna Zarapina

, Maria Mikhailovna Mukhlynina

, Alla Petrovna Adamenko

Dmitry Nikolaevich Mukhlynin

and Natalia Yuryevna Belokopytova

Federal state budgetary educational institution «Russian state University of justice», Moscow, Russian Federation

Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation

Federal State Institution Research Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service Russia, Moscow, Russian Federation

North Caucasus Federal University Pyatigorsk Institute (branch) of NCFU, Pyatigorsk, Russian Federation

Keywords: Environmental Safety, Socio-Economic Policy, Digital Technologies, Legislation, Sustainable Development,

Digitalization.

Abstract: The article deals with the introduction of new digital technologies, methods and approaches into the system

of ensuring environmental safety in Russia within the framework of the current socio-economic policy. The

purpose of the article is to consider the problem of introducing digital technologies into the system of

environmental safety and environmental protection in the Russian Federation. To achieve this goal, the

authors set a number of tasks, in particular, to analyze the provisions of the Constitution of Russia and the

norms of the current legislation in the environmental sphere, to consider the issues of the environmental policy

of the Russian Federation in relation to digitalization in the framework of socio-economic development.

Taking into account the versatility of this topic, the authors focus on the role and specific steps currently being

taken by state authorities at the federal level, as well as the vector of development that the President of Russia

sets in this direction. Attention is drawn to the main legal problems and difficulties that exist in the context of

digital transformation. The authors propose a number of legal, organizational and economic measures for the

introduction of digital technologies into the system of ensuring environmental safety.

1 INTRODUCTION

Despite the fact that the present time is characterized

by turbulence, transformations of public relations at

the national and supranational levels of states, the

Russian Federation has taken a confident course to

achieve the goals of sustainable development. At the

international level, we are talking about establishing

norms, rules and principles of responsible behavior of

States, especially with regard to the environmental

agenda.

On May 12, 2021, during the annual report of the

Russian Government to the State Duma, Prime

Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that «the Cabinet of

Ministers is actively working on the «general

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2440-3248

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4737-3050

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1018-6446

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1259-0840

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2903-674Х

cleaning of the country»». It is obvious that the socio-

economic development of Russia is currently

impossible without achieving the strategic goals of

environmental safety and rational use of natural

resources. According to the Ministry of Natural

Resources, there are about 29 thousand objects in

Russia that cause environmental damage, including

unauthorized landfills, sunken ships, and abandoned

wells. The priority task, according to the Minister of

Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov –

is to conduct an audit of these objects, determine the

order of accumulated damage and identify the degree

of threats that they pose to the population. «And as a

result of this work, it is easy to remove them,

including with the involvement of the owners,» the

336

Zarapina, L., Mukhlynina, M., Adamenko, A., Mukhlynin, D. and Belokopytova, N.

Issues of Legal Support of Socio-economic Policy and Environmental Security of Russia in the Context of Digital Transformation.

DOI: 10.5220/0010702300003169

In Proceedings of the International Scientiﬁc-Practical Conference "Ensuring the Stability and Security of Socio-Economic Systems: Overcoming the Threats of the Crisis Space" (SES 2021),

pages 336-340

ISBN: 978-989-758-546-3

 2022 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All r ights reserved

minister said. The set goals and objectives are

reflected in the Russian Constitution and strategic

planning documents. The adoption in the Constitution

of the Russian Federation of new provisions on the

role of the Russian Government in regulating the

environmental agenda, on environmental education

and upbringing, and on the environmental culture of

citizens (item «e» 6, Part 1, Article 114 of the

Constitution of the Russian Federation) clearly

demonstrates the direction of the state environmental

policy that echoes the goals of sustainable

development.

According to a number of authors, at the

legislative level, the issues of ensuring the

environmental safety of Russia in the framework of

the ongoing socio-economic policy with the

introduction of new digital technologies are generally

paid attention in our country, but the analysis of

factors determines the need for digital transformation

of environmental management industries (Sukhova,

Abanina. 2020).

Issues of environmental safety and environmental

protection are regulated by the Federal Law» On

Environmental Protection «of 2002, the

Environmental Doctrine of the Russian Federation

and other regulatory legal acts, and only in the»

Forecast of Scientific and Technological

Development of the Russian Federation for the period

up to 2030 « (approved by the Federal Law of the

Russian Federation). The Government of the Russian

Federation) in the section «Rational use of natural

resources» specifically states that the environment in

the era of globalization and rapid scientific and

technological development is becoming increasingly

vulnerable, and therefore further following the

established inertia scenario in this area threatens with

significant risks: climate change, soil degradation,

depletion of natural resources, animal extinction,

increased man-made load and pollution of natural

environments, shortage of quality water resources,

loss of biodiversity, etc. As a result, it becomes clear

that individual economic policy instruments should

be integrated into environmental policy.

The low level of environmental education and

awareness, the underdeveloped system of training in

the field of ecology of managers in various fields of

production, economy and management, as well as

advanced training of specialists in environmental

services, law enforcement agencies and the judiciary,

is, in addition to purely technical problems, an

obstacle to the development of the implementation of

new digital technologies in environmental protection

within the framework of the current socio-economic

policy. Mukhlynina M. and Vedysheva N. In his

writings address issues of changes in the field of

environmental policy, both at the level of legal and

regulatory framework, and on organizational-

managerial level (Mukhlynina, Vedysheva. 2020).

Topical issues of legal regulation of digitalization

of the environmental security as one of the areas of

socio-economic policy in the Russian Federation are

reflected in the works of Sukhova E.A., Abaninа E.N.

(Sukhova, 2020), Mukhlynina M., Vedysheva N.

(Mukhlynina, 2020), Lunevoy E.V. (Luneva, 2018),

Krasnova I.О.(Krasnova, 2021), MacLean D.,

Andjelkovic M. & Vetter T. (MacLean, 2007), M. T.

Riaz, J. Gutierrez & J. Pedersen (Riaz, 2009), Perelet

R.A. (Flight, 2018), Kozyreva, A.A. (Vedysheva,

2020), Misnik G.A. (Kozyreva, 2020), Fomenko

V.L., Fitsay D.A., etc. However, a number of issues

related to the directions of modernization of legal and

other means in this area remain insufficiently

developed.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

The methodological basis of this research has

traditionally been general scientific methods:

synthesis, analysis, induction and deduction. The

method of factor analysis was used to determine the

impact of various factors on the implementation of

digitalization of environmental safety in the Russian

Federation.

The information base of the research was made up

of normative legal acts, documents of state authorities

and their officials, scientific works of Russian

scientists on the problems of digitalization of

environmental safety and the development of socio-

economic policy of the Russian Federation.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The largest accident at the CHPP in Norilsk in recent

years has revealed all the existing environmental

problems in the country as a litmus test, but it also

prompted the authorities to draw serious conclusions

and take the necessary organizational and legal

decisions. On behalf of the President of Russia, a draft

law has been prepared and will soon be sent to the

State Duma for consideration, which will oblige

owners to be responsible for the elimination of the

damage caused, including financially. The main idea

of the legislative novels is the need to change the

attitude of entrepreneurs to nature. The damage at the

Norilsk thermal power plant will be eliminated at the

Issues of Legal Support of Socio-economic Policy and Environmental Security of Russia in the Context of Digital Transformation

337

expense of the perpetrators, but experts are confident

that such costs should not be financed by companies

as current expenses. This reduces profits, and

therefore taxes to regional budgets. That is, it turns

out that the elimination of damage is essentially at the

expense of ordinary citizens, which is not acceptable.

It is necessary to develop such an economic and legal

mechanism that will provide for the payment of

environmental damage from the company's net profit,

only then will the legal and financial responsibility be

borne by the owners and top officials of the

organizations.

Close attention, as E.V. Luneva notes, in the

context of the deterioration of the environmental

situation, the problems of modernization of

legislation on rational use of natural resources

deserve close attention, which should be associated

with the development and implementation of

progressive means and methods to ensure the

effective use of natural resources and be one of the

priority areas (Luneva, 2018). We are convinced that

we cannot do without a legal framework that allows

us to introduce the tools of the digital economy into

the management of environmental protection and

nature management. Thus, according to the Decree of

the President of the Russian Federation of May 9,

2017 No. 203 «On the Strategy for the development

of the Information Society in the Russian Federation

for 2017-2030», it is determined that the most

important factor of production is data in digital form,

processing large volumes and using the results of

analysis in comparison with traditional forms of

management will significantly increase the efficiency

of various types of production, technologies,

equipment, storage, sale, delivery of goods and

services. Therefore, only such a mechanism will be

able to ensure a combination of environmental,

economic and social interests of society and the state.

Experts in environmental science generally hold

two positions regarding the objectives of

environmental protection: the anthropocentric

position is that nature protection should be carried out

to maintain or create favorable environmental

conditions for human life. The supporters of the

egocentric position proceed from the need to preserve

nature as a whole, as it has its own value (Krasnova,

2021). Despite the difference in scientific views, no

one denies that only decisive practical steps will be

able to ensure the implementation of theoretical

provisions. According to experts of the International

Institute for Sustainable Development it is technology

that is currently playing a leading role in achieving

the long-term balance between human activities and

the natural environment necessary for the

implementation of the Sustainable Development

Goals (MacLean, 2007). The global community faces

serious challenges in improving environmental

performance, especially in the context of global

warming, and resource management. When the

information and communication technology (ICT)

industry contributes to the global economy by linking

innovation and development to almost every aspect of

human life, but it is also responsible for global

emissions CO2 (Riaz, 2009). The latest developments

in the field of digital technologies (CT) and

information and communication technologies (ICT)

are designed to improve the efficiency of specialists

whose activities are related to environmental

protection and environmental safety. First of all, the

technologies used can significantly facilitate the

process of processing a large amount of information,

carry out its deep and comprehensive analysis, and

qualitatively change management activities in the

field of environmental management, but, of course,

they are not yet able to offer ready-made solutions to

environmental problems.

Russia also does not stand still, the environmental

agenda sounds very loud. So, at the beginning of May

2021, there was a discussion of a draft law concerning

particularly dangerous enterprises whose work has

negative consequences for the environment (objects

of hazard class I and II, waste disposal facilities of

hazard class I and II, industrial sites and workshops

of chemical and oil refineries, etc.). The discussion

was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Victoria

Abramchenko together with industry ministries. It is

significant that the Russian Union of Industrialists

and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) took part in the

development of the draft law. According to the draft

document, five years before the final cycle of the

hazardous facility, the company's owners must

provide for a liquidation plan, which includes an

environmental audit, and ensure its financing. If this

work is not completed, then Rosprirodnadzor will be

able to go to court and collect a compensation

payment in the amount of the amount of liquidation

measures for non-performance of obligations. If this

does not happen, the payment of dividends will be

suspended by a court decision until the payment of

the compensation payment or the provision of a plan

of measures to eliminate the damage caused.

The Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology

of the Russian Federation, Alexander Kozlov, said

that as part of the implementation of the instructions

of the President of Russia, which the head of state

mentioned in his Address to the Federal Assembly.

amendments to the federal law «On Environmental

Protection» have already been prepared and sent to

SES 2021 - INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC-PRACTICAL CONFERENCE "ENSURING THE STABILITY AND SECURITY OF

SOCIO - ECONOMIC SYSTEMS: OVERCOMING THE THREATS OF THE CRISIS SPACE"

338

the Government, fixing the «coloring» of

environmental payments. «We conducted a small

analysis, about 23 billion rubles of compensated

damage for damage to nature last year. The money

went to different levels of budgets: federal, regional,

and municipal. And only about 2% went to direct

needs, just to compensate for environmental damage.

Yes, this money is used to build schools, hospitals,

and many other things that people need. But most

importantly, they do not go to the needs of the

environment. We have made amendments to the

Government, they are now under consideration. Now

the money from the environmental fines and the eco-

collection will go for its intended purpose: for the

environment», the minister said.

Now our country has taken a confident course for

a continuous and purposeful process related to the

digitalization of all spheres of society's life, gaining

knowledge, self-education, and gaining experience in

the development of its digital and information and

communication technologies, aimed at forming value

orientations, norms of behavior in the process of

environmental protection and rational use of natural

resources in order to meet the needs of present and

future generations, strengthening the rule of law and

ensuring environmental safety. The digital economy

makes it possible to ensure the sustainability of the

Earth's ecosystem, the transition to a green economy,

as well as to restore destroyed areas in this area, for

example, by monitoring green big data, including

online screening of a whole range of specialized

indicators (Flight, 2018).

The issue of using digital and information and

communication technologies to improve

environmental education and environmental culture

of citizens is also very relevant today. It should be

noted that existing technologies and ready-made

digital solutions allow creating high-quality

educational content that can be used to form

continuous environmental education and education in

the Russian Federation both within the framework of

state and non-state programs. At the same time, the

created educational content should be human-

oriented and aimed at creating new educational

material in accordance with the needs of the economy

and society, as well as meeting the interests of the

harmonious development of the individual, the

disclosure of his creative potential. In this regard,

when forming educational programs in the field of

environmental education, it is necessary to

recommend teachers to transform the lecture material

into a video stream, create digital texts and interactive

modules. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic,

the education system faced serious challenges related

to the need to ensure the legitimate rights of citizens,

but was able to fulfill the tasks assigned to it

(Kozyreva, 2020).

Ensuring an ecosystem approach one of the goals

formulated in the Decree of the President of the

Russian Federation of July 21, 2020 No. 474 «On the

National Development Goals of the Russian

Federation for the period up to 2030» sounds like a

digital transformation, for the implementation of

which it is necessary to achieve «digital maturity»,

including in the field of environmental safety.

Digitalization of the system of nature management

and environmental protection should contribute to the

implementation of one of the directions of the state

environmental policy at the present stage in the

Russian Federation and its subjects. Ensuring

environmental safety in the Russian Federation

contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable

Development Goals adopted by all United Nations

Member States in 2015 and calculated until 2030,

aimed at ensuring the protection of our planet,

improving the quality of life and improving the

prospects for all people around the world

(Vedysheva, 2020).

4 CONCLUSIONS

Summing up, we note that the country's transition to

a modern level of development is impossible without

new IT technologies, the introduction of the Internet

and other ICTs, which create a platform and effective

tools for performing certain tasks in the field of

environmental management and environmental

protection. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed

to the activation of digital technologies that make it

possible to obtain the necessary information in the

field of environmental protection, ensuring

environmental safety, and implementing the UN

SDGs. However, according to experts, the current

system of information support for modern

environmental management in Russia only partially

meets the requirements for reliability, completeness

and efficiency of providing information. For

example, the main shortcomings of the information

support of land management are recognized: «the

implementation of weak interdepartmental

interaction through the information and electronic

exchange of information on agricultural land; the lack

of targeted, well-thought-out, well-organized work

with information. In the implementation of land use

management, the disadvantage is also expressed in

the fact that if obtaining reliable information about

land plots as real estate objects is provided by the

Issues of Legal Support of Socio-economic Policy and Environmental Security of Russia in the Context of Digital Transformation

339

formed Unified State Register of Real Estate

(EGRN), then there is no information about the

qualitative and quantitative characteristics of land

plots, depending on the category of land, types of

permitted use, and soil condition in a systematic form.

The latter entails poor information support for state

supervision and control over the state of land,

programs for the protection and rational use of land,

which does not contribute to the implementation of

the tasks set for their effective use and reduction of

degradation. (Sukhova, 2020).

As for the legislative solution to the existing

environmental problems, a draft law has been

developed concerning particularly dangerous

enterprises whose work has negative consequences

for the environment (objects of hazard class I and II,

waste disposal facilities of hazard class I and II).

However, there are other enterprises in Russia that are

not regulated by this legislation. The Ministry of

Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian

Federation plans to amend a number of laws that,

among other things, cover the life of these enterprises,

they will regulate the creation of liquidation funds for

metallurgical enterprises, subsurface use facilities,

animal husbandry, poultry farming and sewage

treatment plants.

We suggest that state subsidies should be directed

to a greater extent to the creation of modern,

environmentally friendly fuels that are alternative to

fossil fuels.

The use of digital technologies has shown great

effectiveness in the practice of detecting and

preventing violations of environmental regulations.

For example, in some regions of the Russian

Federation, the Geoscan project «Digital Model of a

typical region» is being implemented, which allows

you to create a geodesically accurate 3D model of the

territory based on data from unmanned aerial

photography and GLONASS technology. The result

of the use of ICT was the identification of cadastral

violations and cadastral errors, unused or misused

land plots. However, according to experts, none of the

implemented projects solves the problem of creating

a single automated information system that allows

you to collect, receive, store, process and use

information about the state of land resources, their

qualitative and quantitative characteristics, their use

and protection, or solves it partially.

REFERENCES

Sukhova, E. A., Abanina, E. N., 2020. Legal problems of

digital transformation of the environmental

management system as a mechanism for ensuring

environmental safety. In Russian justice.

Mukhlynina, M., Vedyshevа, N., 2020. Legal aspect of the

implementation of the UN sustainable development

goals in the field of environmental management in

Russia. E3S Web of Conferences. Actual Problems of

Ecology and Environmental Management:

Cooperation for Sustainable Development and

Environmental Safety, APEEM 2020.

Luneva, E. V., 2018. Legal mechanism for ensuring rational

use of natural resources: problem statement. In

Environmental law.

Krasnova, I. O., 2021. Ecosystem approach in legal support

of biosafety. In Bulletin of the Peoples ' Friendship

University of Russia. Series: Legal Sciences. 25. 1.

MacLean, D., Andjelkovic, M., Vetter T., 2007. Internet

governance and sustainable development: Towards a

common agenda. Retrieved July 2010 from

International Institute for Sustainable Development

(IISD). http://www.iisd.org/

Riaz, M. T., Gutierrez, J., Pedersen, J., 2009. Strategies for

creating next-generation green ICT infrastructure

(IISD). https://www.semanticscholar.org/

Flight, R. A., 2018. Environmental aspects of the digital

economy. In The world of the new Economy.

Vedysheva, N. O., Mukhlynina, M. M. 2020. Legal

regulation of the implementation of certain UN

Sustainable Development Goals in Russia as a

counteraction to modern threats to environmental safety

and environmental management. In Law and the State:

theory and practice.

Kozyreva, A., Nadtoka, R., 2020. Using digital

technologies to create equal opportunities in higher

education in the Russian Federation: COVID-2019

lessons. E3S Web of Conferences.

SES 2021 - INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC-PRACTICAL CONFERENCE "ENSURING THE STABILITY AND SECURITY OF

SOCIO - ECONOMIC SYSTEMS: OVERCOMING THE THREATS OF THE CRISIS SPACE"

340