The paper presents research and review articles published between 2014 and 2023 on the use of cloud technologies and blockchain for smart agriculture development in Russia, China and the Republic of Belarus. The main directions of modern agriculture digitalization have been listed. The comparison of technical progress of agriculture in Russia and neighboring European countries (Poland and Latvia) has been carried out. The survey results show that in Russia advanced developments consider soil-climatic and agro-technological peculiarities of the territory, cloud technology providers and own data processing centers are being developed. Some practical systems are not unified, computing resources are geographically distributed, and less than 8–10 % of farms in Russia use digital platforms. Promising research directions of modern technologies and their application in agriculture have been described. The article studies information technologies used in intelligent agriculture based on cloud computing and blockchain. Intelligent agriculture is characterized by large amounts of data. Data transmission and analysis in such information system are based on cloud technologies. Agro-production processes are linked to other parts of the value chain in complex, highly automated production, and logistics chains involving wholesalers, retailers, logistics, agricultural producers, and their suppliers. Such chains can reduce food costs and retail prices, as well as the need for production and distribution capacity. Supply and value chains digitalization and digital platforms development that connect participants in the agroecosystem are driving the use of blockchain.

The interrelationships between the integral indicator of sustainable development of an enterprise and key performance indicators reflecting the three ESG blocks have been revealed. The subject of the study is the assessment of sustainable enterprise development dependence on environmental, social, and managerial factors, which was carried out on the basis of creating and analyzing an econometric model of 18 ESG indicators of sustainable development of a large international mining and metallurgical vertically integrated company. The main research methods were correlation and regression analysis. The correlation between the value of the sustainable development indicator of an enterprise and ESG-factors has been proved. Specific key indicators affecting the sustainable development of an enterprise have been identified. The scientific contribution of the study lies in identifying the peculiarities of the environmental and social aspects influence on the performance of industrial enterprises in the mining and metallurgical industry in the context of increasing demand for sustainable development. The study results are crucial for achieving not only the strategic, commercial, and production goals of an enterprise, but also the goals of promoting the sustainable development agenda in the manufacturing sector of the country. The directions of future research in this area are seen in the development of conceptual provisions on the directions of business processes adjustment in Russian enterprises considering ESG principles.

Modern multipolar world subject to economic and financial crises requires the creation of a new model of interaction and cooperation. The goals and priorities for economic systems development at the level of states and regions have recently undergone major changes. Under the leadership of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the development plans of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are constantly revised depending on the current situation in the regions. In the modern sphere of regional policy, the task of ensuring sustainable development of the economic systems of the territories is becoming more and more urgent. Public administration bodies and scientific and expert communities pay more attention to the issues of state regional policy and its constituent part such as regional economic policy, which should ensure the interrelation of regional priorities of the country with the concepts, long-term strategies, and medium-term programs of socio-economic development at the regional level. The formation of effective mechanisms for Russian economic policy implementation at various levels of government requires special attention. Insufficient clarity of state policy objectives in individual subjects makes it difficult to determine strategic development priorities and reduces the forecasts effectiveness. In this regard, the study of the regional socio-economic development processes in modern Russia is relevant both in theoretical and practical terms and necessitates the improvement of scientific support for the mechanisms of forming and implementing modern effective regional economic policy. It is necessary to work hard on its adaptation in order to form long-term programs of the country’s socio-economic development. The basic thesis of the study is that the regions are the center of forming effective economy in Russia at any stage of its development. The purpose of the study is to develop the theoretical foundations for forming regional economic policy of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and to develop practical recommendations to improve the effectiveness of its implementation in modern conditions.

General goal, which can be formed through a mission, represents main direction of a company’s activities, its values and purpose for national economy, industry, and society. The missions and strategic goals of three leading Russian mining and metallurgical companies, which are key copper producers, have been considered: MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC, Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company JSC, and Russian Copper Company JSC. Theoretical review of approaches to forming a mission and strategic goals of industrial companies has been carried out. Key stakeholders and their expectations in a mission and strategic goals formulation in relation to the mining and metallurgical industry have been identified. The missions’ components have been studied and the missions of three companies analyzed on their basis. A possible decomposition of an organization’s mission has been performed and “mission-destination”, “mission-policy”, and “mission-orientation” singled out. Within the framework of the conducted research the methods of comparative analysis of missions and strategic goals of enterprises of the mining and metallurgical complex were used. Component analysis was applied for decomposition of firms’ missions. The comparative analysis of missions and strategic goals of the leading domestic copper producers allowed to identify differences in management approaches and vision to determine the priority areas of their strategic development.

In modern education sphere, which is subject to constant change under the influence of socio-cultural, environmental, and economic changes, there is an urgent task to create methods and directions in the educational process consonant with the transformations. The purpose of the study is to identify promising areas of research in the context of continuing education. The methodological tools were: analysis of interrelationships between concepts that combine philosophical, sociocultural, economic, and educational categories; critical analysis of our own pedagogical practice in the context of formal, informal, and incidental learning; organization and implementation of a survey of experts via the Internet in December 2023; qualitative analysis of detailed answers of survey participants to the questions posed. New sources for an interdisciplinary methodology creation have been identified, the development of which is envisioned at the boundary of diverse knowledge domains and in the framework of practical research on transdisciplinarity. The author’s analysis has revealed significant methodological innovations present in science and contemporary philosophy when considering lifelong learning as a vital aspect of a modern man. The potential and perspectives immanent to innovative combinations and interactions between previously autonomous spheres of knowledge have been analyzed. In the era of rapid technological and educational development, where the human aspect is merging with artificial intelligence, human values preservation becomes critical. The article gains its significance by exploring the methodological approaches most suitable for developing a progressive psychological and pedagogical concept within the phenomenon of continuing basic education.

The prospects for the development of digital marketing and its role in ensuring economic development sustainability have been considered. Modern trends and problems faced by marketers in the conditions of rapid development of digital technologies have been studied. Digitalization in all areas of national economy and any areas of human activity is gaining momentum and becoming an integral part of any activity. The sustainable development concept implies achieving a balance among socio-economic sphere development, environment preservation on the basis of technological development, and consumption rationalization, in which marketing plays an important role, and, therefore, its development should be given more attention. The role of digital marketing and opportunities to enhance it and ways to overcome problems in internal and external economic activities through digital marketing have been considered. The purpose of the study is to identify the main trends of marketing development in the conditions of digitalization, which will allow to develop and prepare new markets and goods using the latest marketing achievements in order to work for the future within the concept of sustainable development of economic, environmental, and social spheres of life. The digitalization impact on marketing strategies, changes in consumer behavior, and the analysis of new tools and platforms that are used to promote products and services have been studied. Each sphere of activity has its own peculiarities of digitalization implementation, and marketing activity is no exception, so its development in terms of digitalization implementation is relevant.

The importance of youth entrepreneurship in the context of digital transformation makes it relevant to study its development. The article is a review of a new book on the promotion and support of young and aspiring entrepreneurs in the South African Republic. The book is characterized by novelty of views and considerable informative content. It is organized into three main parts comprising 9 chapters. Issues related to the conceptual vision of youth entrepreneurship and a large-scale initiative that was specifically designed and then piloted in the South African Republic to stimulate related activities have been addressed. The author of the peer-reviewed book emphasizes the importance of the university environment and the mechanisms formed in it, on the one hand, and entrepreneurs’ personal development, on the other. Recommendations on finding sources of funding and working with potential consumers of innovative products and services have been given. The book is written in lucid language, which is characteristic rather for educational literature, and is well illustrated. It is found to contain various references to digital transformation, and governance is considered in relation to both entrepreneurial firms created by entrepreneurs and youth entrepreneurship incentive schemes in general. The book contains interesting (including pedagogical) information that will also be useful to consider when establishing cooperation among the BRICS countries.