The issue of classifying factors which influence international links between the subjects of the Russian Federation and foreign regions

The purpose of the study is to analyze the factors, which determine the current development of the external relations between the Russian Federation and foreign regions. Factors which determine the development of the international cooperation between the subjects of the Russian Federation and foreign regions are considered as the complex of socio-economic, political, geopolitical, mental, historical and other conditions and circumstances which form the bedrock of such cooperation. Factors, influencing international and foreign economic relations at the regional level, are identified, analyzed and classified according to various criteria in the article. Formal-legal, systematic and comparative methods are used. Special attention is paid to the practical aspect of the federal subject's participation in the international relations, based on the data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. While there are a lot of scientific publications on the international activity of the subjects of the Russian Federation and the foreign regions, the issue of the factor classification which affects the activity hasn't been solved yet. International and foreign pacts regulating the issues of the cooperation between regions, Russian legislation and participation practices of the subjects of the Russian Federation in external relations are analyzed in the study. The theoretical significance of the study is in the established criteria and the classification of the analyzed factors. The results can be used to lay the foundation of the federal and regional policy in international policy. A number of suggestions will allow improving the legislation of subjects of the Russian Federation and regional programs in international cooperation between regions.

international cooperation, federation, regions, international links, foreign economic ties, international relations