Editorial policy

The editorial policy of the online publication is determined by its mission – to promote the development of military science, humanitarian and socio-legal knowledge in the interests of strengthening the defense capability and law and order in the Russian Federation.

Strategic goals of the publication:

• consolidation of the research potential of military educational institutions of higher education, research institutions, and practitioners of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation;
• ensuring an open scientific discussion on current issues in pedagogy, sociology, and law in the context of the activities of law enforcement agencies;
• creating a unified scientific and information space for the exchange of results from fundamental and applied research;
• promoting the improvement of the quality of scientific training of highly qualified personnel (candidates and doctors of science) in the interests of the National Guard Troops;
• integrating Russian military scientific knowledge into the academic space.

2. Principles of content formation

The editorial board is guided by the following principles when forming the content of each issue:

The principle of scientific priority. The works containing the results of new scientific research, having the signs of scientific novelty and having practical significance for the activities of the National Guard troops and other law enforcement agencies have the priority right to publication.

The principle of thematic balance. Each issue is formed in such a way as to ensure a proportional representation of materials in the three main scientific areas of the publication — pedagogical, sociological, and legal sciences, taking into account the relevance of the issues for the military-professional sphere.

The principle of author diversity. The editorial board strives to ensure that the publication features representatives of various scientific schools, organizations of higher military and civilian education, research institutions, as well as practicing specialists of the National Guard troops.

The principle of continuity of scientific traditions. Along with the results of modern research, the publication publishes materials that develop domestic scientific traditions in the field of military pedagogy, sociology of management in law enforcement agencies, and legal regulation of military activities.

The principle of relevance. Priority is given to works that respond to the challenges of the current stage of development of the Russian Federation, including the tasks of the special military operation, improving the regulatory framework for the activities of the National Guard troops, and modernizing the military education system.

3. Frequency and format of the publication

The online publication is a quarterly publication – four issues per year (March, June, September, December). Each issue is formed as an independent issue with a unique page numbering and contains materials that have passed the full cycle of editorial and publishing processing.

The publication format is a network publication with simultaneous posting of materials in the Scientific Electronic Library (NEB eLIBRARY.RU) and in the publication’s own archive on the official website.

4. Open Access Policy

The publication adheres to the principles of open scientific access (Open Access):

• all published materials are placed in the open access on the official website of the publication without charging for viewing and downloading;
• full texts of articles are transferred to the Scientific Electronic Library eLIBRARY.RU and are included in the Russian Index of Scientific Citation (RSCI);
• authors retain exclusive copyrights to their works; the publication carries out publication on the basis of a simple (non-exclusive) license;
• The materials are distributed on the basis of free use for scientific, educational, and informational purposes, with a mandatory reference to the publication.

5. Policy of corrections, refutations and article reviews

Corrections (Corrigenda). When significant errors are found that do not affect the scientific conclusions of the article, at the initiative of the authors or the editorial board, a corrected version is published with the date and nature of the changes made. The correction is accompanied by a link to the original version.

Reputations. If the published material contains information that is not true and defames the honor and dignity of citizens or organizations, the editorial office publishes a retraction in accordance with Article 43 of the Law of the Russian Federation on Mass Media.

Retraction of articles (Retraction). An article may be retracted from a published issue in the following cases:

• detection of reliable plagiarism or incorrect borrowings identified after publication;
• detection of falsification of scientific data or research results;
• violation of the authors’ ethical standards of publication, including concealment of a conflict of interest;
• presence of information in the material that contains state or other legally protected secrets;
• publication of materials by individuals included in the register of foreign agents without the appropriate marking required by law.

The decision to withdraw an article is made by the editor-in-chief based on the opinion of the editorial board. A notification of the withdrawal, including the reasons, is saved in the electronic archive in place of the withdrawn article.

6. Conflict of Interest Policy

The editorial office ensures transparency in the relationship between authors, reviewers, members of the editorial board, and the publisher.

A conflict of interest is defined as a situation in which an author, reviewer, or member of the editorial board has a financial, professional, or other interest that could affect the objectivity of the submitted or evaluated materials.

In the case of a conflict of interest, the relevant person is obliged to:

• notify the editorial office before working on the material;
• refrain from making decisions on the material (for members of the editorial board and reviewers);
• provide information about the potential conflict of interest in the published article (for authors).

The editorial office has the right to reject the material if a conflict of interest is concealed after publication.

7. Policy on State and Military Secrets

Given the publication’s affiliation with the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation, the editorial staff pays special attention to compliance with the legislation on state and military secrets:

• materials containing information classified as a state secret in accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation “On State Secrets” are not accepted for publication;
• authors are personally responsible for the presence of information that is not subject to open publication, as well as restricted information, in the submitted materials;
• All materials published in the publication are first checked to ensure that they do not contain any information that constitutes state, military, official or commercial secrets.

8. Artificial Intelligence Policy

In accordance with GOST (State Standard) R 7.1657-2024 “Artificial Intelligence Technologies in Education. Functional Subsystem for Creating Scientific Publications. General Provisions”, which came into force on January 1, 2025, the editorial office implements the following policy:

• the author is required to declare the fact, scope, and purpose of using artificial intelligence tools in the preparation of the manuscript;
• it is not allowed to present AI-generated text as the author’s own original contribution.
• the use of artificial intelligence for formulating scientific conclusions and research results is not allowed;
• the editorial board has the right to use specialized software to identify AI-generated fragments in submitted manuscripts;
• concealing the use of AI is grounds for rejecting a manuscript or withdrawing an already published article.

This policy is aimed at preserving scientific integrity and ensuring the authenticity of the author’s contribution to published research.

9. Compliance with the Legislation of the Russian Federation

The editorial policy is fully compliant with the requirements of the following legislation:

• Law of the Russian Federation No. 2124-1 dated 27.12.1991 “On Mass Media”;
• Federal Law No. 152-FL dated 27.07.2006 “On Personal Data”;
• Federal Law No. 38-FL dated 13.03.2006 “On Advertising”;
• Federal Law No. 436-FL dated December 29, 2010, “On Protecting Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development”;
• Federal Law No. 481-FL dated December 30, 2020, “On State Control (Supervision) and Municipal Control in the Russian Federation”;
• Federal Law No. 427-FL dated 04.08.2023 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” (regarding the marking of materials by foreign agents);
• Presidential Decree No. 416 dated 01.07.2022 «On the Application of the Federal Law «On Mass Media’ to Foreign Media Organizations Registered as Foreign Agents»;
• Law of the Russian Federation No. 5485-1 dated 21.07.1993 “On State Secrets”;
• Part Four of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (copyright and related rights).

The editorial office ensures that materials prepared by individuals acting as foreign agents are marked in accordance with Article 20.4 of the Law of the Russian Federation on Mass Media.

10. Commercial Policy

The online publication is free of charge for authors and readers:

• the editorial office does not charge for submitting, reviewing, and publishing articles;
• the editorial office does not pay authors for published materials;
• the publication does not display commercial advertisements on its pages;
• sponsorship and charitable support for the publication is provided exclusively by the founder, the Saratov Military Institute of the National Guard of the Russian Federation, and does not affect the content of published materials or editorial decisions.

The principle of the editorial board’s financial independence from commercial interests is a guarantee of the publication’s objectivity and scientific integrity.

11. Archiving and long-term preservation policy

The editorial board ensures the long-term preservation of all published materials:

• full texts of all issues are stored in the archive on the official website of the publication, with access to materials from all previous years;
• materials are permanently stored in the Scientific Electronic Library eLIBRARY.RU;
• the editorial board ensures the backup of the publication’s electronic archives;
• in case of a change in the platform or technological basis of the publication, the migration of archival materials is ensured, while maintaining their accessibility and citation.

12. Citation policy and scientometric indicators

The editorial board is interested in increasing the scientometric indicators of the publication and implements the following measures:

• the materials of the publication are indexed in the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) on the eLIBRARY.RU platform;
• the editorial board promotes the citation of the authors of the publication through cooperation with the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI);
• each author is encouraged to provide correct bibliographic references to the materials of the publication in their subsequent publications.
• The editorial board welcomes the use of the publication’s materials in scientific research, dissertation works, and educational courses, with a mandatory reference to the source.
• The editorial board periodically analyzes the citation rates and considers measures to enhance the publication’s scientific credibility.

13. Policy of interaction with authors and readers

The editorial office is open for dialogue with the scientific community:

• authors have the right to receive information about the status of their manuscript at all stages of the editorial and publishing process;
• authors have the right to appeal against editorial decisions in accordance with these rules;
• readers have the right to send feedback, reviews, and scientific comments on published materials to the editorial office;
• the editorial office considers suggestions on the topics of future issues and takes them into account when formulating its content policy.
• The editorial board does not engage in scientific discussions with the authors of published materials on its own behalf, except in cases of ethical violations.

14. Editorial Policy Changes Policy

This editorial policy may be changed by the editor-in-chief in consultation with the editorial board. All changes come into force from the moment of their publication on the official website of the publication. Changes do not have retroactive effect on already published materials, except in cases provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Authors submitting materials to the editorial office after the publication of changes automatically agree to the updated version of the editorial policy.