The research deals with identifying trends in assessing human resources in the modern digital space, which is the purpose of the work. While preparing the study such scientific methods were used as: induction, deduction, analysis, synthesis, classification.

 When the research was conducted, the Russian and foreign literature in the field of human resource assessment was analyzed; three key issues that complicate human resource assessment were found; there is a list of trends and tendencies shaping them, allowing to address the identified issues of human resources assessment in the modern digital space and helping to improve the efficiency of their management. Three main trends in assessing human resources in the modern digital space were identified: digitalization; orientation of the strategic goals of all economic entities of Russia towards the state policy of the Russian Federation; development of modern integrated models for assessing human resources. The article brings into scientific circulation updated information about trends in the field of human resource assessment. The information base for the study was articles from peer-reviewed Russian and foreign scientific journals, reports of international organizations, and data from the Federal Service for Intellectual Property.

The alignment of the organization values with the employees values contributes to achieving the strategic goals of the organization. In order to strengthen the competitive advantages and increase the motivation of the organization’s employees, it is necessary to constantly improve the organizational culture of personnel management. The article considers the concept of organizational culture in an organization from the positions of different authors, studies indicators for evaluating organizational culture, factors affecting it, and in order to improve the organizational culture of personnel management in the context of digital transformation, it is important to use digital technologies in the personnel management system, which leads to the evolution of relations between the organization and personnel, as well as the openness of people’s lives. Digital technologies are changing management’s views on business processes and management decision-making. The level of organizational culture affects the competitiveness of an organization and its profitability. Improving the digital culture of an enterprise is impossible without a systematic approach, which determines the investments inflow into the human capital of the organization, namely in the development of skills, increasing the intellectual capabilities of staff, and professional development. So in that case, the systematic approach considers a human resource as an object that consists of several elements interacting with each other. Human capital is a source of financial resources, which, as a result of capitalization, brings additional income to itself and the organization. Employees of the organization receive only positive emotions from work, satisfaction and the opportunity to realize their goals and ambitions, openness, transparency in their daily work. Digitalization provides an opportunity for the development of each project participant in the organization in compliance with established rules and regulations.

In conclusion, the author summarizes the results and describes the issues that can be solved through the digitalization of the enterprise organizational culture.

The article presents results of the analysis in the basic provisions of R. Nelson and S. Winter’s evolutionary theory of strategic development, which represents a branch of Ch. Linblom’s school of strategic management studies. It is shown why R. Nelson and S. Winter came to the understanding that strategic changes in the organization are more a consequence of interactions than the influence of management as such.

 Explaning the main postulates in R. Nelson and S. Winter’s evolutionary theory of strategic development is made with regard to the modern post-industrial economy, including the interpretation of: changes in the organization cumulatively resulting from the interaction of its main working subsystems (subdivisions); cooperation in the organization between established routine and new situations as an important source of learning; the interconnectedness of routine actions in an organization, when changes in one set of them affect another, eventually leading to a chain reaction; orientation of the organization’s management mainly on benchmarking.

Thus, the management of the strategic development of an organization in an evolutionary way, proposed by R. Nelson and S. Winter, based on the implementation of changes through the introduction of imitation innovations obtained as a result of benchmarking, is indeed one of the most reliable ways of strategic development. And the experience of strategic development in a similar way in the advanced countries of Southeast Asia (Japan, South Korea, China, India, etc.) is clear confirmation to that.

The article considers the ideas and state reforms plans of the outstanding statesman and jurist M.M. Speransky. It reveals aspects of their realization within the framework of administrative reforms in Russia since the beginning of the 19th century, substantiates the need for a deeper understanding and wide use of the theoretical heritage of the outstanding reformer in forming the conceptual basis for modern public administration reforms. The author focuses on ideas of special practical significance for state building.

The article considers the current trends in the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia. It defines advantages of small enterprises and their role in the development of the economy and ensuring economic growth. There is also an analysis of the dynamics in the number of small enterprises, their structure by types and types of activities, territorial characteristics, and the analysis of the number of employees at small enterprises. The modern forms and directions of state support for small entrepreneurship in Russia are presented, among which are entrepreneurship support centers, venture funds, multifunctional centers (MFC), entrepreneurship development funds, business incubators, etc. The goals and objectives of creating a digital platform set up by the Ministry of Economic Development in cooperation with SMEs, through which small enterprises they can receive more than 250 different services. The current issues of small business growth in Russia and the directions of its development in modern conditions are outlined.

The article describes indicators of the population dynamics and the demographic processes affecting it in South Ossetia in the context of the city-village. In the sphere the issue of intensive outflow of population from the villages of the republic is particularly acute. With the help of sociological research, main reasons for that negative process were identified. Among the reasons mentioned by the respondents, the underdevelopment of the village’s social infrastructure often appears. We have analyzed the level of provision of basic social infrastructure facilities for the rural population of the republic and their impact on the intensity of population outflow by administrative districts and village sizes. Against the background of the general underdevelopment of the social sphere, a particularly difficult situation is recorded in sparsely populated villages. The study showed that the number of sparsely populated villages is growing annually. The main reasons are: the deformed age and social structure of the population, the disrupted settlement system, etc., which is a serious obstacle to social and economic development of the village and the region as a whole.

In order to identify the factors and reasons for the intensive outflow of the rural population of South Ossetia, sociological surveys were conducted in 1980, 2010 and 2020. A comparative analysis of the results of those surveys and the data obtained from rural administrations is conducted for the first time.

The article analyzes the specifics of career guidance in the professions of the “Man-the management” and “Man – the sign system” groups. It studies theoretical and methodological approaches to the analysis of professional orientation. It also identifies key factors influencing professional characteristics in the field of economics.

 In the modern world of digitalization and globalization, the human ideas, values, motives and preferences are reflected in all areas of the country’s economic development, starting to form in childhood. Not only the level of his professional qualities, but also his civic position in the future depends on how correctly a person is formed in the existing conditions.

The task of the state and the system of higher education is the availability of systematic career guidance, so that each person with its help could realize his professional potential, find his vocation and pass all the stages of specialist formation.

 Due to the deterioration of demography in the country (the demographic pit of 1990), the difficult geopolitical situation and the sanctions pressure of Western countries, modern Russian employers are on the verge of a critical personnel deficit.

Employers’ need for highly qualified employees leads to natural integration with the Higher Educational Institution, which allows employers to actively get acquainted with future graduates, attracting them to practice and participate in projects. Therefore, it seems relevant and important to study the choice of a profession and determine its potential, role and importance of career guidance.

The article concerns the specifics in the evolution of trade and investment ties between the EAEU and the PRC under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and implementation of its projects. It analyses rates of goods turnover between the EAEU and the PRC growth and goods structure and estimates the construction and transport services trade and the role of the PRC as FDI provider for the EAEU. The article also highlights the key features in the evolution of trade and investment ties, concerning the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative projects. The main features include: high rate of growth of trade in goods and in services, especially in construction and transport services; inflow of the Chinese investments in the EAEU economies; unevenness of such a growth, with the PRC outpacing it. The author underlines the necessity of advancing the cooperation mechanisms between the EAEU and the PRC for better synergy of BRI projects and EAEU development strategies.

The review considers the main provisions of the textbook of sociologists A.K. Mamedov, M.E. Gorlach «Smells in system of social interactions». The content of the material is analyzed from the point of view of the relevance of information, its scientific character and accessibility for students in the field of Sociology. The compliance of the information covered in the «Sociology of Smell» with the curriculum, the consistency and consistency of the presentation of educational and scientific material is evaluated. The review concludes about the relevance of the textbook “Smells in system of social interactions”, about the great contribution of its authors to the development of that area of sociological knowledge, about the sufficient practical orientation of the material.