VECTORS OF THE RUSSIAN REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY DESIGN: STATE PROGRAMS ANALYSIS

Environmental policy is a complex system influenced by many factors. However, due to the continued centralization of Russia, it can be expected that such an exogenous factor as the commitment of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to the strategy of the federal center will be of great importance in developing their own regional environmental policy. On the other hand, regional authorities independently determine the directions for the development of regional policy in this area. This raises the question - does the regions' orientation have an impact on the quality of regional environmental policy? The study of the vector of Russian regional environmental policy development was carried out on the basis of state programs in the field of environmental development of 85 Russian regions, implemented from 2012 to 2025. The paper showed that state goals in the field of solving environmental problems serves as a vector for most regions. An important highlight is the local nature of the programs' development in most regions; programs are based on regional problems identified in a particular area. Simultaneously, according to the official regional environmental ratings in Russia, the constituent entities of the Russian Federation that copy the policy of the federal center, show greater concern for the quality of the environment.