The sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation continues and even increases with the adoption of the 18th package of sanctions, as well as the 19th package that is being prepared. The consideration in the US Senate of a bill to impose 500% duties on goods from countries that continue energy cooperation with the Russian Federation is another aspect of the US protectionist policy that needs to be analyzed from the standpoint of the purpose of sanctions pressure. In the same vein, we also consider the pressure on India and China in attempts to force them to stop purchasing Russian energy resources under the threat of introducing 100% duties on their goods when delivered to the United States. It should be noted that the current US administration prefers duties to sanctions. US President D. Trump has repeatedly spoken about this. However, for the Russian economy, it is not so much D. Trump's rhetoric that is important, but the essence of the restrictions being introduced. The article attempts to show that sanctions do not pursue the declared goals of forcing peace, but serve as a tool in the international competitive struggle for leadership in both technological and geopolitical terms, as well as in energy. By synthesizing economic theories developed to date, describing certain phenomena and behavioral patterns, it is proven that the purpose of sanctions is an attempt to maintain leadership positions in individual markets in a situation of inability to gain sustainable competitive advantages in other (more plausible) ways. The openly protectionist policy of the US administration is aimed not only at weakening its geopolitical opponents – the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation, but also its satellites, primarily the European Union. The synthesis of theoretical achievements of predecessors, undertaken in this article, proves the use of sanctions precisely as a tool in international competition.

The article is devoted to the assessment of the competitiveness of natural samples of cosmetic products made on the basis of therapeutic mud. Unlike other similar studies, an adaptive author's technique was implemented in the work, based on the use of a combination of the sensory analysis algorithm and consumer tasting. A similar technique allows, due to the point-rating assessment, to highlight the competitive advantages of products, as well as evaluate the influence of individual indicators of the goods that affect the overall impression of direct contact with the object of research. The purpose of the study was to prove the presence of competitive advantages for products manufactured by regional manufacturers, the ability to compete for sales markets with famous national and foreign brands. The relevance of the study is due to the programs of import substitution and support of the national industry in the country in the direction of the consumer reorient for domestic products. The article is of practical importance, since the author’s approach to evaluating competitive advantages can be applied in the work of industrial and trade enterprises, regardless of commodity specialization. Its adaptability is due to the simplicity of application, as well as the lesser subjectivity of the results, due to the exclusion of the facts of the prejudice of the consumer to specific brands during the study. Part of the results may reflect the presence or absence of the sensory memory of the consumer, which can also be used as an element of competitive strategies in the production and promotion of products to the commodity market. It is proved that the regional brands of cosmetic products in many respects have higher consumer properties compared to domestic analogues.

The relevance of the presented topic of the article is due to the necessity and importance of studying the problem of competitiveness of industrial parks as a key element of modern economic development of market entities. The number of industrial parks in Russia is increasing every year, so determining their role and impact on the market situation, as well as the competitiveness of parks, are becoming essential and relevant. Thus, industrial parks compete with each other to attract investments and promising resident companies to their territories. In addition, the phenomenon of industrial parks is international in nature, which leads to international competition between domestic parks and foreign parks. This fact determines the need to increase the competitiveness of domestic industrial parks, and also helps attract foreign capital and foreign companies that can invest in the creation and development of businesses in Russia. The article analyzes the factors influencing both the economic efficiency of the industrial park and its attractiveness to investors. In particular, a set of traditional factors is considered, such as infrastructure provision, tax benefits, access to finance and the quality of human resources. In addition, a number of modern factors are cited, such as innovative development, intangible asset management and environmental sustainability, which can provide parks with a sufficient and necessary level of competitiveness in today's emerging market. The results of the study can be useful for management companies, government agencies, and investors interested in the development of industrial infrastructure.

The article is devoted to the issue of choosing a tactical model of actions in various competitive situations of competitive projects. Using a clear example, the article shows a direct link between the success or failure of individual tactical actions and the strategic outcome of the business in the market as a whole. The object of research in the article is a competitive procurement situation that attracts several business representatives from the selected industry to participate. The author draws attention to the need to take into account the unique features that arise in the case of each individual competition, which may create differences in the competitive positions of participants in a particular competitive transaction from their overall competitive positions in their entire market. The article suggests using a two-dimensional competitive space, which is determined by independent parameters of key success factors. The novelty of the article consists in substantiating a practical method for choosing the optimal model of tactical competitive actions, depending on the assessment of the competitive position of the participant in the competition. As criteria for such an assessment of a competitive position, it is proposed to use the concept of key success factors in a new way, which are associated with the image of the contest participants and the competitive advantages of their bids. The author pays special attention to each of the four tactical models of competitive actions and substantiates the necessary conditions for the successful application of each tactical model.

For a manufacturing company entering a chain with a simple or complex configuration, the urgent task is to achieve a cost balance between a shortage and an excess of inventory. To increase competitiveness and production continuity, firms use various inventory management methods, including planning the optimal batch of supplies. Despite numerous studies on this topic, the question remains: what is the impact of losses from scarcity on the size of the stock? The article considers the problem of optimizing the company's stock, which reduces the misalignment of the product production process in the context of changes in the volume of consumed components by production under the influence of random disturbances. The degree of influence of deficit losses on the size of the stock and the total average losses is studied, the question of the possibility of using an approximate estimate of deficit losses in determining the stock level is discussed, the results of solving the problem of optimizing the stock using different types of distributions with the same statistical characteristics are analyzed. In practice, accurate determination of deficit losses is associated with certain difficulties and costs. The calculations presented in the article allow us to draw an important conclusion, which is that errors and inaccuracies in determining losses from scarcity have little effect on the stock and loss values and are not an obstacle to optimizing the internal stock. Therefore, in the tasks of optimizing the stock, it is sufficient to determine the losses from the deficit at the level of those actually existing in the company's activities. This conclusion represents the scientific novelty of the study. The article is of practical importance, since the developed approach to solving the optimization problem and the result obtained can be taken into account by the company when planning a batch of supplies in the inventory management system.

The article examines modern trends in the development of franchising in the context of digitalization and strengthening of legal regulation as a flexible model of organizing entrepreneurial activity, allowing to balance between strict standardization and the need to take into account local specifics. Particular attention is paid to the role of digital technologies, legal regulation, as well as issues of maintaining brand integrity in the context of intense competition. It is emphasized that the success of a franchising project depends on the ability to combine the standardization of business processes with flexibility and adaptability to local conditions. Digitalization is considered as a dual factor: it increases manageability and control, but if implemented ill-considered, it can lead to network fragmentation. Legal clarity of contracts and protection of intellectual property are recognized as the foundation of the sustainability of franchising relations. Particular attention is paid to the importance of a balanced approach that allows franchisees to adapt to local markets without compromising uniform brand standards. Based on the analysis of scientific publications, regulatory acts and practical cases, the key factors influencing the efficiency of the franchise network are identified, highlighting three interrelated aspects – technological adaptation, legal protection of the brand and organizational management models. The author notes the importance of building transparent contractual relationships, implementing well-thought-out IT solutions and forming a communications system capable of quickly responding to changing market conditions. The results show that an integrated approach covering legal, technological and organizational aspects provides the most sustainable basis for the further development of franchising at the global and local levels.

The article considers the issue of ensuring the efficiency and competitiveness of the domestic economy determined by the use of project management as a basic paradigm of economic development, and ensuring a high level of competitiveness of the country and regions, in particular, through the implementation of national projects in domestic and foreign markets. The article also examines the specifics of forming a strategy for the sustainable development of a city in a competitive environment in accordance with the strategic development goals of the Russian Federation and the main directions for their achievement presented by national projects. It is noted that it is necessary to form a strategy for the sustainable development of territories of various ranks in modern unstable conditions. The development and implementation of a strategy for sustainable urban growth based on priority national projects makes it possible to ensure the effective functioning of the urban economy and social sphere, as well as to create sufficient and necessary conditions for the formation of long-term, sustainable benefits of urban education. The article highlights the features of the sustainable urban development strategy, the key of which is the ability to maintain positive dynamics in the development of socio-economic potential through the effective implementation of priority national projects. In this context, conclusions are drawn about the need to introduce innovative approaches to strategic urban development management. Recommendations for the implementation of a sustainable urban development strategy based on national projects are formulated.

The article is devoted to the study of the organizational and economic mechanism for ensuring the sustainable competitiveness of an enterprise in the context of the digital transformation of the economy. The purpose of the research is to develop an organizational and economic mechanism to ensure the sustainable competitiveness of an enterprise in the context of digital transformations of the market environment. In the course of studying the issue of creating a mechanism, such approaches as analysis, systematization, and induction were used. The article analyzes various scientific papers that are devoted to a recently emerged concept related to ensuring stable competitiveness. As a result of the conducted research, it was revealed that the issue of sustainable competitiveness of the enterprise has not been thoroughly and in detail studied. This creates significant gaps in this field of science. The paper emphasizes the need to develop a mechanism that would facilitate the targeted and gentle improvement of an economic entity, allowing it to adapt painlessly and quickly transform to the current economic realities. The main results of the study include: 1) visualization of the mechanism functioning in the context of the model of ensuring sustainable competitiveness of the enterprise is presented. It is of key importance for the logical application of the structural links on which competitiveness depends in the context of the digital transformation of the economy; 2) it is established that the structure of the organizational and economic mechanism ensuring sustainable competitiveness of the enterprise must remain stable. At the same time, the methods of ensuring competitiveness may vary depending on the specific characteristics of the development of economic entities, which makes this toolkit adaptive in the face of constant transformations of the economic environment. The scientific and practical value of the research lies in the development of a set of tools and methods that have been integrated into a single system for effective strategic management of the company. This helps to reduce the negative impact of external factors on business in the context of digital transformation.

The article is devoted to the study of the role of digitalization of the regional economy in shaping the trajectory of sustainable development using the example of federal districts of Russia. The analysis focuses on the relationship between digital technologies, innovations and environmental indicators in the context of global challenges such as climate change, social inequality and the consequences of the pandemic. The authors conduct a comprehensive analysis of data for 2014–2023, including the dynamics of Internet activity of the population, the introduction of advanced production technologies and the volume of water resources use. The methodological basis is regression analysis, which allows us to identify correlations between the level of digitalization, technological progress and environmental burden. The results of the study demonstrate that digitalization is a key driver of technological development: the growth of Internet activity is associated with an increase in the number of technologies used at the national level. However, the environmental impact of digital transformation is ambiguous. For example, in industrially oriented districts (Ural, Siberian), the introduction of technologies is accompanied by an increase in the volume of reused water, while in agro-regions (Southern Federal District), digitalization contributes to the optimization of resources. Significant regional disparities were revealed: the maximum growth of innovation was noted in the Southern Federal District (+65%), the minimum – in the Far Eastern District (+11%), which is due to economic specialization and infrastructure limitations. The theoretical significance of the work lies in the development of the concept of sustainable development through the integration of digital solutions and environmental practices. Practical conclusions include the need for differentiated strategies for regions that combine centralized support, cluster initiatives and the introduction of circular economic models. The article is relevant for government bodies, researchers and the business community interested in reducing the man-made burden and overcoming the center-periphery gap in the context of digital transformation.