At the beginning of the 19th century both Russia and Prussia were absolute monarchies which preserved the feudal order. At the same time a small part of society embraced the ideals of the Enlightenment and was convinced of the necessity of reforms. Both of these states participated in the War of the Fourth Coalition and were defeated by France. However, the defeat of Russia was more a reputational one: after the Treaties of Tilsit Russia maintained its dominance in Eastern Europe. Prussia lost half of its pre-war territory and was forced to pay a large contribution. That happened to be a catalyst of the immediate reforms, whilst changes promoted by Alexander I in Russia still faced the opposition of the vast majority of society.

The character of Alexander I and his beliefs played an important role in the reform process in Russia, while reformers in Prussia replaced each other under the pressure of Napoleon. Because of it the priority of each reformer was strengthening the state institutions. The practical component of the reforms preceded the theoretical one, where the reformers’ views contradicted each other. Stein proposed to orientate on England in transformations, whilst Hardenberg – on the political system of Napoleonic France. In both states the reforms were interrupted by the War of Liberation and the Patriotic War, however in Prussia the transformations had been by that moment more complete. After the defeat of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna neither in Russia, nor in Prussia the process of systematic reforms was not continued until the next foreign political commotion.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the main directions of participation of Russian business in the promotion of international development in the Republic of Tajikistan. In this article, the author explores the main policy directions and methods of promoting the official development assistance (ODA) by Russian business, which are aimed at supporting Tajikistan, and also highlights the difficulties in implementing this support. Also, the author generally presents in the article how Russia forms its policy of promoting international development and provides its conceptual foundations. The paper presents an analysis of the format of interaction between Russian business and Russian government agencies in this area.

Today the territory of forests performing vital ecosystem functions is shrinking. International cooperation designed to counteract the loss of forests and promote the restoration of territories is extremely multifaceted. The article examines the role of international organizations in solving environmental problems on forest issues at the international level. A classification of the main intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations specializing in solving problems on forests, including organizations of the United Nations system, expert platforms and certification organizations, has been compiled. Participants in international cooperation of the United Nations system are classified according to the management structure, non-governmental organizations — on the basis of the functions performed.