The unity of public authority as a principle of Russian statehood

The term “public authority” is widely used in the scientific literature, but it was not legislated until after the constitutional reform of 2020. The purpose is to substantiate the need to single out the principle of “unity of public authority” as the basis of Russian statehood. At the same time, the thesis is argued that the unity of public authority does not mean the absence of separation of powers or the leveling of the importance of local self-government as an independent level of government, but presupposes the existence of a common legal and value basis. There is an organizational, functional and financial unity of the bodies that make up public authority. Using philosophical approaches (dialectics and metaphysics), general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as the formal legal method, they consider the unity of public power in the context of the development of Russian statehood, identify the essential features, the structure of public authorities, and the consolidation of their legal status in legislation. A study of the content of the concept of “unity of public authority”, its significance for constitutional and legal theory and practice has been conducted. It is established that the principle of unity of public authority not only characterizes the organization and interaction of federal and regional bodies among themselves, as well as with local governments, but is also an interdisciplinary principle of law underlying public law branches.