The article is devoted to the consideration of the issue of regulatory and legal mechanisms for ensuring the integrity of the Russian system of scientific certification. Due to the growing variety of forms and rules of dissertation defense in dissertation councils of various organizations, the question of whether the modern system is capable of providing equal rights and opportunities for all applicants for academic degrees becomes relevant. To find answers to this question, the study identified three subsystems formed by dissertation councils under the direct supervision of the Higher Attestation Commission, leading educational and scientific organizations, as well as spiritual educational organizations. In order to consider the specifics of each of the groups, a comparative analysis of regulatory and legal acts regulating the awarding of academic degrees and their subsequent use was carried out. The conducted study revealed that with visible integrity, the overall certification system is quite heterogeneous. Firstly, academic degrees in various subsystems have different naming options, which creates a problem of their comparison. Secondly, with the same name, the conditions for awarding may differ significantly, which leads to inequality of applicants. Thirdly, if the conditions of certification are equal, holders of academic degrees receive rights and opportunities in different amounts. The identified problematic aspects require clarification at the level of federal legislation.

The article is devoted to the issue of preserving the integrity of the Russian state system of scientific certification in the context of the growing diversity of regulatory and legal acts, as well as practices for awarding academic degrees. The recent expansion of the autonomy of a number of scientific and educational organizations raises a number of doubts, primarily related to the ability to ensure equal rights and opportunities for applicants for academic degrees in different parts of the system. The article provides a comparative analysis of state acts, as well as regulatory acts of organizations that carry out procedures for the independent awarding of academic degrees.  In the course of the study, three subsystems were identified that operate according to comparable rules, but provide different rights and opportunities. The first subsystem is dissertation councils under the leadership of the Higher Attestation Commission and the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia. There a special place is occupied by special dissertation councils, in which the applicant avoids the publication of articles and the text of the dissertation, as well as other publicity requirements. The second subsystem is formed by scientific and educational organizations included in a special list. Within the framework of their local regulations, similar norms and requirements apply, but there are also noticeable differences. These include the reduction of the number of dissertation councils, the inclusion of candidates of sciences in them, the possibility of defending a candidate's thesis in the form of a scientific report, etc. The third subsystem includes spiritual educational organizations awarding theological degrees. At the level of federal legislation, the ambiguity of the attitude towards such degrees remains. Theological degrees are recognized along with other academic degrees during state licensing and accreditation procedures, but their holders are not guaranteed mandatory surcharges, apostille affixing, etc. The analysis made it possible to identify indicators that are important for checking the integrity of the system and determining the directions of its improvement.

The paper is devoted to the consideration of the question of whether the Russian system of scientific attestation retains its integrity. The elimination of the monopoly of the Higher Attestation Commission (HAC) in matters of control over the activities of dissertation councils and procedures for defending dissertations made it possible to increase the variety of rules and practices of scientific attestation. Many scientific and educational organizations have developed their own regulations governing the corresponding activities. At the level of legislation, the instruction was fixed for the self-awarding of academic degrees to set requirements not lower than how they are formulated in federal acts. The question of how exactly this instruction is implemented is of research interest. In addition, it is important to understand whether applicants can receive equal rights and opportunities in different parts of the modern system. During the study, three existing subsystems were identified, together forming a single system. The first of them consists of ordinary and special dissertation councils, regulated directly by the Higher Attestation Commission and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia. The second subsystem is a collection of leading scientific and educational organizations that independently award academic degrees. Finally, the third subsystem consists of spiritual educational organizations, empowered to award theological degrees, which at the level of federal state educational standards are recognized as like other academic degrees. In all three subsystems, options for the defence of dissertations in permanent, one-time and joint dissertation councils were considered. Comparative analysis of regulatory and legal acts made it possible to highlight the similarities and differences of these subsystems, as well as to identify possible options for their development.

The problem of the integrity of the new Russian system of scientific attestation (by the example of the requirements for a dissertation)