Abstract
Today, on the threshold of the third millennium of our era, mankind in general, irrespective of socioeconomic systems or the level of development of various regions and nations, is faced with a number of global problems upon whose timely and effective resolution the present and future of human civilization depend. These problems are the product of social and historical development, of scientific and technological progress; they are the result of an intricate combination of economic, social, political, and other processes.