From the editor-in-chief

The article discusses the infl uence of Russia’s participation on global commodity markets as the leading exporter on its territorial development. Survey of four centuries shows that in the 17th century the export of furs was the most important, in the 18th century – of “ship goods”, in the 19th century the export of grain joined the export basket of the country, as well as gold, in the 20th century oil and gas became key export commodities. It is shown that consequent waves of development and urbanization of the country were related with export of these goods on global markets. Four major historic-geographical macroregions of Russia are identifi ed, where urbanization and evolution of territorial structure of the economy were largely formed by the participation on the relevant global markets and intense wave of territorial development in corresponding centuries.

The article describes the role of Moscow agglomeration in Russia, the specifi cs of migration trends, recent changes in the functional and territorial structure of Moscow oblast as a suburb of the capital, including trends of spatial shift of housing and dacha areas, industry, trade, logistics, offi ce space, and the formation of new centers of development.

This article examines changes in the fi elds of natural resources utilization and population dynamics in Chukotka in the post-Soviet period. Intra-regional differences in population dynamics and its link to natural resources use and ethnic breakdown of the population are revealed. It is found that areas with a greater share of indigenous people employed in traditional nature management have undergone relatively smaller transformations, and areas with higher share of non-indigenous population and well-developed mining industry were among the most-transformed.

Pleistocene 400-kyr paleoclimatic cyclicity presence are absent; b) the reports about the presence of the 400-kyr periodicity in paleoclimatic continental records are or erroneous, or not related with the eccentricity variations.

Results of long-term research of a hydrochemical regime of Kerzhenets river and its oxbows are presented. Oxbows are located at different distance from the river and have a different degree of fl owage and a subsoil waters, and also the different form of basin. It is recognized, that the hydrochemical conditions of oxbows depend mainly on a contribute of a subsoil waters, structure of thaved riwer waters and a superfi cial drain during rains. Freshet waters make a basis of water weight only of those lakes where the role of soil feed is insignifi cant. Seasonal fl ood water only temporarily equalizes limnological condition of oxbow lakes. After streams of water fall down, and lakes become disconnected from the river, qualitative structure of their waters and conditions of dwelling of hydrobionts become all more and more vairous because of local distinctions in morphology of hollows and features of a feed. Oxbows do not possess so stable conditions for hydrobionts what the river has. Distinctions with a river mode increase with distance from the river, increase of absolure height of oxbows concerning a river bed. Hydrobionts fi nd variety of conditions of existence in a fl ood-lands outside the basic river bed which become critical for their survival during the certain periods of year.

The paper presents the new multy-proxy data from the Bolsheberezovskoye mire, the key-section for forest-steppe region in the Upper Don River basin (central part of European Russia), notably, the Kulikovo Battle-fi eld area. According to obtained results the studied area was covered by steppe (middle Atlantic, early Subatlantic) and forest-steppe vegetation (Subboreal, middle and late Subatlantic). Climatic reconstructions have shown that landscape dynamics of the region in the second half of the Holocene were determined by changes in effective moisture. Even small reductions in annual precipitation, accompanied by the rise of summer temperature by 1–3 °С comparing to their present values, were suffi cient to cause a shift from the forest-steppe to typical steppe communities and, probably, higher frequencies of fi res.

The analysis of many long continental records is done for revelation of the presence or absence of the 400-kyr paleoclimatic periodicity. The loess-soil sediment records of East Europe (Russia, Ukraine) and Asia (West Siberia, Tajikistan, China) are investigated. The data on the Pleistocene environmental changes from the lake Baikal sediment cores, Antarctic (Dome C) ice core and some other data are investigated too.

It is shown that: a) the reliable empirical data on the Pleistocene 400-kyr paleoclimatic cyclicity presence are absent; b) the reports about the presence of the 400-kyr periodicity in paleoclimatic continental records are or erroneous, or not related with the eccentricity variations.

In connection with the 1150th anniversary of the Russian State (2012), recent results on soil and archaeological research in Velikii Novgorod, Staraya Ladoga, Rostov Velikii, Moscow are discussed. According to the study of soils, located under the cultural layer, proto-city stage of development of landscape in the ancient Russian cities is identifi ed. This stage is characterized by the spread of arable and grassland, replacing landscape of pre-anthropogenic period.

The upper and lower limits of altitude area of Nordmann fi r (Abies nordmanniana) were assessed on the basis of age structure of forests in the Belaya River basin (Western Caucasus) in relation to recent climate warming. The results show that climate change has not led to changes of these limits in the area under study yet, but has created prerequisites to their possible retreat.

Rodent fauna from the well-known cave site Taglar (Middle Paleolithic), located in Karabakh (Transcaucasus) is described. The species composition includes Allactaga williamsi, Meriones libycus, Cricetulus migratorius Ellobius lutescens, Arvicola terrestris and Microtus (Microtus) obscurus. Some archaic characters in water vole teeth morphology were revealed. Data of cave site Taglar are compared with rodent fauna of unique Mousterian cave site Azych (Transcaucasus). The ecological features of rodent fauna refl ect the predominance of arid steppe-like and even semidesert-like landscapes near the site. The fauna most probably corresponds to the megainterstadial of the last glaciation (MIS 3). The new data elucidate species composition of rodents of Transcaucasus during the warm stage of last glaciations and the environments surrounding this unique Mousterian cave site of ancient humans.

The paper addresses the issue of the projects of changes in the administrative division of the Russian Federation at various levels of regional and municipal governance. It is suggested that there is no reasonable basis to major changes of administrative division on regional level. At the same time, it is suggested the need to change at the lower levels and options of such changes are provided.

Только 20 лет длилась научная деятельность Алексея Александровича Минца – с 1952 по 1973 гг., т.е. чуть менее половины его короткой 43-летней жизни. За этот срок он сформировался как ученый, во многом определивший пути развития современной экономической географии. Его коллеги отдали должное памяти Алексея Минца, высоко оценив его вклад в нашу науку [33–35, 36 и др.]. Но время идет и сегодня, в 2013 г., почти не осталось людей, работавших рядом с ним, на себе испытавших влияние этого по многим меркам уникального и талантливого ученого. Представляется, что в 40-ю годовщину смерти важно и нужно вспомнить основные черты его личности и роль в обновлении географии, которая прослеживается и до сей поры.

С 18 по 21 октября 2012 г. в Новгородском государственном университете им. Ярослава Мудрого прошла международная научная конференция “География и геоэкология. Проблемы развития Балтийского региона”. В ее работе приняли участие известные российские и зарубежные ученые – прежде всего географы, а также историки, археологи, этнологи, геоэкологи и др. Международные научные форумы, посвященные географическим проблемам Балтийского региона, охватывающего около десятка европейских государств, проходят ежегодно. В нынешнем году проведение конференции по данной проблематике в Великом Новгороде было приурочено к празднованию 1150-летия Российской государственности; на протяжении всей осени 2012 г. этот юбилей широко отмечался в древнейшем городе нашей страны, ставшем еще в далеком IX в. колыбелью древнерусского государства.

В 2012 г. опубликована книга Аркадия Александровича Тишкова “Люди нашего племени”, посвященная благодарной памяти всем его Учителям и коллегам, – географам, биологам, специалистам в смежных областях наук, которые встретились на жизненном пути автора и сформировали его как известного ученого.

В апреле этого года исполняется 90 лет Георгию Михайловичу Лаппо – замечательному ученому, экономикогеографу и геоурбанисту, многие годы проработавшему в Институте географии АН СССР (РАН) и на протяжении длительного времени – членом редколлегии нашего журнала. Г.М. Лаппо родился 18 апреля 1923 г. в городе Льгове Курской области. В 1940 г. он закончил среднюю школу и поступил в Московский институт химического машиностроения, но проучился в нем всего один год. Грянула война, и он ушел в армию, за участие в боевых действиях был награжден несколькими орденами и медалями.