From the editor-in-chief

Since the middle of 1990s, the theory of fractals has become a methodological basis for a large number of foreign studies dealing with the territorial organization of population. This work attempts to apply the theory of fractals to the analysis of heterogeneous distribution of central functions in the fuzzy central places system in the case of the Capital agglomeration of the Republic of Korea.

The article deals with history of time-geography formation as independent scientific direction in social geography and space-time approach’s conceptual foundations, based in works of foreign and Russian geographers. For more than 40 years space-time approach is used widely in foreign researches of various directions, but until now hasn’t received wide recognition from Russian geographers. Main stages of time-geography development, feature of new time-geography and causes of its appearance (development of information and communication technologies, their increased role in individuals’ everyday life), examples of research areas in various geography fields are given. Prospects and possible application of time-geography in Russia are sketched. Role of visualization and graphic-analytical Method as a common approach to analyzing spatio-temporal data about life and activities of individuals is underlined.

The article deals with the questions concerning the applied (for educational goals) cultural-geographical zoning of Russia. Basing on the experience of predecessors, the author proposes a system of zoning criteria (history of development, ethnic and cultural criterions etc.). At the first level of the hierarchy 12 cultural regions are marked out. When naming a number of regions (Russian North, Russian South, Russian West) nominative traditions of the humanities are in use. The author has developed a model for describing a cultural region.

A distinctive feature of the social differentiation of the Belgian society is the coexistence of two opposing processes: pillarisation and depillarisation. Pillarisation is a kind of political and social structure of the nation characterized by its division into several pillars (zuilen), inside of which most social contacts are concentrated. Depillarisation as the opposite process first appeared in Belgium in the 1970s. Pillarisation of the Belgian society is connected with the lack of strong centralization of power due to historical and geographical features of the country’s formation and polycentric spatial and administrative structure. Specifics of pillarization in Belgium is its imposition on the 200-year-old confl ict between northern and southern parts of the country. The main reasons of depillarisation are secularization, individualistic type of society, privatization and the evolution of migration. But despite the Belgians desire to minimize the influence of pillarisation, the system of pillars is still having an impact on people’s daily life. In Wallonia the traditional dominance of the Socialist Party persists, as well as fairly close connection between organizations associated themselves with French-speaking socialist pillar. At the same time in Flanders people tend to eradicate every reminder of pillarisation, although the pillars are still alive in their minds. The authors are inclined to believe that there is a possibility of a new phase of pillarisation’s intensifi cation in Belgium but political preferences will no longer play the decisive role as they used to before. The reasons are the increase of nationalist spirits and the loss of trust among the electorate to the three traditional parties.

The article analyzes the geographical and hydrological conditions of the catchment basin of the river Ural as factors of dangerous hydrological phenomena. Natural intra-annual variability of river runoff as a leading factor in the development of hydrological extremes on the rivers of the steppe zone is considered. The assessment of seasonal variability of river flow shows a reduction in the share of spring flow and the increase of share of low flows, especially in the winter. Territorial analysis of dangerous hydrological phenomena in the basin of the Ural river is conducted. In conclusion, attention is drawn not only to the natural, but also to anthropogenic causes of dangerous hydrological phenomena in the basin of the Ural river.

Conditions of forming of dominant groups of bacterial plankton are analyzed based on the data of microbiological survey during winter seasons of 2002–2005 in the Pechora sea. Quantitative dependency of bacteria features on a uniform complex of factors is discussed, i.e., xi = f (La, Hb, ΣBfc), where L and H are coordinates of points in the Pechora sea (order parameters), ΣBf – biomass of phototrophic plankton microorganisms.

Based on the multi-proxy studies of the Rakushechny Yar section of the Don River floodplain (47°33’N, 40°40’E), the landscape and climate changes in the Lower Don steppe province during the Holocene were reconstructed. During the entire time-span characterized by this section (app. since 9 ka BP), the study area belonged to the steppe zone. The coolest climate for the entire Holocene took place on the site in the Boreal and early Atlantic phases. The following warming, along with an increase in precipitation and decrease in the continentality of climate, had caused an increase of the species diversity in the steppe vegetation, as well as development of the intra-zonal forest and shrub communities. The most favorable conditions for their spread existed at the Atlantic/Subboreal boundary. More continental and dry climate in the late Subboreal caused an almost complete disappearance of the forest communities and a spread of more xerophytic type of the steppe in the area. The contemporary vegetation (the forb-grass steppe) was formed during the Subatlantic period of the Holocene when the climatic conditions were similar to the present-day ones.

Average temperature in Russia in 1907–2006 had increased by 1.29 °C and in 1976–2006 by 1.33 °C. Direct evidence of movement of the northern border of the area of brown bear northward is not found. However, expansion of ripple band of the northern border of the area took place. It is manifested in the penetration of the bear far into the tundra of European Russia along river valleys. The forest ecosystems in European Russia are highly dynamic and variegated because of logging, subsequent successions on clearcuts and fire footprints, overgrowing old-cultivated lands with saplings and then secondary forests and so on. The species welfare in regions of European Russia is determined by two key factors: the condition of forest ecosystems, and the hunting pressure. The bear resources in regions of European Russia correlate with the size of the forest areas and the share of forests. In 2011, the largest populations of bear were found in Vologda (7500 ind.), Tver (2200) and Novgorod (1500) oblasts. Increased bear number and density in the districts along the borders with neighboring Russian oblasts (Leningrad, Novgorod, Tver and Smolensk oblasts) is caused by lower anthropogenic load on near-border areas (less logging, less population, less hunting pressure, less disturbance, etc.). A negative correlation between the bear population density and the human population density is revealed. Bioresource potential of brown bear in European Russia is increasing. Expansion of bear area southward continues, but with less intensity.

The article discusses urgent and sharp issues of natural resource use in Panj transboundary basin (PTB) in the context of requirements of sustainable development. The most serious problems of water use are shown, as well as problems of use of energy and other natural resources of the basin. Alternatives of socioeconomic development based on optimal usage of local opportunities are proposed. The authors pay a special attention towards innovations in use of PTB resources.

The article shows that the carbon pool of the main ecosystems of the territory of the Altai Republic is 1121 MT. The total flow of carbon (6.75 MT) exceeds its emission into the atmosphere (0.25 MT) 27 times. Calculated annual carbon sequestration by forest ecosystems is 40% of the annual flow and tends to increase. The level of CO2 emissions (0.03 t/ha per year) Republic of Altai is one of the last positions.

Development of informational network in time and space is restrained by several factors. Usually they are described as institutional and communication barriers without exact geographical localization. The case study of development of a postal network of Siberia in 1782–1916 shows that implicit internal factors constraining postal network development may be linked to individual settlements, and the list of such factors is considerably expanded. For the first time filters and traps of postal network development are revealed. For four types of traps the negative impact on a postal network is calculated, measured as number of the settlements which had entered into a network time-lagged or haven’t entered at all.

Toponyms in the Black and Azov Seas region of fi ve portolan charts of Pietro Veskonte dated 1311–1321 are analyzed on the base of the method developed by the author. The regularities of the use of names in the framework of the proposed classifi cation are described, 17 lost place-names are restored. The hypothesis of migration of cartographer from Genoa to Venice after 1313 is tested. The infl uence of Marino Sanudo on the edition of toponyms of western part of the Black Sea on the portolan charts of Pietro Veskonte dated 1320–1321. Found general patterns of place-naming give the opportunity to use toponyms by Pietro Veskonte for further research of portolan charts of other well-known authors, as well as anonymous cartographers.

The circumstances of the last two weeks of sailing of packet-boat “St. Peter” under the command of Vitus Bering during the Second Kamchatka Expedition are investigated, and knowledge on the discovery of the Commander Islands is refined. Packet-boat reached the group of Rat islands on the 25th of October, 1741, and the sailors discovered the island of St. Marcian (now Kiska Island). Over the next 6 days, moving west to the island of St. Avraamiy (now Attu island), sailors discovered the island of St. Stephen (now Agattu island) and the Semichi islands of Near Aleutian Islands group. On the 30th of October navigators of the ship changed course and sent the ship, as they thought, to the mouth of the Kamchatka River. In the next few days, the packet-boat followed from the island of St. Avraamiy (Attu island) to the north-west, and on the night from 4th to 5th November reached the 56th parallel. From this point packet-boat “St. Peter” turned to the west and at 8 am on November, 5 it was in the 30 km south of the southeastern tip of the Bering Island – the largest island in group of Commander Islands.

В 2013 г. издательский дом Дальневосточного федерального университета (г. Владивосток) опубликовал книгу В.Т. Старожилова* [9] “Ланд- шафтная география Приморья (регионально-компонентная специфика и пространственный анализ геосистем)”. Валерий Титович Старожилов – известный дальневосточный ученый-географ, доктор географических наук, автор многочисленных научных статей, книг и географических карт, много лет работал в Дальневосточном политехническом институте. Сейчас он преподает в Дальневосточном федеральном университете, где читает курсы лекций “Ландшафтоведение” и “Геохимия ландшафта”.

Особую ценность рецензируемой работе придает то, что она написана одним из крупнейших современных специалистов по рассматриваемой тематике, автором многих публикаций, получивших широкое признание, в том числе таких книг, как “Водохранилища России: экологические проблемы, пути их решения” (М.: Геос, 1998), “Структурная гидрология суши” (М.: Геос, 2006).

К 75-летию географического факультета МГУ им. М.В. Ломоносова вышел в свет новый словарь. Для словаря-справочника, посвященного столь сложно устроенной и динамичной отрасли географии, каковой является социально-экономическая география (СЭГ), едва ли можно было найти издательство с более подходящим названием, чем смоленская “Ойкумена”.

29 августа 2014 г. на 87-м году жизни в Тель-Авиве скончался выдающийся географ Евгений Ефимович Лейзерович.

Е.Е. Лейзерович родился в Москве 12 декабря 1927 г. Закончил Географический факультет МГУ по кафедре экономической географии и аспирантуру под руководством Н.Н. Баранского. Е.Е. Лейзерович считал себя его учеником и тем гордился; отмечал он и влияние Н.Н. Колосовского, из своего поколения – Б.Б. Родомана. Защитил кандидатскую диссертацию в 1965 г., докторскую – в 1991 г. Работал в институте Гидропроект и долгие годы в ЦНИИП градостроительства. Последние годы Евгений Ефимович жил в Израиле, активно продолжая работать и контактировать с коллегами.

Евгений Ефимович бóльшую часть своей жизни, до самой кончины посвятил глубокому и плодотворному исследованию двух традиционных для географии тем – географического положения и районирования.