The article presents the analysis of the influence of historical factors on the development of Russian cities of nuclear power industry and the genetic types of these cities. Most of these cities are young, their socioeconomic state depends on the city-forming enterprise. The formation and development of nuclear power plant (NPPs) cities went in two ways: the city was built in parallel with the nuclear power plant (e.g., Novovoronezh, Desnogorsk, Kurchatov); the NPP was built near the settlement, and then NPP has influenced on socioeconomic development of the settlement, its employment structure, etc. (Volgodonsk and Balakovo). In USSR/Russia practice, the first way dominated, when an urban-type settlement was built near a NPP, such settlement then intensively grew and developed into a city. There are three types of Russian cities with NPPs: the cities formed and developed before the construction of the NPP; the cities developed due to the operation of NPPs, and the cities created and developed due to the operation of NPPs. It was found that the factor of formation of nuclear power industry in the city is decisive in the social development of almost all cities of NPPs and affects their current state.

The article deals with international migration during the last decades of the 20^th and at the beginning of the 21^st centuries and its economic-geographical analysis. The paper provides an overview of opinions about the dating of the contemporary era of global migration. It is shown that only after completion of spatial restructuring of migration processes and with the transition to sustainable growth of the share of international migrants in the world population, the modern increase of migration begins. On the basis of the UN statistics the main sources of migrants to the countries of Western Europe have been determined as well as shifts in the geographical structure of migrant population of the region that have taken place in the last quarter of a century. Two migration waves directed to the core of the European region from its southern and then from the eastern periphery are determined. The transformation of the USA population structure caused by the migration inflow from Latin America and Asia is described. The ratio of the main directions of global migration is shown: South-South, South-North, etc. At the same time, it is noted that a rather limited part of international migrations is associated with the asynchrony of demographic processes in the regions of the world. The article also discusses the remittances of migrants from developing countries to their homeland, forming powerful financial flows, which are second only to foreign direct investment. They play an especially important role in the economies of developing countries. The calculations show that the contribution of international migrants to the world economy far exceeds their share in the world population.

The paper uses the universal thermal climate index (UTCI) to estimate the bioclimate in Russia, initiated by the Commission of the International society of Biometeorology. The UTCI index can be described as equivalent environment temperature (°C), which provides the same physiological impact on humans as the actual environment. Assessment of bioclimatic conditions is shown for the territory of Russia in the period of modern climate change (2001-2015). Cold stress conditions (from low to extreme) were observed in the almost all territory of Russia for about 8-11 months a year. During the rest of the year, the conditions are neutral or comfortable. The period of extreme and very high cold stress is reduced during the modern climate warming (compared to the period 1961-1990), especially in the Arctic, in the European part of Russia, in Western and Eastern Siberia. At the same time, the period with neutral and comfortable thermal conditions increases.

The paper presents the results of an analysis of the spatial variability of pine tree-ring growth in the Solovetsky Islands. As a result of the field work, tree-ring network containing 14 dendrochronological pine sites in various habitats were developed. For each site, a local tree-ring width pine chronology (from 472 to 271 years) is obtained, representing pine growth features in different habitat conditions. A comparison between chronologies revealed synchronious growth of pine in various habitats in the late 17^th, in the first half of the 18th and the beginning of the 19^th centuries. The use of cluster analysis allowed to identify several groups of chronologies with similar characteristics. So, trees growing on swamps, on a sandy substrate and in a green-moss pine forest or in a mixed forest are allocated in separate clusters. This clustering is also confirmed by the results of a dendroclimatic analysis of local chronologies. It turned out that the increase in the pine’s growth in the mixed forest and in the green-moss pine forest depends on the July air temperature variation. Inside this group, samples from pine forests have a common feature — a positive relationship of growth with the precipitation of September. The only site located on the sands showed a different climatic signal than the other chronologies, namely, the dependence on the temperature of August.

The technology of allocation of order parameters (invariants) of the spatial structure of the thermal field of the southern taiga landscape (Central Forest Nature Reserve) obtained on the basis of the analysis of the time series of measurements in the long-wave channel of Landsat satellites from 1986 to 2017 and reflecting its stationary state is considered. It is shown that the heat flux is measured by the satellite not directly from the forest crowns, but from the ground layer of the atmosphere, the state of which is determined by the parameters of the landscape. It is found that the invariant component of the spatiotemporal variation of the thermal field is displayed by two order parameters: the first mainly reflects the temperature of winter months, the second — of summer. The contribution of relief and vegetation to the determination of invariants and the autochthonous components of the thermal field determined by the transition zones between the landscape elements contrasting in thermal radiation are revealed. It is shown that the thermal field measured by the satellite reflects the heat flux from the ground layer of the atmosphere, which is in direct interaction with the landscape cover.

The results of biostratigraphic analysis of bottom sediments of the Karas’e, Utinoe, Krugloe lakes as well as loose sediments of accumulative plains at the mouths of the Tumannaya and Poima rivers in the south of the Far East are presented. Natural conditions were recovered and periodicity of vegetation changes in the foothills of the East Manchurian Mountains and in the coastal plains of the Peter the Great Bay in the Middle and Late Holocene were reconstructed by the complex of data. The synchronicity of both the development of vegetation formations and changes of sedimentation conditions with global climatic variations were revealed. The first, Middle Holocene stage proceeded in the conditions of general planetary increase of average annual temperatures, accompanied by flooding of lowland plains of the coast of the Sea of Japan by sea waters. The distribution and species diversity of broad-leaved plants in spurs of the East Manchurian Mountains increased. In the Holocene Optimum, the polydominant forests with richer composition of species than that of the present time were formed and vegetation on the foothill accumulative plains was represented with sedge and mixed meadows. The second, Late Holocene stage was characterized by a decrease in average annual temperatures and series of climatic changes. Its beginning was marked by the cooling, during which the coastal lowlands were freed from sea waters. Climate deterioration caused expansion of dark coniferous and small-leaved plants in the East Manchurian Mountains, as well as reduction of polydominant forests. On the foothills near the coast of the Peter the Great Bay sedge meadows were developed, sometimes there were thickets of shrubby birch (Betula sect. Nanae) and sphagnum swamps. At the end of the Late Holocene the warming occurred again. On the slopes of the East Manchurian Mountains, the vegetation formations with the dominance of Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb.) and dentate oak (Quercus dentata Thunb.), needle fir (Abies holophylla Maxim.), Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Siebold et Zucc.) and with the presence of birches began to dominate. The dissemination of pine (Pinus densiflora Siebold et Zucc.), elm (Ulmus sp.), hornbeam (Carpinus cordata Blume) and maple (Acer sp.) has increased. On the foothill lowlands the sedge-reed meadows with different grass dominated.

The periods of intensification of the frequency of severe floods in Late Holocene were reconstructed on the basis of a multi-proxy study of the section of paleo-bend deposits in the lower reaches of the Bikin River, which includes a peat bog, buried by floodplain loam. The peat bog was formed on the place of flood lake and is represented by interlayering of the layers with a different contents of mineral components, which brought during heavy floods. The criteria for the allocation of phases of abundant river flow were defined. Peat ash content, biostratigraphic data (diatom, botanical analyzes) and radiocarbon dates of the peat bog showed that the flood activity in the foothills of the Sikhote-Alin changed significantly over the last 2.24 ka. The most severe floods occurred in the Medieval Warm Period and warm phases of the Little Ice Age. Duration of periods with strong floods varied from 70 to 200 years. Synoptic situations leading to heavy rainfall were probably similar to modern ones. Strong floods began last 210 yr in the conditions of a trend for warming. Reduction of flood activity, as a rule, occurred in cooling. The intensification of fires took place in drier periods. The response of swamp landscapes to the passage of severe floods and fires has been established.

Contemporary challenges and threats to sustainable development including safe use of transboundary resources of rivers and Arctic seas in condition of climate change are connected with cumulative impact of numerous factors. Ongoing environmental changes have transboundary nature and will have significant impact in international scale. In case of overlapping of factors of impact their nature and synergetic effect, mechanisms of their interrelated influence and possible negative consequences for global economy, environment and human health are not adequately known. Among the main obstacles to mitigation of climate change impact on the state of big river basins in the Arctic and Arctic seas are: the lack of critically important information and data, absence of modern concepts of climate change mitigation measures connected with impact on Arctic seas, uncoordinated and inefficient regulation and management, absence of unified interstate tools of marine spatial planning. The article contains the analysis of risks and global consequences of the ongoing climate change for water resources; characteristic of priority issues and their underlying root causes. It also contains the results of the analysis of risks connected with melting of permafrost and increase in thermal coast erosion, assessment of the role of transboundary cooperation in the Arctic for sustainable regional development. The authors also propose some measures for addressing the above issues based on the Strategic Program of Actions on the Protection of the Russian Part of the Arctic developed by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia.

The paper analyzes the data from Roshydromet air pollution monitoring network in cities of the Moscow region, as well as the official Rosstat data on air pollution emissions from stationary sources and vehicles in Moscow and Moscow region over a 10-year period (since 2007), along with data from Roshydromet soil contamination monitoring network by heavy metals along federal routes in Moscow region for the period 2009-2016. Analysis showed that despite the closure of some industrial plants or moving some of them from Moscow to the Moscow region, the air quality in Moscow remained virtually unchanged for the last 10 years. The high traffic load and the density of the road network have led to the fact that most of the Moscow region has a double excess over the background values of pollutants, especially by heavy metals. The paper also presents trends and spatial variability of air quality in the region under study.

The article presents the results of analysis of the dynamics of ethnic processes that took place in European Russia from 1897 to 1959 and from 1959 to 2010. As an integral indicator that reflects the complexity of the ethnic structure of the population of territories, B.M. Eckel ethnic mosaic index was used. This indicator and its dynamics for the indicated time intervals were calculated within the boundaries of the modern federal subjects in the European part of Russia. As a result of the analysis, differences in processes, the conditional border of which was the middle of the 20^th century, were identified: 1) in the first half of the 20^th century, the Russian population actively moved to the national outskirts (modern republics), which almost ceased in the second half of the century; 2) until the middle of the 20^th century, intensive assimilation of the non-Russian population (Finno-Ugrians, Belarusians, Ukrainians) along the modern western and southern borders of Russia was taking place, but in the second half of the century assimilation of the Finno-Ugric population was continuing in the northern part of European Russia; 3) for more than a century there was a migration inflow of non-Russian population to the central part of Russia; 4) from the middle of the 20^th century, some delay in the intensity of assimilation of foreign-speaking migrants began in comparison with their inflow, which reduced the degree of monoethnicity of a number of regions in the central part of Russia; the exception was Moscow and Leningrad / St. Petersburg, strengthening their assimilation functions; 5) from the middle of the 20^th century a new process emerged — the growth of the monoethnicity of a significant part of national autonomies, that accelerated in the post-Soviet period.

The article considers the problem of textualization of the toponymic space of Yakutia on the basis of the analysis of the field material collected with the support of the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 15-18-20047). It has revealed that the consideration of the cultural landscape of Yakutia as text associated with the secondary meaning of toponymy. The main distinguishing feature of toponymics of Yakutia is the predominance of geological, geomorphological, natural semantics in the local toponymy. Toponyms of Yakutia associated with permafrost have no analogues and were included in Russian geographical terminology. As part of the cultural landscape, toponymics represents one of its semantic layers. The cultural and semiotic approaches are used to identify the features and patterns of the toponymic text existence in the study area.