On the basis of the conceptions of settling as a diffusion process and of subjective rationalities of the process of a settlement place choosing, we develop a methodology for assessing the “favorableness potential” of landscape, which determines the genesis of the network of initial settlements. On the case of Northern Illinois, we made a simulation of the genesis of the primary network of settlements. The periodization of the settling timeline of the study area is given, the distinctive short-term period in which the simulated processes took place is highlighted. Based on the works on the history of Northern Illinois reclamation, key parameters that influenced the formation of human settlements were identified: vegetation type, relief, hydrography, and the location of mineral deposits. The characteristics of the pre-European landscapes have been converted into components of the favorableness field; a synthetic favorableness field has been modeled. The initial settlement pattern is strongly determined by the characteristics of the underlying landscape. There is a significant correspondence of large and medium-sized settlements to local maximums of the favorableness field, while the location of small settlements is determined by some other factors. The developed methodology can be adapted to simulate the formation of the primary network of settlements in other territories.

The formation of a specific socio-psychological discourse regarding demographic processes in Bulgaria, a country which lost over 2 million of its population from 1989 to 2019, is presented in the article. In the public debate in Bulgaria there is an overproduction of terms that attempt to describe negative demographic trends (e.g.: “genocide”, “demographic suicide”, “demographic catastrophe”, etc.). Despite the abundance of emotional assessments of the situation by political stakeholders and mass media representatives, the main dilemma is the question: is it a demographic crisis or a demographic disaster? In addition to the illustration on this issue at the national level, the author attempted to interpret it in ethno-demographic and regional aspect. The main theses of the author are confirmed by selected empirical data which illustrate the serious scale of depopulation of Bulgaria as a whole and its regions in particular, as well as the population aging and emigration of young and educated Bulgarians. Low birth rates of the ethnic Bulgarians are accompanied by high birth rates and natural increase of the Roma population. Attention is also drawn to the depopulation of Bulgarian villages, which has lasted since the 1950s, as well as to the concentration of population and investment in several large cities. The helplessness of Bulgarian society and Bulgarian politics, suffering from a long-term, chronic lack of an adequate approach to neutralizing negative, long-term social and demographic trends, is also emphasized.

This article presents a methodology for the formation of an integrated multicomponent index of socioeconomic development of Russian cities. By analogy with the best foreign practices, the index is built on four key groups of indicators or sub-indices of the main components of the urban development: level of economic development, level of human development, provision of social infrastructure, and the quality of the urban environment. Direct and calculated indicators of municipal, regional and departmental statistics were used. Unlike international and Russian indexes, which consider single cities or centers of certain population sizes, on the basis of the proposed index, an assessment of the level of socioeconomic development of more than 95% of the country’s cities and towns is made. In general, Russian cities and towns are characterized by moderate differentiation of the index of the level of socioeconomic development. Among the leaders, in addition to both capitals—Moscow and St. Petersburg, with a balanced contribution of all sub-indices, there are resource cities with increased values of the components “economic development” and “social infrastructure”, as well as science cities and satellite towns of the country’s largest agglomerations with a high level of urban development and an improved quality of human development. The worst positions are characteristic of small peripheral towns, in which a low level of economic development is superimposed on the unsatisfactory state of the urban environment, low indicators of the provision of social infrastructure and the quality of human development.

The article considers the structure of the study of channel processes (channel studies) as an independent section of river hydrology, which explores the effect of river runoff on the land surface. The main components of channel studies are the morphodynamics and hydromorphology of the channels. These sections are interacting with the dynamics of the channel flows and the theory of river drifts which depending on the content of the research are part of the channel science or the branches of knowledge unrelated to it. The basis of morphodynamics is the study of the morphology and dynamics of river channels, their technogenic changes, as well as river floodplains as derivatives of channel deformations, and the development of longitudinal river profiles. Hydromorphology develops hydrologic-morphological, hydromorphometric, morphometric and hydrologic-morphodynamic relations, establishes dependencies connecting the parameters of the channels among themselves, and with the hydrological and hydraulic characteristics of the rivers. It is shown that these dependencies are the basis for the development of forecasts of channel deformations as a result of the selfdevelopment of channel forms, natural and anthropogenically caused changes in the natural environment and climate. The methodology of managing channel processes and ensuring hydro-ecological safety during the development of river resources are based on regularities of channel deformations and forecasts of their development.

The errors in the snow reserves recovered from satellite data in forest territories are mainly associated with the nature of the snow thickness and the characteristics of plant communities. The main objective of our research is to assess the local variability of snow reserves in modern climatic conditions in connection with the forest taxonomic heterogeneity as a possible additional source of errors in snow reserves calculating with using satellite information. Errors of snow сover characteristics recovered from satellite data (product GlobSnow (SWE), European Space Agency) for basic points within the forest zone of the East European Plain were calculated for absolute values, indicators of interannual and long-term variability. The errors obtained are connected with the approaches considering in model algorithms the reflective ability of the snow cover in forest tracts (permeability coefficient). Using experimental observations results in the Central Forest Reserve, noticeable local differences in the actual characteristics of the snow cover in the forest territories with a predominance of coniferous or deciduous species are revealed. The obtained patterns can be used to refine regional estimates of snow reserves calculating using satellite imagery.

For the independent delineation of the climatic transition zone and its monitoring in steppe zone of the European part of Russia different indicators, such as climatic (observation data, reanalysis), spectral (NDVI) and model (evapotranspiration), are used. The complex characteristics of the climatic transition zone in the Orenburg oblast for dry and wet years are defined. A heat load on man and bioclimatic conditions changes in terms of human thermal comfort are explored according to the position of the climatic transition zone. It has been established that a climatic transition zone, resulted from sharp climatic differences, is a natural transitional strip with qualitative transformation of a dry steppe landscape on comparatively short distances. Climatic gradients of the annual and July precipitation are recommended for the identification of the climatic transition zone. The gradients of mean annual and July temperature identify climatic transition zone in particular areas bordering with dry steppe zones. Spectral and model indicators of the climatic transition zone (NDVI gradients and evapotranspiration) are qualitatively connected with July precipitation gradients. The vegetation index NDVI is beneficial to the evaluation of climatic transition zone sensitivity to climate aridization and anthropogenic contribution to desertification dry steppe landscapes. In terms of human thermal comfort, the climatic transition zone should be considered in area zoning under natural and climatic conditions of population activity.

The article presents the lithological and stratigraphic characteristics, the results of paleobotanical studies and radiocarbon dating of the one of the most important and insufficiently studied key sections of the Late Pleistocene in the Upper Volga basin. The Kileshino-2 section locates in the marginal part of the last glaciation in the Valdai Hills (Tver oblast, Selizharovo district). The studied section is a complex sequence of sediments which consists of limnoglacial, limnic, alluvial and fluvioglacial deposits. We identified four main stages of sedimentation on the base of complex investigations: the Late Moscow stage of the Middle Pleistocene, the Mikulino Interglacial of the Late Pleistocene, the Early Valdai stage and probably the Middle Valdai Interstadial of the Late Pleistocene. Local pollen zones distinguished in the lower part of the sequence correspond to initial phases of the Mikulino Interglacial. At that time broadleaf forests began to spread in the study area under conditions of progressive warming. The macroremains of temperate and thermophilic aquatic plants were determined by the carpological method. The deposits of the climatic optimum and the final phases of the Mikulino Interglacial are not represented in the studied section. According to pollen data, the middle part of the sequence consisting of loam and sandy loams with two paleosoils was formed at the beginning of the Early Valdai Glaciation. Against the background of a progressive cooling, two interstadial-type warmings probably corresponding to the Upper Volga (Brørup) Interstadial and Kruglitsky (Odderade) Interstadial were identified. The chronostratigraphic position of both interstadials in the Kileshino-2 section requires further clarification because of the complex structure of sequence and some interruptions in sedimentation. Analysis of the upper part of the section showed that the glacial deposits are absent in the studied section. This allows one to doubt the existence of not only Kalinin Glaciation (MIS 4), but also OstashkovGlaciation (MIS 2) in this region.

According to detailed geomorphological studies, radiocarbon dating and Stolbovoe Lake sediments and terrace sedimentary cover diatom analysis three different stages of coastal zone development in the northwest of the Onega Peninsula had been identified and dated. The abrasion coastlines at elevations of 18.5–30 m were formed earlier ~9.5–8.5 cal kyr BP, during the Late Glacial transgression and the glacio-isostatic regression of the Early Holocene. A well-defined predominantly abrasion coastline at elevations of 14–18.5 m was formed ~8.2–5.8 cal kyr BP during the mid-Holocene Tapes transgression with insignificant fluctuations of the sea level with hydrodynamic activity greater than present. A short-term episode (~6.0–5.8 cal kyr BP) of the relative sea level rise on the shore of the Dvina Bay has been identified, probably associated with storm surges. Abrasion-accumulative coastlines at elevations up to 14–15 m were formed after ~5.8 cal kyr BP in the conditions close to modern. At all stages of development, the shores were dynamically young. The leading role of the postglacial uplift in the extension of the coast contour, and of the structure of the glacial relief–in the morpho- and lithodynamics of the coastal zone is shown. During the Tapes transgression, the rates of uplift of adjacent morphostructural blocks differed (~0.5 and 2.1–2.2 mm/year); then the uplift became uniform (~2.8–2.9 mm/year). The structure of the coastal forms indicates the constant prevailing directions of the waves and sediment transport, starting from the middle Holocene.

The article deals with consequences of intensive clear-cuts of old-growth boreal forests within modelled net of small river basins (Straler’s 3–4 order). Resulting from cluster analysis of parameters of relief and rivers, 7 types of small basins play different roles in water and sediment discharge processes were described. Accordingly, consequences of intensive clear-cuts are also different due to the basin types. In basins where discharge accumulation is the main trend, one can predict intensive elevation of ground-water level that will impede reforestation for a long time. Where discharge transit prevails, strong soil erosion is highly expected, and this will bring such negative consequence as eutrophication of rivers and lakes in these basins and also in downstream-situated basins which unload discharge into sea. In the last ones, mostly situated within the national park “Onezhskoe Pomorie”, the rivers are important as water sources for local villages and as places of fish breeding, so the damage will be very sufficient from the eutrophication induced. Conclusion is produced that basins, where discharge-transit process prevails, are key places for nature conservation because of either their strong impact on downstream basins or the largest percentage (42%) of old-growth forests with rare species of flora and fauna localized within such transit basins.

Investigations of wetlands are important for understanding the climate processes because wetlands are the source of methane and the tank of CO2. However, high fine-scale heterogeneity of wetlands complicates estimating carbon balance using point observations. To estimate methane emission, we mapped wetlands and water body areas in taiga of Western Siberia using supervised classification of Landsat images. For these purposes, we used our own dataset of field observation on 28 test sites as well as the high-resolution images. A wetland classification scheme included 6 main wetland types that are widely spread in taiga zone. Overall accuracy of 79% was calculated using 1082 polygons of 10 × 10 pixel size. Wetland area was estimated at 54.6 Mha or 11% of the global wetland areas. The average area of wetlands reached 29% of the zone area. Patterned bogs dominated in taiga (31% of the wetland area) followed by patterned bogs with lakes (18%) and forested bogs (18%). Fens (16%), water bodies (11%) and palsa complexes covers the rest of the area. We expect considerable growth of the regional methane flux as a result of significant changes of wetland areas comparing to the previous estimates. New map might be useful for model and global wetland dataset validation.

The paper based on archival records reveals little-known episodes of doctoral dissertation defense by the outstanding Russian economic geographer Vadim Vyacheslavovich Pokshishevsky. By choosing a theme of historical-geographical analysis of migrations in prerevolutionary Russia for over the four centuries period and conducting a fundamental study, the author thereby ‘challenged’ the Soviet science ban on geographical studies of migration and population following the defeat of anthropogeography in the 1930s. In his work, he had ‘returned’ these important areas to the mainstream of socioeconomic geography. The archive documents allowed us to restore an almost complete picture of V.V. Pokshishevsky’s nine-year life period associated with the dissertation preparation at the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and its further defense at Lomonosov Moscow State University in April 1949 and later formal approval. After 4.5 years of working on the dissertation, it took another 1.5 years of expecting the defense and then three more years of discussions in the Higher Attestation Commission of the USSR. The work was repeatedly subjected to intensified critical attacks from a number of researchers with the simultaneous support of leading scientists of the country and was completely revised (fully rewritten) by the author according to the remarks received. Finally, for the research performed V.V. Poksishevsky was awarded the degree of Doctor of Geographical Sciences in March 1952. The story of the doctoral dissertation defense by V.V. Poksishevsky indirectly reflects all the difficulties of Soviet geographical science development in the late 1940s–early 1950s, especially the relations and discussions in the professional community of that period.

In his time Sergei Neustruev developed and refined the ideas of Vasily Dokuchaev about the geographic soil zonality of continents. He demonstrated that zonal phenomena were developing differently in different continent parts, the process being always conditioned by the climate and geographic geomorphological factors. Neustruev showed that river valleys changed to a great extent the latitudinal zonality, discovered that landforms played the decisive role in the soils’ distribution. landforms’ importance for soil formation could be direct and indirect. He was the first to prove that the main role in soil formation belonged to microlandforms; that within each of the climate zones the climate elements were not identical at all and that each element of landforms had its own climate no matter how small and insignificant it was. Neustruev was the first to rely in scientific writings on the ideas of William M. Davis about the cycles of erosion. He discovered and explained the importance of loess for the landforms in the loess areas: the impact of its properties on fracturing, the nature of valleys and the forms of hills as well as the impact of loess location on landforms in loess areas. The scientist demonstrated how intrazonal deserts appeared inside non-desert countries, described how erosion transformed horizontal and alluvial plains into table and sloping plains, highly dissected hilly areas, badlands, and inselbergs. Neustruev identified two trends in the development of landforms of flat deserts: either a takyr desert became an arid steppe-desert with clay soil or its landform developed into an area of hillock sands. One of his greatest achievements is the use and partial development of Davis’ concept of geographical cycle.

The article is dedicated to the memory of the great Russian scientist, maitre of the urban studies Prof. G.M. Lappo (1923–2020). He made a huge contribution to the settlement pattern studies, Russian urban geography, and human geography, in general. Stages of the scientific biography of Prof. G. Lappo are analyzed and compared. The list of main publications for the entire period of his scientific research (since 1956 until 2019) is compiled. Territorial scope and major fields of the Prof. G. Lappo’s research are highlighted for various periods of his scientific activity. In the publication, special attention is paid to the Prof. Lappo’s books (scientific monographs) and their significance for the Soviet and Russian urban studies. The particular importance for the Russian human geography of the “settlement pattern framework” concept developed by Prof. G. Lappo is stressed.