The development of the platform economy has attracted the attention of geographers, and in the last decade, publications have appeared that analyze certain aspects of this phenomenon. However, there was no common understanding of the priorities and structure of geographic research. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to generalize the experience of the geographical study of the platform economy and to define the contours of future research. Based on the eight largest bibliographic databases, more than seventy journal articles on the subject were identified using a special semantic search algorithm. Distribution of articles by year and country is given. The analysis of the articles showed that the existing diversity of geographical research can be reduced to three emerging (comparative-geographical, socio-geographical and gravitational) and two emerging (spatial-diffusion and constructive-territorial) approaches. For each approach, the main problems are given, the solution of which determines the vectors of further research. On the basis of existing publications and taking into account the potential of geographical knowledge, it has been established that in the future the emergence of economic-geographical, geosystem, and regional approaches is possible. 

The purpose of the article is to identify the factors of pharmaceutical enterprises localization in the Russian regions, including from the point of view of assessing the possible contribution of pharmaceuticals to the reduction of territorial disparities in the level of economic development. The analysis of factors of pharmaceutical production localization is carried out based on the generalization of foreign studies and the database of production enterprises of more than 50 largest pharmaceutical companies in Russia compiled by the authors (taking into account the time of construction and large-scale modernization of enterprises, belonging to Russian or foreign owners). It is concluded that in Russia, the same factors of pharmaceutical enterprises localization are emerged as abroad: the remaining importance of historically developed production centers is typical, including in the eastern regions of the country (due to the lower importance of the transport factor for the industry), often, the preference is given to expanding the capacity of existing enterprises, rather than building new ones; new plants arise on the base of developed centers of pharmaceutical research and/or with a focus on the sales markets of the largest urban agglomerations and/or in special economic zones, industrial parks. When building new enterprises, investors can seek both to participate in pharmaceutical clusters and to save on production costs, including wages—by building factories in areas that are “unsaturated” with production. The main feature of foreign investment is their arrival only in the western regions of the country due to their large sales market and proximity to the countries of companies’ origin that are mainly European. As a result of the action of numerous factors, the impact of the development of pharmaceutical production on territorial disparities is ambiguous. 

A grid of regions of Russia has been developed according to the zones of gravitation of territories to certain transport hubs provided by long-distance passenger railway communication. It is revealed that the existing methods of allocation of territories gravitating to a particular node are not suitable for the study of railway transport. To solve the problem of transport zoning, the author’s methodology for determining the zones of gravity of passenger railway nodes and points is proposed; with its help, the zones of gravity of 2065 nodes and points where long-distance trains stopped in 2016 are determined. The study was conducted based on unified territorial cells—administrative divisions of the second level (municipal districts and urban okrugs). 488 railway passenger districts have been allocated on the territory of Russia, uniting transport facilities in the zone of gravity of the central hub. The main parameters of these regions have been studied, as well as the structure of passenger flows in them. Based on the analysis of the directions of passenger traffic within the districts, four types of passenger railway regions were identified: simple (168 regions are assigned to it), complex monocentric (240 regions), complex linear (59 regions), and complex polycentric (21 regions). The possibilities of using the obtained grid of districts in the analysis of the spatial structure of a long-distance passenger railway complex are considered. The main disadvantages of the methodology are determined, due to both defects in statistical information and assumptions made during the study. 

The article considers the spatial structure of the tourist belt of the Crimean-Caucasian Black Sea region. The Black Sea coast within the Republic of Crimea, federal city of Sevastopol, Krasnodar krai, and the Republic of Abkhazia is positioned as a single recreational and geographical entity with a variety of internal links and common development factors. The taxonomic hierarchy of the territorial structure of tourism is studied and the localization of tourist places, centers, zones, nodes is analyzed. Within the belt of the Crimean-Caucasian Black Sea region, well-known tourist zones have been formed based on a beach-sea profile, mountain-tourist destinations, winter recreation, and mountain-excursion specialization. The most significant localities in the territorial organization of tourism include highly developed multifunctional tourist centers—Yalta, Sevastopol, Sochi, and medium-level development centers—Yevpatoria, Anapa, Gagra, and Sukhum. The joints of tourist belts are expressed in the formation of nodes—key elements in the spatial structures of tourism. Sochi, as the dominant feature of the space under consideration, qualifies as a tourist hub. The most important factors of the consolidation of the tourist belt of the Crimean-Caucasian Black Sea region are the similarity of the structure of tourist and recreational resource potential, the commonality of geopolitical interests and demographic development trends, the similarity of the structure of the economic complex with the priority of recreation and tourism, the progressive development of transport and logistics links. The analysis of the indicators of the provision of the belt regions with collective accommodation facilities showed a significant gap in the level of recreational development of the territory. The subjects that are part of the belt are at different levels of socioeconomic development, which hinders interregional cooperation in the field of tourism. It is necessary to preserve the status of the Crimean-Caucasian Black Sea region as a priority tourist destination in the system of domestic and inbound tourism in Russia. The further integration of the tourist belt will be facilitated by the comprehensive development of recreational resources, the implementation of interregional investment projects, the development of joint tourist programs and thematic corridors, a single branding in the information space. 

Based on the results of a set of field and cameral work data on the structural features of the basins and the dynamics of development of 15 crater and caldera lakes in the Kuril-Kamchatka region were obtained and analyzed. Their main morphometric characteristics were calculated. It was found that the group of caldera lakes is less homogeneous in all morphometric parameters. It was revealed that the basins of water bodies of the same genetic type on the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka are similar in shape and depth, but the absolute heights of Kamchatka water bodies are generally higher than those of the Kuril ones, however, as is often the size of the basins. The study of 10 lakes using the modern digital echolocation survey technique made it possible to reveal the specific features of the morphology of the basins of each of the groups. It was found that the basins of a number of caldera lakes in the region are complicated by explosive funnels, extrusive or effusive domes with traces of hydrothermal activity; their parameters were identified. An important distinguishing feature of many volcanic lakes is the possibility of rapid changes in their main characteristics (shape, volume, temperature, chemical composition of water, etc.) over a wide range, which is due to the peculiarities of the functioning of nearby volcanic centers. According to these parameters, volcanic lakes can be divided into: 1) very dynamic young lakes located in the craters of active volcanoes or active calderas in their immediate vicinity; 2) more stable, relict water bodies in the calderas of dormant or extinct volcanoes. The results of repeated observations after several decades made it possible to calculate the approximate rates of change in the levels of some lakes. It was found that the rate of fluctuations in the levels of caldera lakes is generally lower than that of crater lakes. The rate of growth of the underwater dome, discovered by the authors in 2016 in Lake Shtyubel (Ksudach caldera, Kamchatka), was determined. 

The effect of air temperature increase and precipitation fluctuations on the yield and protein content of spring wheat grain was evaluated using the example of a long-term field experiment of Falenskaya breeding station (Kirov oblast) established in 1971. In Kirov oblast, lying on the northern border of the agricultural zone at the humidified area, air temperature increased at a rate of 0.39°C/10 years in 1971–2020, less intensively than in other regions of the country. Despite the intermittent series of yield data, we have assessed the influence of weather conditions of the growing season on it, positive correlations with precipitation in June and a negative one—with the air temperature in this month were noted. According to the regression analysis, climatic conditions were responsible for 49–74% of the yield variance. Liming of sod-podzolic soils and fertilization allowed not only increasing the crop productivity by 30–50% also decreasing of its dispersion caused by changing weather conditions by 7–10%. The protein content of the grain was also determined to a greater extent by fertilizer application and was negatively affected by both higher temperatures and increased rainfall during the ripening period. The case of the Falenskaya breeding station confirms the leading role of the anthropogenic factor in maintaining and increasing yields and preserving grain quality against the background of current climate warming at the northern border of the farming zone. 

The features of the spatio-temporal changes in the absolute minimum air temperatures in the basin of Lake Sevan are considered. The data of daily observations of the extremes of the minimum temperatures of the surface air layer at seven meteorological stations for the period 1935–2019 were used as the initial material. It was found that at all meteorological stations currently operating on the territory of the Lake Sevan basin, a tendency of an increase in the absolute minimum temperatures of both monthly and annual values is mainly observed. Moreover, the smallest changes are observed in the summer months. It was also found that in the Lake Sevan basin, the annual number of days with a temperature of –20°C and below tends to decrease. This natural dynamics testifies to the fact that in the studied area in terms of temperatures, a softening of winters is recorded. As a result, it turns out that on the territory of the Lake Sevan basin it is possible to grow more thermophilic agricultural crops that have not been grown before. 

Total nitrogen and phosphorus loading to the territory of the Republic of Belarus with the transboundary rivers of Zapadnaya Dvina basin (Zapadnaya Dvina, Kasplya, Svolnya, Usvyacha, Ushcha rivers) was evaluated based on materials of the state water bodies monitoring. It has been revealed that interannual changes in loading are mainly determined by the river runoff volume. This allowed assessing volumes of total nitrogen and phosphorus loading in years of different water yield. In the research basin, total nitrogen and phosphorus loading from point sources is 1–2% of the entire loading. Assessing the diffuse loading was carried out based on statistical data on land use within the basin, 2016. According to this data, 88% of the underlying surface is natural, and only 12% is anthropogenically altered. At the current level of water resources use and the existing landscapes, the total nitrogen loading to the hydrographic network of the basin is 4290 tons/year, at 95% runoff probability, and 11600 tons/year in high water years, at 5% probability; and 430 and 4300 total phosphorus tons/year, respectively. Natural sources make the main contribution, more than 60% of the total loading. Total nitrogen loading varies 2070 to 5710 tons/year at 95% and 5% runoff probability; and total phosphorus – 359 to 959 tons/year. The projections, based on the planned changes in agricultural production, subject to the introduction of the best available technologies, have shown an insignificant increase in nutrient loading to water bodies of the Russian part of Zapadnaya Dvina basin and a corresponding increase in their removal to Belarus up to 2%. 

Electromagnetic fields—an environmental factor which condition continues to worsen because of growth of prevalence and power of electric devices. The attention to the need of studying, along with medical and biological and physics and technology aspects of a problem of technogenic electromagnetic fields, also their spatial and temporary variability is paid what requires the use of geographical methods—mapping and monitoring. The article is devoted to the analysis of the first experiences of cartographical submission of characteristics of electromagnetic fields in Russia and other countries. Characteristics of magnetic induction, average on the whole cities, and distribution of its values into functional zones and kinds of buildings are submitted. It is established that the highest values of the magnetic field intensity of industrial frequency, about hundreds of nanotesla, both in Russia and in foreign European countries, are characteristic of historical city centers. The reliability of the received values is calculated. It is noted that the reliability of results, along with volumes of sections is promoted by contrast and internal uniformity of the allocated taxons. Comparison of data on the degree of sharpness of problems of electromagnetic pollution available now in the cities of Russia and foreign countries is executed. The data obtained indicate the comparability of the levels of electromagnetic pollution. Anomalies of technogenic magnetic fields of the urbanized territories and the factors influencing the distribution of anomalies are characterized. The preference for the organization of measurements with a spatial binding of each measurement, and an isolinear form of cartographical representation of results is proved. 

Sverdlovsk oblast has large wood reserves, especially in the northern and eastern ranges, the availability of which was ensured thanks to transport and industrial construction in the late 19th–20th centuries. In the north of the region, active forest development and the construction of enterprises were carried out. The crisis in the industry in the late 1980s and early 2000s led to negative consequences. The formulation of scenarios for the development of the forest industry, the implementation of new projects in the field of forest development is impossible without taking into account the historical experience in the development of forest resources in the north of the Sverdlovsk oblast. The analysis of this experience is the purpose of the article. Over the long historical period, the development of the industry was most affected by the institutional, socioeconomic, technical, and technological components of modernization. In this regard, emphasis is placed on studying the role of the transport factor in the development of forest resources of the territory, the development of enterprises, and the settlement framework of the industry. It was concluded that the forest industry played a significant role in the formed local territorial-industrial complex, spatially developed due to the presence of rivers with the direction of the current to the east and the construction of meridional railways, as well as a network of narrow-gauge railways, tractor, and roads. At the present stage, the industry is experiencing a deep crisis, the network of enterprises and settlements has significantly decreased. There are polarization and concentration trends in the timber industry with different effects. In the 2000s–the 2010s, a number of investment projects for the development of forests and the construction of enterprises were implemented, however, the role of the industry in the structure of the economy of the north of the Sverdlovsk oblast remains insignificant.