Articles de revues sur le sujet « Russian and East European Institute »

The speech at the scientific and practical conference «Economy of the Russian Far East: New Opportunities in a Changing World», organized by the Economic Research Institute of Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Far-Eastern Institute of Management – Branch of RANEPA with the support of the Government of the Khabarovsk Territory, held on November 15–16, 2022, in Khabarovsk, is published. The current transformation processes and economic behavior in the new conditions are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the problems of functioning of the economy of the Russian Far East in the situation of sanctions restrictions and practical closure of European markets. The necessity of changing the paradigm of state economic behavior is substantiated

The conversation with Sergey Khoruzhiy took place in March of the year during his visit to the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna. The questions were asked at that time by the Institute's freelance staff — Kristina Stoeckl and Alexander Mikhailovsky. The conversation was conducted in English. The transcribed text of the interview with abbreviations was published in the journal Studies in East European Thought: Michailowski A., Stoeckl K. Interview with Sergey Horujy / / Studies in East European Thought. — 2016. - Vol. 68, No. 2/3. - P. 1-8. Russian translation by A.V. Mikhailovsky.

Regular meeting of the Bogomolov Club, held at the Institute for Economic Strategies on January 28, 2020, was dedicated to the issues of trade and economic war between the USA and China. The keynote address was delivered by the famous Russian sinologist, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Director of the Center for Social and Economic Research of China at the RAS Institute of the Far East, member of the Russian Association of Sinologists, the European Association of Chinese Studies Andrey V. Ostrovsky.

The ongoing tragedy of Russia's war on Ukraine, already well into its second year, has sparked a fundamental reassessment in the field of Slavic Studies and calls for its decolonization. Long dominated by studies of Russia, the various disciplinary fields within Slavic Studies have engaged in numerous discussions and debates over the past year about how to decenter Slavic Studies, how to balance scholarship about the region, and how to recognize voices from the region that have been marginalized, ignored, and diminished. To this end, the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Pittsburg, in partnership with the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University and with the support of a long list of co-sponsors, organized a six-part virtual speakers series in Spring 2023 that brought together a diverse collection of professionals to discuss the need for and practical means to address the “outsized role Russia has played and continues to play in the field and what could and should be done about it.”1 H-Russia, an H-Net online community, established a blog series on “Decolonizing Russian Studies” that has stimulated interesting conversations among scholars toward decentering Slavic Studies from multiple directions.2 The journal Russian History issued a call for contributions to address such problems in the study of Russian history, and the journal Kritika, in collaboration with the Harriman Institute of Columbia University, is planning a conference and special journal issue on “Eurasia Decentered” for 2024. Moreover, the major US-based professional organization for Slavic Studies, the Association for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies (ASEEES), has selected “Decolonization” as its 2023 conference theme, asking its members to engage in the “reassessment and transformation of Russo-centric relationships of power and hierarchy both in the region and in how we study it.”3 Such interest among scholars to begin to reimagine scholarship about the region reflects the profound impact that Russia's war on Ukraine has had, even far from the front lines.

Bacidina ferax was described by Stefan Ekman in 2023, particularly basing on the collections from the North-East of the European Russia (Komi Republic). Herewith, B. ferax is reported for the first time for the Middle European Russia – from the Nizhny Novgorod Region. A complete morphological description, including the characters, distinguishing B. ferax from the related species, in Russian is given; its distribution range is characterized. The obtained results make a valuable contribution to the knowledge of the global distribution range of B. ferax. The specimens from Kerzhensky Nature Reserve are kept in the lichenological herbarium of the Komarov Botanical Institute (LE L, Saint- Petersburg), duplicate – in the herbarium of the Altai State University (ALTB, Barnaul). Copy Translate Copy Translate

The subject of this article is life and research activity of the Soviet geologist, paleontologist, Doctor of Geology and Mineralogy, explorer of the European North-East of Russia, discoverer of the Pechora coal basin – Alexander Chernov (1877-1963). The object of this research is the Russian historiography on his scientific biography. The goal a consists in the analysis of biographical essays, writings, newspaper notes about A. A. Chernov, available information on his scientific biography, as well as insufficiently studied topics. It is determined that the historiography of works dedicated to A. A. Chernov is extensive, and describes life path of the scholar, his academicc, pedagogical, and social activities. The author indicates Chernov’s role in training geology scholars in the process of institutionalization of science in the North, namely the Institute of Geology of Komi Scientific Center of Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, organization of exploration works in the European North-East of Russia. His remarkable contribution to geological exploration of the territories of Russian North along with the discovery of Pechora coal basin is described. It is revealed that the history of establishment and development of Chernov’s scientific school, formed on the premises of Guerrier Courses in Moscow and in the Komi Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union remains insufficiently studied.

Editorial office publishes the summary of a joint seminar held by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) and the World Economy and International Relations journal. The event was dedicated to the role of Africa in global politics, prospects and problems of its cooperation with Russia and other countries. The seminar on “The Role of Africa in Global Politics “the Year of Africa” in Russia” took place on March 28, 2023. The main part of the discussion included contributions by Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Academic Advisor; Irina Abramova, Head, RAS Institute of Africa, RAS Presidium Member, RAS Corresponding Member, RIAC Member; Andrey Maslov, Head, Center for African Studies at Higher School of Economics (HSE); Ivan Loshkarev, Research Fellow, Institute for International Studies (IIS), Associate Professor, Department of Political Theory, MGIMO University; Vasiliy Kashin, Head, Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies, HSE, RIAC Member. The discussion also included remarks by Yulia Melnikova, RIAC Program Manager; Lora Chkoniya, Junior Research Fellow, Center for Middle East and African Studies, IIS, MGIMO University; Maya Nikolskaya, Junior Research Fellow, Center for Middle East and African Studies, IIS, MGIMO University; Sergey Karamaev, Junior Research Fellow, Group of Regional Political Problems of the South and East, IMEMO, Ibragim Ibragimov, Research Fellow, Regional Relations Study Group, IMEMO, and Vsevolod Sviridov, Expert, Center for African Studies, HSE.

On November 5, 2021, Vyacheslav Y. Belokrenitsky, an outstanding Russian orientalist, doctor of historical sciences, professor, organizer of science, head of the Center for Middle East Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, celebrated his 80th birthday. The works of the scholar on the history and social development of Pakistan, India, the Middle East, on the problems of demography, Islam, international relations and general problems of the socio-political development of the countries of South Asia and the Middle East in the twentieth century are deservedly considered classic. Many of them have been translated into English and other European and Eastern languages and have received well-deserved recognition abroad, while such books as “Pakistan. Features and Problems of Urbanization” (Moscow, 1982) and “The East in World Political Processes” (Moscow, 2010) entered the golden fund of world academic research. The editorial group of Oriental Courier congratulate Vyacheslav Yakovlevich on his birthday and wish him inexhaustible health, inspiration and new brilliant research.

The article presents an analysis of the current state of the global market for natural gas and some forecasts for its long-term development. Regional and sectoral aspects of gas production and consumption are considered. Particular attention is paid to the development priorities of the gas industry in the countries of East and South Asia. During the period of economic slowdown, the imbalance of supply and demand in the global hydrocarbon market leads to its destabilization. In order to predict such situations, experts from international and Russian organizations (International Energy Agency, BP plc, Energy Re-search Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Energy Economics of Japan) and consulting companies (IHS Markit) periodically publish works on the evolution of world energy markets and the possible consequences for Russia and other countries. Nevertheless, in the foreseeable future none of the authors is likely to predict the period of peak gas demand even for the world's largest economies (with the exception of the European Union and de-veloped countries of Asia), which gives reason to call the twenty hundreds “the century of natural gas”.

The Wellcome Library, London, Institute of Oriental Studies, MoscowThis article deals with the research methods of an alumnus of the University of Wilno, the controversial Russian Orientalist Osip Ivanovich Senkovskii (1800–1859). His attitude towards the scholarly and literary production of his contemporaries—the Austrian Orientalist von Hammer-Purgstall, Russian historian Karamzin, and Russian poet Zhukovskii—is reflected in his letters to his teacher Joachim Lelewel. Senkovskii, at the time considered even a ‘literary clown’ in his popular writings, criticised the leading Western theories of Eastern culture. His views about the necessity to learn the East from inside as opposed to the theories of the European Orientalists found support only 150 years later in the works of the Palestinian scholar Edward W. Said (1935–2003).

The article is devoted to the analysis of the mechanism of ethnocultural projection of European mentality, ethics, morality, trade technologies, sociocultural image of merchants, industrialists, officials, military officers, cultural workers, who influenced in the second half of 19th – early 20th centuries on the development of the Russian Far East in industrial, trade, transport, scientific, educational discourses and on the life system in general. The most significant influence on the process of development and transformation of the Far Eastern outskirts of the Russian Empire was exerted by the German settlers. The research methodology based on Max Weber's concept of entrepreneurial ethics, is based on the belief that the history and culture of the Russian Far East in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, on the one hand, are linked to the all-Russian sociocultural processes and, on the other hand, to the Far Eastern specificity that emerged as a resulting of the influence of the European mentality. The article reveals the essence, structure and functions of trade, transport, industrial companies in the Amur region, Primorye and Sakhalin. The analysis of the phenomenon of the emerged regional culture is relevant. The immigrants, The article is devoted to the analysis of the mechanism of ethnocultural projection of European mentality, ethics, morality, trade technologies, sociocultural image of merchants, industrialists, officials, military officers, cultural workers, who influenced in the second half of 19th – early 20th centuries on the development of the Russian Far East in industrial, trade, transport, scientific, educational discourses and on the life system in general. The most significant influence on the process of development and transformation of the Far Eastern outskirts of the Russian Empire was exerted by the German settlers. The research methodology based on Max Weber's concept of entrepreneurial ethics, is based on the belief that the history and culture of the Russian Far East in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, on the one hand, are linked to the all-Russian sociocultural processes and, on the other hand, to the Far Eastern specificity that emerged as a resulting of the influence of the European mentality. The article reveals the essence, structure and functions of trade, transport, industrial companies in the Amur region, Primorye and Sakhalin. The analysis of the phenomenon of the emerged regional culture is relevant. The immigrants, carriers of different ethno-cultural mental models and ethnic stereotypes of behaviour, not only transformed this territory, the surrounding world in an industrial way, but also planned its development in the long term, for what purpose they used their own financial resources and efforts to create scientific and cultural institutions: Society studying the Amur region, the East Institute, the future Far East State Technical University, they financed ethnographic expeditions. The result of the work is the author's conviction that mental attitudes have sufficient stability, a reliable basis for the development of the Far Eastern region, for a positive dialogue of cultures, for optimal adaptation of immigrants to a foreign cultural environment, to different natural and climatic conditions and regional specifics.

The nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries in the history of European decorative art are marked by a new rise in interest in the art of the Far East. In contrast to the previous century, at the new stage, this interest is characterised by more interesting and deeper interpretations of exotic artistic traditions. The reasons for the emergence of a new wave of Chinese style and, later, Japanism were several factors, among which the authors single out the institute of world exhibitions and the formation of museum and private collections. This article considers several cases demonstrating the important role of publication activity in the dissemination of oriental motifs and plots in the decorative art of Western Europe, Russia, and the Urals. Referring to works of European jewelers, Russian stonecutters, and Ural iron foundry workers, the authors reveal the main opportunities provided by the study and analysis of publications of an artistic, reference, and academic nature from between the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The article examines European print publications as direct and possible sources of oriental plots, which, in addition, make it possible to clarify the attribution of individual works and form an understanding of the mechanisms of integration of exotic motifs into traditional types of decorative art in the Urals. The analysis of publication activity, as well as of specific works of European and Russian masters, not only made it possible to demonstrate the role of publications of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in disseminating information about exotic artistic traditions. The examples considered convincingly prove the need to comprehend the decorative and applied art of Russia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as part of the European art market, and once again confirm the involvement of the Ural art industry in the current stylistic agenda.

The Central and East European Association of Bioethics, CEEAB, was founded in the Hungarian city of Pecs, on 6 February 1999, at a meeting of scholars from Croatia, Hungry, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Russia. The meeting was supported by the Soros Foundation and the Albert Schweitzer Institute for the Humanities.

The grasshopper genus Podismopsis Zubowsky, 1900 consists of 39 species distributed in Europe (Switzerland, Austria, Montenegro, and Romania), Russia (European part, Siberia, Far East), Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan (Zubowsky, 1900; Lu et al., 2011; Storozhenko, 2021; Cigliano et al., 2021). One of them, Podismopsis gynaemorpha Ikonnikov, 1911, was described from Evseevka village (Russia, Primirskii krai) based on two males (Ikonnikov, 1911). Majority of types of the species described by Ikonnikov are deposited in the collection of the Zoological Museum of the Moscow State University (Storozhenko, 1990) while a part of type specimens are stored in the collections of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg. I carefully examined both these collections and found that the syntypes of Podismopsis gynaemorpha are lost. Here the neotype of this species is designated, described and illustrated for stability of nomenclature and according to Article 75 of the Code (ICZN, 1999).

The article summarizes the results of the IMEMO academic affairs in the first half of the 2000s. Like before, the Institute combined fundamental theoretical and applied research. In its work, IMEMO focused on the study of global, regional and national problems of the modern world. An important achievement of the Institute during these years was the prepared long-term forecast of the world economy development until 2015. The annual (2000–2005) analytical reports on the study of armed conflicts, their prevention and control, as well as of global and regional trends in the development of military expenses can be considered another achievement of this kind. These reports were prepared at IMEMO together with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). IMEMO’s accomplishments include the fundamental work “Transitional Economy: Theoretical Aspects, Russian Problems, International Experience”. In this research, the theoretical problems of the transitional economy were deeply investigated with an emphasis on the achievements of world economic thought, international and accumulated Russian experience of transitional processes was analyzed. The IMEMO scientists were involved in comparative analysis of the influence of new factors (globalization, information civilization, integration processes, international terrorism, etc.) on modern Russia and foreign countries. Along with theoretical research, the Institute regularly prepared analytical materials and expert opinions for the Administration of the President of Russia, the Government, the Federation Council and the State Duma. The IMEMO employees took part in the preparation of materials for the annual messages of the President of Russia to the Federal Assembly, gave their recommendations on military reform and updating the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation. The Institute was engaged in constant monitoring of the economic and internal situation in various regions and major states of the modern world. The focus of IMEMO analysts was the foreign policy of the United States, the European Union countries, the states of the Middle East, Central Asia and Latin America, as well as the Asia-Pacific region. This ongoing work was carried out in various departments and sectors of the Institute. The author presents the directions and main results of the work of these scientific departments. In general, one of the indicators of the overall performance of IMEMO in 2001–2006 are 256 monographs, collections of scientific papers, conference materials, brochures and reports published by its employees. During these years, the results of current work began to be posted on the IMEMO website.

The paper reveals the role of the famous church historian Anton Kartashev in the revival of the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris after the Second World War, as evidenced by the restoration of the number of students and professors. The sources for the article are published and archival materials stored in the Bahmetev Archive of Russian and East European Culture at Columbia University, USA. The research methodology is based on the principles of communication analysis of intellectual biography, considering its polycontextuality. The socio-political and professional contexts were chosen as significant ones. As a result of the study, the change in the national composition of students led to a metamorphosis of the mission of the institute, as the historian characterized it. From an educational institution where priests were trained for Russian emigrants who were forced to leave their homeland after the 1917 revolution, it turned into a pan-Orthodox educational center in Russian. The professor’s special contribution to the revival of the institute was in the search and implementation of opportunities for material and financial support of colleagues and students in the difficult post-war years and in the training of a young generation of the teachers. The article clarifies the motives for Anton Kartashev’s rejection of the actions of Metropolitan Evlogy (Georgievsky) to return Russian Orthodox parishes in Western Europe to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. Considering such a step reasonable, he defined it in the specific conditions of international relations (the spread of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe) and the political situation in the USSR (the enslavement of the Russian Orthodox Church by the godless state) as an act of generating new schisms among Russian emigrants.

Objective of the review is to characterize the nature of epidemiological situation on HFRS around the world and to conduct a comparative analysis of intensity and dynamics of the epidemiological process in the Russian Federation by Federal Districts, as well as make forecast for 2020. The analysis of the epidemiological situation is based on the materials of the official websites of healthcare organizations in the USA and Europe, WHO, the data from operational monitoring carried out by the reference center for HFRS monitoring “Kazan Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology”, materials provided by the Rospotrebnadzor Institutions in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The analysis included all administrative territories of the Russian Federation. Statistical processing was carried out by standard methods of variation statistics applying Excel software. The epidemiological situation on hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome around the world and in Russia remains tense. In the Russian Federation, epidemically active foci are located in the European part of the country, in Western Siberia and in the Far East. Infections over the period of 2010–2019 were registered in 8 federal districts of the Russian Federation, in 58 constituent entities. However, the incidence distribution across the territory of the country was differential. In 97 % of the cases, the incidence was recorded in the European part of Russia. In the Volga Federal District, HFRS incidence amounted to 82.16 % of the total incidence recorded on the whole in Russia. High incidence rates are also recorded in the Central Federal District (CFD). Over the past 10 years (2010–2019), there has been an increase in the incidence of HFRS in the Central and North-West Federal Districts, and a decrease in the incidence in the Ural and Far Eastern Federal Districts. Varying degree of anthropogenic impact on the natural HFRS foci and climate change manifested in increased ambient air temperatures are of great importance for the spread of HFRS over the past decade. At the end of the review the forecast of the development of the epidemiological situation on HFRS in the Russian Federation for 2020 is presented.

This study aims at the research and organizational activities of scientists, scientific communities and schools in the Russian science. The paper surveys the formation history of the Scientific School supervised by Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences A.A. Chernov at the Komi Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in the 1940s-1960s. The author analyzes the formation period of the Scientific School, identifies the disciples of A.A. Chernov, the area of scientific research and the results of the representatives of the school, its role in the history of the academic institution. The result of A.A. Chernov and his disciples at the Komi Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR are the geological knowledge of the European North-East of Russia, development of scientific directions, and establishment of the Institute of Geology of the Komi Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR that has been successfully operating since 1958 to the present.

The author traces and analyzes the career and activity of Academician Nodari Aleksandrovich Simoniyа (1932–2019), a prominent orientalist and expert in international relations who headed the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2000–2006. The article reveals the formation of the general worldview and academic views of N. Simoniа, assesses his contribution to the study of the East after the collapse of the colonial system and the formation of young independent states. The author acquaints the reader with the views of the Academician on the European, Asian and Russian revolutions, with his approach to understanding the processes of contemporary world development, explains his civil position, both under the Soviet regime and in post-Soviet Russia. N. Simonia combined a detailed knowledge of realities in the Eastern regions he studied – primarily Southeast Asia – with a deep theoretical approach to the study of complex processes in the East after the end of World War II. Over time, the interests of the Academician went beyond the East, to which he devoted several decades of research. At the turn of the 1990s‑2000s, his attention was attracted by the problems of global world development, as well as the development of post-Soviet Russia. All the works of N. Simonia – he published 18 books and dozens of articles in Russian and foreign academic journals – were written by him, as he himself admitted, on the basis of the Marxist methodology. But Simonia’s Marxism had nothing in common with vulgar ideas in Bolsheviks’ teachings of Marx and their “theory of Marxism-Leninism”. At the same time, the Academician criticized not only Stalin and Lenin, but also Marx himself, who succeeded only in deep analysis of contemporary pre-monopoly capitalism. N. Simonia criticized the Soviet model of socialism as well, believing that there has never been any real socialism in the USSR. He was equally critical of the “liberal” turn of the Russian intellectual elite after 1991, blaming its radical faction, which influenced President Boris Yeltsin, for instilling in Russia a model of the “worst”, as he wrote, “the most parasitic version of bureaucratic capitalism”. For Simonia, the latter was associated with Indonesia under Sukarno. But even there, not to mention Japan and South Korea, the business elite has never been antipatriotic, as it happened in modern Russia. In his opinion, the Russian model of capitalism turned out to be unlike either the Western or the Eastern model, and the modernization, which Russia urgently needs, is inseparable from genuine democratization, but should not represent an imitation of democracy, as is the case.

The article presents an analysis of the current state and forecasts of the long-term development of the global natural gas market. Regional and sectoral aspects of gas production and consumption are considered. Particular attention in the article is paid to the priorities for the development of the gas industry in East and South Asia. Increased demand for gas will be driven by higher electricity consumption. In developing Asian countries, industrial gas consumption is expected to grow rapidly until 2050 in parallel with the development of the respective industries. By the end of this period, demand in these countries, according to long-term energy projections (by IHS Markit), will have grown 2.0 times to 1277.8 bln cubic meters. The environmental benefi ts of natural gas will support, but not determine, its role in individual markets, because the price of gas in power generation will primarily determine its prospects. In times of economic slowdown, an imbalance of supply and demand in the global hydrocarbon market leads to its destabilisation. In order to predict such situations in advance, experts from international and Russian organisations (International Energy Agency, BP plc, Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Energy Economics of Japan) and consultancy companies (IHS Markit) periodically prepare papers on the evolution of global energy markets and the implications for Russia. Virtually all studies are not yet ready to name a period of peak gas demand in the foreseeable future, even for the world’s largest economies (with the exception of the European Union and developed Asian countries), which gives reason to call the 21st century a gas century.

The review used the data from operational monitoring carried out by the Reference Center for Monitoring over HFRS – “Kazan Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Rospotrebnadzor”, based on official data provided by the Rospotrebnadzor institutions in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Statistical processing was conducted using conventional methods of variation statistics applying the Excel program. Over the past decades, hantavirus diseases have become very relevant and spread throughout the world. In the territory of the Russian Federation, natural foci of HFRS are located in the European part of the country, Western Siberia and Far East. The most epidemically active foci are situated in the European part of Russia. Over the past decade, the intensive incidence rate of HFRS in the Russian Federation stayed within the range of 3.0–9.5 per 100 thousand of the population, the long-term average annual indicator – 5.2 per 100 thousand of the population. In 2020, 3845 cases of HFRS were registered (2.62 per 100,000 of the population). There was a decrease in the incidence of HFRS by 3.6 times, compared with the indicators of 2019. A factor that may have influenced the decrease in the incidence of HFRS was the depression of the epizootic process among small mammals, the main carriers of HFRS pathogens, due to natural and climatic factors. The nature of the distribution of HFRS incidence across the territory of the Russian Federation in 2020 was heterogeneous. Statistical processing of the data made it possible to identify 5 groups of territories that differ in the level of HFRS incidence. Almost all constituent entities of the Volga Federal District and the Kostroma Region belonging to the Central Federal District were classified as groups of territories with high and very high incidence rates. In 2021, the deterioration of the epidemiological situation is predicted in the summer-autumn period of the year in the Volga Federal District and four entities of the Central Federal District.

AbstractHaving accepted Richard Hellie's flattering invitation to prepare an "old geezer's memoir" for this journal, I read with special fascination those contributed in 1988-90 by Sam Baron, Bob Byrnes, Nick Riasanovsky, and Don Treadgold. They bear out what Horace Lunt said in the Summer 1987 Slavic Review: The story of the Slavic field in North America since World War II is complex as well as important, and those who know about various parts of it should publish their recollections while they can. Even we old-timers sometimes need to be reminded how much we depend today on structures that are new since we began our own professional lives: big centers of Russian studies and big libraries to back them up; foundations that care about our field; the USDE's Title VI and the State Department's Title VIII programs; the AAASS and its affiliates with their conventions; the NEH; NCSEER, IREX, the Kennan Institute; vital tools like the CDSP, ABSEES, and guides to archives; and Radio Liberty, the CIA, and other govemment and non-government agencies doing important research and publication in our field. My assignment here is to tell my own story, with particular attention to one of those teaching and research institutions in which I have had a hand: the University of Illinois's Russian and East European Center and its affiliated Slavic and East European Library, in the prairie towns of Champaign and Urbana. I hope to convey what I experienced as someone who in youth did not-unlike some of my colleagues-seem to be pointed toward academic life, but was swept along in directions he did not foresee.

The editors of the introduction substantiate the themes, problems,and methodology of the study of the development of international relations in Eastern Europe. The authors justify the chronological framework of the research, the topics and problems, the structure of the materials, the general characteristics of the sources used by the authors, and gives a description of the research methods. The authors' team consists of representatives of various disciplines – historians, internationalists, political scientists, diplomats, working both in research institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and in scientific and pedagogical institutions. The focus is on the period 2014–2021 – the turn in relations between Russia and the West (NATO and the EU), including the countries of Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine up to the sharp aggravation of relations at the regional and global levels, which manifested and, in part, the cause of which was the Russian military operation on the territory of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The studies included in this issue are written on the basis of different types of sources – official documents (international treaties, declarations, diplomatic and political documents of Russia, EU and NATO, Central Eastern and South-Eastern European countries, media materials, journalism, scientific and analytical works. On the basis of these materials the general picture of the international relations in the East (Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe) during the specified period is created, the essence of various forms of interaction of the countries of the region between themselves, with the Russian Federation and the European and Euro-Atlantic structures, and also the essence of global and Eurasian relations is revealed.

Research subject. To characterize the Sylva fluidogenic-explosive complex, which was established in the junction area of the West Ural thrust megazone (head of the Sylva River) and the eastern wing of the Yuryuzano-Sylva depression of the Pre-Ural trough. Materials and methods. The authors' materials collected during research works at GSA200/2 sheet O-40-XXIX (Shalinskaya Ploshchad), as well as those collected during the work under the Priority 2030 Federal Program, were used. Data on the geology, petrochemistry, petrography, structural and tectonic position of clastogenic rock associations in the area of influence of the Main West Ural thrust were employed. Experimental data were obtained using a TESCAN VEGA LMS electron microscope equipped with an Xplore 30 energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopic prefix, and an URS-55 X-ray unit (Ural State Mining University), as well as CPM-35 and Shimadzu EDX-8000 spectrometers and an XRD-7000 diffractometer (Geoanalitik Centre, Zavaritsky Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences). Results. For the first time, the mineralogical-petrographic and chemical compositions of diamond-bearing rocks of the Sylva fluidogenic complex were established. Diamonds and minerals contained in the studied rocks were determined by XRD (sanidine, analcime, etc.). The conducted analysis of the rocks suggests their possible fluid-magmatic genesis, which is indicated by mineralogical features, including accessory minerals-indicators of diamond content, the presence of ellipsoid and teardrop-shaped volcanic glass, finely-dispersed bulk and poorly-rolled unsorted fragments of igneous and sedimentary rocks. Conclusions. The results obtained indicate the possibility of manifestation of Early Mesozoic phreatic volcanism in the studied area, which led to the transfer of the Sylva diamond complex and accessory minerals by fluidolites.

A conference titled ‘Old and New Heroes of History: Nation States in Quest for Identity’ was held on the 8th of February 2024, at the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO). It was organized by the Center of the Indo-Pacific region of IMEMO. The conference Chief-moderators were Semenenko I.S., Corresponding Member of the RAS, Doct. Sci. (Polit. Sci.), Head of Centre for Comparative Socioeconomic and Political Studies, Deputy Director for Scientific Work of IMEMO and Prokhorenko I.L. Doct. Sci. (Polit. Sci.), Head of the Sector for International Organizations and Global Political Governance, Department for International Political Problems, IMEMO. The questions under analysis included the following points: the features and key directions of identity politics of various states of the world, the role and significance of identity conflict in world politics, rethinking the heritage of the past and the search for new ‘heroes’ for modern societies. The discussion was focused on the role of identity personifiers and the study of identity conflict in the context of the formation of a polycentric world. The speakers were as follows: Semenenko I.S. and Prokhorenko I.L. addressed the plenary meeting; staff members of IMEMO: the Center of the Indo-Pacific region– Head of the Center Cand. Sci. (Hist.) Kupriyanov A.V., Junior Research Fellow Makarevich G.G., Senior Research Assistant Kosareva E.S., Cand. Sci. (Polit. Sci.) Research Fellow Terskikh M.A., Junior Research Fellow Zaitsev I.A., Cand. Sci. (Polit Sci.) Research Fellow Lomova A.A., Turayanova L.T.; staff members of the Center for Middle East Studies – Research Fellow Ibragimov I.E. and Junior Research Fellow Guzhev I.A.; staff members of the Center for Development and Modernization Studies – Research Fellows Arabadzhyan A.Z. and Karamaev S.G.; staff member of the Center for European Studies Cand. Sci. (Hist.) Research Fellow Podchasov N.A. Fellows of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences delivered their speech: Cand. Sci. (Econ.) Leading Researcher of the Center for Middle East Countries Studies Arabadzhyan Z.A., members of the Center for Southeast Asia, Australia and Oceania: Cand. Sci. (Hist.), Academic Secretary of the Center Senior Researcher Astafieva E.M., Cand. Sci. (Econ.) Leading Researcher of the Center and the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of RAS Popov A.V., staff members of the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences: Research Fellows of the Center for Vietnam and ASEAN Studies Burova E.S., Kucherenko G.N., Shaternikov P.S., Research Fellow of the Center for the Study of Contemparary History of China and Its Relations with Russia Voloshina A.V.; staff members of the Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences (IAS RAS): Head of the Center for Tropical African Studies Cand. Sci. (Hist.) Leading Researcher Denisova T.S., Head of the Center for Southern Africa Studies Cand. Sci. (Hist.) Senior Research Fellow Tokarev A.A., Senior Research Fellow of the Center for Southern Africa Studies Cand. Sci. (Hist.) Cand. Sci. (Hist. of Arts) Skubko Y.S., Junior Researcher Nesterova E.S., Senior Research Fellow of the Center for History and Cultural Anthropology Cand. Sci. (Hist.) Associate Professor of the Department of General History, P.G. Demidov Yaroslavl State University (YarSU) Khokholkova N.E., YarSU students and staff members Cand. Sci. (Hist.) Associate Professor of the Department of Regional Studies and Tourism Savin D.A., Professor and Doct. Sci. (Hist.), Professor of the Department of General History Gavristova T.M., post-graduate student of the Department of General History of YarSU, history teacher of the Municipal educational institution ‘Nekrasov Secondary school No. 4 with in-depth study of the English language’ of Yaroslavl city Tsvetkov E.G., Georgy Arbatov Institute for U.S. and Canada Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences (ISKRAN) staff member – Senior Research Fellow of the Center for History and Cultural Anthropology of the Department of Internal Political Research Cand. Sci. (Hist.) Vorobiev D.N.; staff member of the Russian State University for the Humanities, Cand. Sci. (Hist.) Associate Professor of the Department of American studies of the Faculty of International Relations, Political Science and Foreign Regional Studies RSUH Panov A.S. and Master’s student of the Department of Theory and History of Humanities, Institute of Philology and History of RSUH Grebneva N.I.; and master's student of the MGIMO University Kupalov-Yaropolk A.I. The review of the conference materials was compiled by the staff members of the Center of the Indo-Pacific region of IMEMO Cand. Sci. (Polit. Sci.) Research Fellow Lomova A.A. (lomova.dip@list.ru, ORCID: 0009-0004-3178-7480) and Junior Research Fellow Shirgazina E.R. (e.shirgazina8@imemo.ru, ORCID: 0000-0001-7715-2991) and Research Fellow of the Center for Development and Modernization Studies Karamaev S.G. (tiomkin@imemo.ru, ORCID: 0000-0001-5137-3948).

Research subject. The article sets out to investigate the change of the geodynamic regime from the island-arc type to the accretionary-collisional type in the Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous, which occurred as a result of 1) a collision between the Western part of the Magnitogorsk island arc and the Eastern margin of the East European continent and 2) its later coupling with the heterogeneous composite East Uralian terrain.Materials and methods. The content of petrogenic elements and microelements in the rocks of the Late Paleozoic island-arc complexes of the Magnitogorsk island arc were determined using XRF and ICP MS methods at the Laboratory of Physicochemical Research Methods of the Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In addition, available publications on the composition and formation conditions of these complexes were reviewed.Results. It was found that, in the Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous period, the process of island-arc magmatism of the Magnitogorsk paleoarc was substituted with the formation of intraplate volcano-intrusive complexes. The island-arc magmageneration and its manifestations were controlled by a latitudinal linear zoning and different depths of formation of magmatic cameras, reflecting the self-consistency and spatial isolation of these events.Conclusion. Due to the intensifying collision, melts from different mantle sources were mixing, thus contaminating the island-arc rocks by intraplate (plume-dependent) magmas. According to the composition and concentrations of high-field strength and fluid-mobile chemical elements, suprasubductional fluids played an important role in the evolution of late-island arc magmatic series.

Nikolai Vasilievich Kyuner (1877-1955) was a Russian Orientalist. Having graduated with merit from the St. Petersburg State University, he was sent to the Far East and spent there two years. Having returned, he was appointed head of the department of historical and geographical sciences at the Eastern Institute (Vladivostok) in 1904. Kyuner was one of the first Orientalists to teach courses in history, geography, and ethnography. His works number over 400. The article studies a typescript of his unpublished study ‘Korea in the second half of the 18th century’ now stored in the Archive of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg). Little known to Russian Koreanists, it nevertheless retains its scientific significance as one of the earliest attempts to study the history of the ‘golden age’ of Korea. The date of the typescript is not known, though analysis of the citations places its completion between 1931 and 1940. The article is to introduce the typescript into scientific use and to verify some facts and terms. N. V. Kuyner’s typescript consists of 8 sections: (1) ‘Introduction. Sources review’; (2) ‘General characteristics of the social development stage of Korea in the second half of the 18th century’; (3) ‘Great impoverishment of the country’; (4) ‘Peasantry’; (5) ‘Cities’; (6) ‘Popular revolts’; (7) ‘Military bureaucratic regime’; (8) ‘The Great Collection of Laws’ (a legal code). There are excerpts from foreign and national publications of the 19th - early 20th century, and there’s also some valuable information on Korean legal codes and encyclopedias of the 18th century, which have not yet been translated into any European languages. The typescript addresses socio-economic situation in Korea in the 18th century; struggles of the court cliques of the 16th-18th centuries and their role in inner and foreign policies of the country; social structure of the society and problems of the peasantry; role of trade in the development of the Middle Korean society; legal proceedings and legislation, etc. One of the first among Russian Koreanistics, N. V. Kyuner examined causes of sasaek (Korean ‘parties’) formation and the following events, linking together unstable situation in the country, national isolation, and execution of Crown Prince Sado (1735-1762).

The paper provides information about the expedition to the European North of Russia in 1843. The expedition travelled about 8000 miles (about 8427 km). The main route was connected with the wa-terway along the rivers Vychegda, Pechora, Izhma and their tributaries. Hiking routes were connected with the description of the Ural Mountains sites (Bolvano—Iz, Skala). On reindeer sledges, the expedition reached the coast of the Barents Sea and carried out geological and geographical work in the Timan tundra. The work was supervised by a paleontologist, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, Count A.A. Keyserling. The scientist described and paleontologically characterized the rocks of the Lower Silurian, Devonian, Permian, Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous age. As a result of the expedition, the main minerals (coal, gypsum, oil, domanic, copper ore, salt, grindstone) were studied. The significant geological and geographical result was the discovery of the Timan Ridge and its mapping. P.I. Krusenstern conducted topographic surveys, astronomical and geographical observations. He compiled a geographical map on a scale of 1:3000000 with a rectangular geographic grid and detailed drawing of rivers, lakes and settlements. The published works of the scientists are kept in the funds of the A. A. Chernov Geological Museum, Institute of Geology.

Germplasm of 153 flax (Linum usitatissimum) accessions from 24 countries held at Plant Gene Resources of Canada (PGRC) was evaluated for resistance to fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum), anthracnose (Colletotrichum lini) and pasmo (Septoria linicola). The screening was conducted at the All-Russian Flax Research Institute (VNIIL) at Torzhok, Russia, over 3 years for fusarium wilt and anthracnose, and over 2 years for pasmo. A disease severity index ranging from 0% (no infection) to 100% (heavy infection) was calculated based on observations after artificial inoculation with the pathogens in the greenhouse (fusarium wilt) or in field nurseries (anthracnose and pasmo). The average disease severity index for fusarium wilt was 56.6 ± 34.4% (range 0–100.0%), for anthracnose 59.8 ± 8.1% (range 43.8–83.9%) and for pasmo 74.2 ± 11.8% (range 27.3–100.0%). The variation of disease severity indices among the years and within each accession was highest for fusarium wilt. Higher than average resistance for all three diseases was found in accessions from East Asia, while germplasm from the Indian subcontinent showed considerably lower than average resistance. Germplasm from North America and South America (mostly linseed) displayed above average resistance to fusarium wilt, while European accessions (mostly fibre flax) showed lower than average resistance to this disease. The different resistance levels reflected the improvements made by plant breeding and differences in the environments under which the germplasm accessions evolved. Accessions with potential use in linseed and fibre flax breeding were identified.

Background. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of heart rhythm disturbance, leading to the development of lifethreatening conditions, such as cardio embolism, heart failure, and even sudden cardiac death. In recent years, the genetic aspects of AF have been actively discussed. The largest number of genetic predictors of AF was identified after a full genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Given that so far no studies of the association of rs10824026 polymorphism of chromosome 10q22 with the development of AF have been conducted in the Russian population, we conducted this clinical study. Aim. Checking the associations of the development of AF with the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs10824026 of the SYNPO2L gene in the East-Siberian population. Materials and methods. The study design was formed in accordance with the National Standard of the Russian Federation Good Clinical Practice, GOST P 52379-2005. The study uses design - “case-control”. The main group of patients - patients with known cardiac arrhythmias by the type of AF (n=106, average age 57.0±9 years, men 49.4%, women 50.6%), the group was formed using the criteria of the World Health Organization and the European Society of cardiologists. The control group (n=105, average age 57.0±9 years, men - 50.0%, women - 50.0%) was selected by age and gender from the DNA bank of international studies MONICA (Multinational MONItoring of trends and determinants in cardiovascular disease) under a joint agreement with the Research Institute of Therapy and preventive medicine - Novosibirsk. DNA was isolated by phenol-chloroform extraction. Among other things, among the research methods, routine laboratory methods were used; instrumental data; and invasive tactics such as CAG. Results. As a result of clinical genetic testing, it was found that the frequency of G/G polymorphism of the SYNPO2L gene in patients with AF shows a statistically significant difference.

The article provides the results of evaluation of 10 promising potato varieties for the group resistance to the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say and to the Potato ladybird Henosepilachna vigintiomaculata Motsch. The researches were performed by field methods with artificial colonization of plants of the studied varieties in 1st instar, in the quantity of 30–100 larvae for each potato variety, and were held: according to the Colorado beetle – on experimental field of the All-Russian Research Institute for Plant Protection (Saint-Petersburg – Pushkin); according to the potato ladybird – on experimental field of the Federal Scientific Center of Agricultural Biotechnology of the Far East named after A.K. Chaikа (Primorsky Krai, Ussuriysk). Examples of potato varieties from the new assortment confirm the significant similarity (parallelism of developing) of the trophic reactions of both species, which have the same type of nutrition and many similar features of development biology. As the first result, it has shown that the Severnyi and Smak varieties have a group resistance to both phytophages with a survival of 10–20% of larvae before pupation. In other side, the Avgustin and Dalnevostochnyi varieties noted as a favourable for the development of these pests with a survival of 45–75% of larvae.

The results of the cultivation of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the provenance trial in the Serebryanoborsky experimental forest district of the Institute of Forestry of the Russian Academy of Sciences are summarized. The silvicultural effect was assessed by a comprehensive indicator of the feasibility of introducing specific pine conventions. It was established that the use of pine seeds of exclusively local provenances cannot be considered justified. In the vast area of pine there are very remote populations of a local nature, the seed of which, when moved, can be successfully used to create highly productive artificial stands. The 68 year old geographical plantations of larch growth and production rates of 18 climotypes of 14 larch species were compared. These species are Polish larch (Larix polonica Racib.), European larch (Larix decidua Mill. f. Sudetica), Larix sukaczewii Dylis, Siberian larch (Larix sibirika Ledeb.), Larix cajanderi Mayr., Larix gmelinii Rupr., Larix Czekanovskii Szaf, Larix amurensis Kolesn., Olgan larch (Larix olgensis Henry), Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carrière), Larix kurilensis Maur., Larix principis Rupprechtii Maur., Larix potaninii Bat, American larch (Larix laricina (Duroi) K. Koch). Polish larch, Japanese larch, European larch and Olgan larch have the best growth rate results. Climotypes from Siberia and American larch showed worst results. Polish larch (812 m3/ha) and Japanese (804 m3/ha) larch from the Southern Sakhalin have the highest stem volume. The final estimations showed that the climotypes of Polish larch, European larch from Sudetes and Japanese larch from the Southern Sakhalin are suitable for introduction in the Moscow Region. The climotypes from the Far East, namely Larix amurensis Kolesn., Olgan larch and Larix kurilensis Maur., had positive silvicultural effect. The inland climotypes from Asia together with American larch showed negative results.

The article discusses the problems of philosophical geography, philosophical multipolarity, georationality. The debates on these issues are becoming interdisciplinary. Specialists in Eastern philosophies and cross-cultural communications as well as epistemologists, scientific methodologists, cognitive scholars, synergists became participants of the discussion held at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The problem of Eurocentrism in academic philosophy has become the main topic of discussion. The opponents of the “regional” multipolarity argued that the Western European tradition of rationality was an example of the rationality per se. The proponents, who relied heavily on the ad professionem arguments, advocated multipolarity and demonstrated the irreducibility of the world-pictures, languages and ontologies of philosophical systems. A point of view was expressed that Eurocentrism had an ideological background. The disputants noted that there was need to redefine or clarify such fundamental concepts as logic, rationality, scientific rationality, universalism, processuality. The redefinition of the concept of rationality is for the studies of various types of rationality outside European cultures. Methodologists of science drew attention that the cognitive problems of intercultural communications turned out to be similar to the problems faced by theory of complexity. The analysis of philosophical, logical and other cases in various “zones of exchange” reveals a plurality of directions in the global and local socio-cultural spaces. The panelists raised the question of the role of philosophy in the global world and its responsibility in uniting nations. The authors of the article draw attention to many functions that the Western European conceptual system performs in the formation of philosophical language, mentality and communication. The dynamics of philosophical discussions, the dialogue of the West and the East lead to the clarification of philosophical positions, the emergence of new concepts and meanings as well as the formation of discourses of the future.

Meri Kulmala – Dr., Finnish Centre for Russian and East European Studies/Finnish Centre of Excellence in Russian Studies, Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland. Email: meri.kulmala@helsinki.fi Michael Rasell – Dr., School of Health & Social Care, University of Lincoln, UK. Email: mrasell@lincoln.ac.uk Zhanna Chernova – Dr. Sciences, Department of Sociology, National Research University 'Higher School of Economics', Saint Petersburg. Email: zhchernova@hse.ru This article studies the causal factors behind the major overhaul of Russia’s system for children in substitute care that has been taking place since the late 2000’s. A series of reforms have promoted fostering and family-like care in contrast to the large residential homes used in the Soviet period and 1990’s. We highlight the fundamental change in the 'ideal of care' represented by the move to 'deinstitutionalise' the care system by promoting domestic adoptions, increasing the number of foster families, creating early support services for families as well as restructuring remaining residential institutions into smaller, home-like environments. These are all key elements of the global deinstitutionalisation trend that is taking place around the globe. We look at the evolution of the related policies and ask why this policy shift happened during the 2010’s even though the issue of reform had partially been on the Russian policy agenda for some time. Building on an explanatory approach to family policy changes by Magritta Mäztke and Ilona Ostner, which incorporates material and ideational driving forces, we explain that the 'political will from above' behind these major reforms was shaped by a range of other societal and political factors. Multiple factors drove Russian political actors to adopt new ideas about care for children left without parental care. For instance, the increasing conservative turn in policies towards children and families, which are driven by the severe demographic decline in the country, work alongside the influence of international norms around children’s rights and changing socio-economic circumstances. In the 1990’s Russian NGOs had considerable input into the reforms as 'epistemic communities' in policy formation thanks to the high level of expertise that they developed in international networks and the increasing number of cross-sector consultative platforms at governmental bodies in contemporary Russia. We conclude that ideational factors were necessary preconditions for the reforms, but that political forces were ultimately the key driving force. The recentralisation of power and prioritisation of social policy under President Putin allowed new ideas to gain concrete policy realisation.

Abstract. The purpose is the analysis of the current state and prospects for expanding the geography and nomenclature of organic exports from the Ural-Siberian region. Methods. Commodity and country analysis of exports of agro-industrial products from Russia over the past few years based on data from the Federal Customs Service of Russia. Evaluation of data on the dynamics of income from the export of agricultural products from Russia in comparison with income from the export of weapons and other non-primary goods. Assessment of the planned prospects for a multiple increase in export revenue for many commodity items until 2030. A grouping was made by the main importing countries of agricultural products from Russia, where China, Turkey and Kazakhstan are in the top three, and the Ural region, where the TOP 3 importers look different: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and China. The grouping of the main export products in the agro-industrial sector was also carried out, where the Urals nomenclature of export agricultural products differs markedly from the all-Russian one. There has been a significant increase in the share of organic products in the global food market. The data of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) on organic certification of agricultural land in the world are presented. The authors analyze the rapid growth of the organic products market in China and its features in the regulatory regulation of organic food production. The role of agro-industrial exports for the implementation of national development projects of the Russian Federation until 2030 is revealed. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the analysis of the rapid growth of the market for organic products outside the traditional area of their consumption in the West at the expense of developing economies in Asia (primarily China) and the features and differences in the regulatory regulation of organic food production in China, compared with the European Union and the United States. The role of agro-industrial exports in solving the broader tasks of implementing national development projects of the Russian Federation until 2030 is also revealed. The practical results of the work are the substantiation of the thesis that the development of new export directions and modern logistics technologies will allow exporters of organic agricultural products in the Ural region to significantly increase the volume and profitability of exports. The article substantiates the need for exporters of the Ural region to use the Transcaspian route of the International Transport Corridor “North – South” and logistics technologies of “agroexpress” and container trains to gain competitive advantages over suppliers of the South of Russia and the Far East, located closer to ports and border crossings.

Присоединение Крыма к России в 1783 г. стало значимым событием в мировой политике и привлекло внимание всей Европы. Свидетельством этого интереса явилось включение Крыма в маршрут большого образовательного путешествия (Grand Tour) представителей европейской элиты. В опубликованных впоследствии путевых записках они вели обсуждение «законности» и эффективности действий российских властей. Учитывая специфический облик Крыма, региона с преобладавшим мусульманским населением, который располагался у воображаемой границы между Европой и Азией, путешественники использовали традиционные для европейской общественной мысли рассуждения об исторической роли Востока и Запада, о миссии европейских держав и о сущности Российского государства. Материалом для исследования стали несколько наиболее популярных в исследуемую эпоху травелогов, в частности сочинения Франсуа де Тотта и Эдварда Даниэля Кларка, Уильяма Итона и Маттью Гатри, Мэри Хоулдернесс и Поля Гибаля, супругов Омер де Гелль, а также Олимпиады Петровны Шишкиной. Показан генезис полярных интерпретаций исторической роли и судьбы Крымского ханства, от «золотого века» в истории региона до катастрофы, отбросившей его далеко назад. В зависимости от этого присоединение к России воспринималось либо как «нашествие варваров», либо как открытие возможностей для быстрого прогресса. Раскрыты использованные путешественниками основные критерии оценок действий российских властей: их отношение к местным жителям, способность организовать эффективное управление, развивать торговлю, защищать христианство, охранять археологические и архитектурные памятники и проч. Проанализированы устойчивые стереотипы, выработанные путешественниками и связанные с «колоссальным хозяйственным потенциалом» Крыма, с восприятием его жителей как «благородных дикарей» / «праздных ленивцев», а также с «русским варварством» по отношению к памятникам культурного наследия и слабостью Черноморского флота. Показано, что многие оценки в травелогах зависели от изначальных установок их авторов, усвоенных ими еще до поездки. Продемонстрирована устойчивость стереотипов и объяснительных моделей, активно проявившаяся, в частности, во время обострения противоречий между Россией и Европой накануне и в ходе Крымской войны, когда вновь востребованными оказались антироссийские идеологические приемы и дискурсы. The unification of the Crimea with Russia in 1783 was an important event in the world politics and attracted the attention of the whole Europe. The apparent evidence of that interest was the inclusion of the Crimea in the itinerary of the great educational journey, or the Grand Tour, of the European elite. In their travelogues, published later on, the representatives of the European elite discussed the “legality” and effectiveness of the actions of the Russian authorities in the region. Given the specific image of the Crimea, a region with a predominantly Muslim population, located at the imaginary border between Europe and Asia, the travellers used traditional in the European mind ideas of the historical roles of East and West, the historical mission of the European powers, and the essence of the Russian state. As the source base for the study, several of the most popular travelogues of the period under research were chosen, in particular the works of François de Tott and Edward Clarke, William Eton and Matthew Guthrie, Mary Holderness and Paul Guibal, Xavier and Adèle Hommaire de Hell, and Olimpiada Shishkina. The article shows the genesis of popular, and the same time opposite interpretations of the historical role and fate of the Crimean Khanate, from the “golden age” in the history of the region to the disaster that threw it far back. Depending ⁎ This article is an extended version of the paper presented at the conference “State Politics and Images of Power in Central Europe and Neighboring Regions: Praise, Criticism, and Rejection” (Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, November 2–3, 2021). Исследования Н.И. Храпунов. Россия в Крыму – цивилизатор или угнетатель? Образы имперской власти в полемике травелогов конца XVIII – первой половины XIX в. Historia provinciae – журнал региональной истории. 2023. Т. 7, № 1 ISSN 2587-8344 (online) 192 on the author’s aim, the unification with Russia was interpreted as a “barbarian invasion,” or, alternatively, as a new possibility for fast progress. Moreover, the article uncovers the main criteria used by the travellers when evaluating the activities of the Russian government, their attitude towards the local residents, the ability to establish effective administration, develop trade, protect Christianity, keep archaeological and architectural monuments and sites, and so on. The work analyses established stereotypes developed by the travellers, such as “huge economic potential” of the Crimea, the perception of its residents as “noble savages / lazy idlers,” “Russian barbarism” concerning cultural heritage, and “military impotence” of the Black Sea Navy. It is indicated that many such assessments depended on the travellers’ background and already existing opinion, which had been formed before the journey. The article demonstrates the continuity in the stereotypes and explanatory models, especially in the period of aggravation of relations between Russia and Europe on the eve and in the course of the Crimean War, when anti-Russian ideological patterns and discourses became in demand again.

Obtaining the experimental data on soil respiration is relevant due to significant range of CO2 emission estimates in different ecosystems. The aim of work was to characterize CO2 emission from soil surface of pine forests growing in different conditions on North-East of European part of Russia. The studies have been carried out in immature and mature pine forests Sphagnosa, Myrtillus and Lichen types located in the Institute of biology of the Komi Science Center, RAS forest stations. Carbon dioxide emission was measured using LI COR 8100 during the May-October periods in 2008–2017. A brief weather conditions characteristic was given. Higher values of the CO2 flux from the soil surface was observed in July (1.9–2.9 g С m–2 day–1 in Sphagnosa type) and August (2.5–6.6 g С m–2 day–1 in Myrtillus and Lichen types). The year-to-year variability and influence of weather conditions on soil respiration were shown. The soil temperature had a close and positive relationship (R2 = 0.49–0.77) with CO2 emission whereas correlation with soil moisture was weak. During summertime the efflux of C-CO2 in a pine forest of Myrtillus type was 188–442 g C m–2, during the vegetation period (01.05–30.09) – 279–563 g C m–2 and the snowless period (01.05–31.10) – 308–583 g C m–2, which is 1.5–1.8 times higher than in the pine forests of Sphagnosa and Lichen types during the snowless period (р = 0.014) and growing season (р = 0.020). In summertime the losses of carbon were similar (р = 0.106). The pine forests of Sphagnosa and Lichen types were comparable in С-СО2 efflux both during the vegetation and the snowless periods (p 0.05). These data are important in assessing the expenditure part of the carbon balance in forest ecosystems in the European North-East of Russia.

The modern state of map collection of the A. A. Chernov Geological Museum of Institute of Geology of Komi Science Centre of the UB of the RAS is described. The collection is divided into the historic and expository parts. It has shown the geological and geographical maps of the European part of North-East of Russia starting to XV age till now. The features of cartographic material for understanding the history of the study and development of the territory are described. It highlights the role of cartographic material in the museum exposition in the study of the structural features of the earth's crust and mineral exploration. The problems of modern cartographic support of the museum are described and the requirements for maps are compiled. The modern cartographic material is an electronic maps and charts. It has shown the importance of the establishing of Regional Atlas for evaluating the history and the future development of the region.

The article deals with historiography about the cultural and educational development of Jews in Dnipro Ukraine during the 19th – early 20th centuries. The formation and functioning of a Jewish educational system in Volhynia during that period, the work of Zhytomyr Rabbinical School and Zhytomyr Jewish Teachers Institute, spiritual-cultural and education activities of Jews in Left-bank Ukraine, Right-bank Ukraine, South-East Ukraine, which was then part of the Russian Empire, and on Western Ukrainian lands of Austria-Hungary are reflected in the historical science. While appreciating the progress of Judaic studies, it should be noted that today this subject needs to be developed further. This is especially important for understanding the key issues of Ukraine’s History and World History. The analysis of a wide range of historical sources, especially archival materials, will contribute to the objective presentation of the history of Jewish community as unique historical and cultural phenomenon and an important part of the Culture of Ukraine. The ideological and political pressure of Soviet era has slowed down Judaic studies, fulfilment of their scientific and practical potential. In the late 1980s there has been an upsurge of interest in the Jewish history. Research studies of Independent Ukraine have contributed to introduction into the scientific activities of new historical sources, developing innovative projects and ideas, improving methodological approaches. The role of Jews in increasing European cultural influences on the Ukrainian lands is a perspective direction of the historical research. In the period of raising the national spirit of Jews during the 19th – early 20th centuries, the number of Jewish students from Ukraine who studied in European universities has increased. Attention needs to be shifted towards an important social function of ethnic research, the results of which foster establishing Ukrainian cultural environment based on tolerance, mutual respect, humanism and cross-cultural dialogue

Born on August 21, 1929 in Moscow, Vjačeslav Vsevolodovič Ivanov died on October 7, 2017 in Los Angeles. The beginning of an unprecedented scientific career of Vjačeslav Vsevolodovič was interrupted by a ruthless political campaign of the MGU management in 1959, which ended with Vjačeslav Vsevolodovič's expulsion from the university. Those in power at the time condemned Vjačeslav Vsevolodovič Ivanov for his public ne gation of the official verdict on the novel by B.L. Pasternak doctor Živago and in support of the scientific views of the world-renowned linguist prof. dr. Roman Osipovic Jacobson. The life and work of VJAČESLAV VSEVOLODOVIČ IVANOV, based on the many languages and the literatures that existed through them, which he researched and communicated to people (and especially to student youth) in a rarely encountered way, were through a constant intrusion in science about man and in art and closely linked with a deep humanism and an exemplary empathy. From the Editor. The memoirs of the famous German baltist Rainer Eckert about Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, director of the Institute of World Culture at Moscow State University and professor in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures at the University of California, an outstanding scholar of encyclopedic outlook, are dedicated to the fifth anniversary of his death. The Memoirs of Prof. Rainer Eckert are published without changes, with the author's references to the books and articles mentioned in the text.

The scientific discussion concerning the development of the promising approaches for phyto-diversity conservation and the rational use of plant resources in Russian Federation was held at the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences in December 2019. After the reports of leading scientists from biological institutes, a resolution No. 195 dated December 10, 2019 «Global changes in terrestrial ecosystems of Russia in the 21st century: challenges and opportunities» was adopted. The resolution includes a set of priority scientific aims including the development and application of modern technologies for inventory of the plant communities and the development of vegetation classification in Russia. As a result of the opinion exchange between phytocoenologists from different regions, the Concept of Russian Vegetation Classification was proposed. It is based on the following principles. 1. The use of the ecological-floristic approach and the hierarchy of the main syntaxonomic categories applied for the Classification of Vegetation of Europe. 2. Development of the Russian archive of geobotanical relevés and syntaxa in accordance with international standards and with the remote access functions. 3. Application of strict rules for syntaxon names formulated in the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature. The Concept assumes the development of a special program «Russian Vegetation Classification» with the justification of the necessity for targeted funding of the program in Research Institutions and Universities involved for solving this scientific problem on the principle of network collaboration. The final results of this program will be represented in the multi-volume publication «Vegetation of Russia». A shortened version of the Concept (English version was kindly revised by Dr. Andrew Gillison, Center for Biodiversity Management, Cairns, Queensand, Australia) is below. Vegetation classification of Russia Research Program Concept Systematic classification and inventory of plant communities (phytocoenoses) is fundamental to the study and forecasting of contemporary complex processes in the biosphere, controlled among other factors, by global climate change. Vegetation classification serves as a common language that enables professionals in various fields of science to communicate and interact with each other in the process of studying and formulating practical ecosystem-related management decisions. Because plant community types can carry a great deal of information about the environment, nearly all approaches to simulation of changes in global biota are based inevitably on vegetation categories. Phytocoenosis is a keystone element when assessing the biodiversity genetic potential, formulating decisions in biological resource management and in sustaining development across Russian territories. Among the world’s vegetation classification systems, phytosociology is a system in which the concept of plant association (basic syntaxon) is the basic element in the classification of phytocoenoses. The phytosociological approach as applied in this concept proposal, has its origins in the Brussels Botanical Congress in 1910. However, despite the broad acceptance of phytocoenotic diversity as a fundamental methodological tool for understanding biosphere processes and managing biological resources nowadays, we still lack a unified approach as to its systematization at both global and country levels with the consequence that, there is no a single classification system. The results obtained by vegetation scientists working under European Vegetation Survey led by L. Mucina became the effective reference for international cooperation in vegetation classification. In the last 17 years they have produced a system of vegetation classification of Europe, including the European part of Russia (Mucina et al., 2016. «Vegetation of Europe: hierarchical floristic classification system of vascular plant, bryophyte, lichen, and algal communities»). Despite the fact that «Vegetation of Europe» is based on ecological and floristic principles, it nevertheless represents an example of the synthesis of one of the most effective approaches to systematizing vegetation diversity by different vegetation science schools. The synthetic approach implemented in this study assumes full accounting of the ecological indicative significance of the floristic composition and structure of plant community and habitat attributes. The approach has already demonstrated its high efficiency for understanding and forecast modeling both natural and anthropogenic processes in the biosphere, as well as in assessment of the environmental and resource significance of vegetation (ref). The demand for this approach is supported by its implementation in a number of pan-European and national projects: NATURE 2000, CORINE, CarHAB, funded at the state and pan-European levels. Currently, one of the main systems for the study and protection of habitats within the framework of environmental programs of the European Union (Davies, Moss, 1999; Rodwell et al., 2002; Moss, 2008; Linking..., 2015; Evans et al., 2018) is EUNIS (European Nature Information System), the framework of which is a multilevel classification of habitats in Europe has been established. EUNIS was used as the basis for the preparation and establishment of the Red List of European Habitats (Rodwell et al., 2013). It is approved by the Commission of the European Union (EU) (Habitats Directive 92/43 / EEC, Commission of the European Communities) for use in environmental activities of EU countries. In its Resolution of 10.12.2019, the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) expressed the need in a modern vegetation classification for the assessment of the ecosystem transformations under current climate changes and increasing anthropogenic impacts, as well as in development of effective measures for the conservation and rational use of plant resources of Russia. The resolution recommended the development of the Concept of Vegetation Classification of Russia to the Science Council for biodiversity and biological resources (at RAS Department of biological sciences — Section of Botany). As a consequence, a group of Russian vegetation researchers has developed the Concept for Vegetation Classification of Russia and proposed principles and a plan for its implementation. Aim Elaboration of a system of vegetation classification of Russia reflecting the natural patterns of plant communities formation at different spatial and geographical levels and serving as the fundamental basis for predicting biosphere processes, science-based management of bioresources, conservation of biodiversity and, ultimately, rational nature management for planning sustainable development of its territories. Research goals 1. Development of fundamental principles for the classification of vegetation by synthesis of the achievements of Russian and world’s vegetation science. 2. Inventory of plant community diversity in Russia and their systematization at different hierarchical levels. Elaboration and publication of a Prodromus of vegetation of Russia (syntaxon checklist) with an assessment of the correctness of syntaxa, their Nomenclatural validization and bibliography. Preparation and publication of a book series «Vegetation of Russia» with the entire classification system and comprehensive description of all syntaxonomic units. 3. The study of bioclimatic patterns of the phytocoenotic diversity in Russia for predictive modeling of biosphere processes. Assessment of qualitative changes in plant cover under global climate change and increasing anthropogenic impact in its various forms. 4. Assessment of the conservation value of plant communities and ecosystems. Habitat classification within Russia on the basis of the vegetation classification with a reference to world experience. 5. Demonstration of the opportunities of the vegetation classification for the assessment of actual plant resources, their future prognoses under climate and resource use change, optimization of nature management, environmental engineering and planning of projects for sustainable development. Basic principles underlying the vegetation classification of Russia I. Here we address the synthesis of accumulated theoretical ideas about the patterns of vegetation diversity and the significant features of phytocoenoses. The main goal is to identify the most significant attributes of the plant cover at different hierarchical levels of classification: floristic, structural-phytocoenotic, ecotopic and geographical.We propose the following hierarchy of the main syntaxonomical categories used in the classification of European vegetation (Mucina et al., 2016) by the ecological-floristic approach (Braun-Blanquet): Type of vegetation, Class, Order, Alliance, Association. Applying the ecological-floristic approach to the vegetation classification of Russia will maximize the use of the indicative potential of the plant community species composition to help solve the complex tasks of modern ecology, notably plant resource management, biodiversity conservation, and the forecast of vegetation response to environmental change of environment changes. II. We plan to establish an all-Russian archive of geobotanical relevés in accordance with international standards and reference information system on the syntaxonomical diversity coupled with implemented remote access capabilities. At present, the archives in botanical, biological, environmental and geographical institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as those of universities, have accumulated a large mass of geobotanical relevés for most regions of Russia (according to preliminary estimates — more than 300,000). These documents, which are fundamental to solving the most important national tasks for the conservation and monitoring of the natural human environment, need to be declared a National treasure. In this respect, the development of the all-Russian Internet portal for the vegetation classification is an urgent priority. III. The vegetation classification procedure will be based on a generalization of field data (geobotanical relevés) performed in accordance with international standards, using up-to-date mathematical and statistical methods and information technology. IV. The vegetation classification of Russia will be based on strict rules for naming of syntaxa, according to their validity as formulated in the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature, which is constantly being improved (Weber et al., 2020). These underlying principles will help develop the ecological indicative potential of a wide range of vegetation features that can be used to focus on solving a range of global and regional ecology problems, plant resources management, biodiversity protection, and forecasting of the consequences of environmental changes. Prospects for the implementation of the concept «Vegetation classification of Russia» At present, the academic research centers and universities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, Irkutsk, Murmansk, Crimea, Bashkiria, Komi and other regions have sufficient scientific potential to achieve the goals in the framework of the special Program of the Russian Academy of Sciences — that is, to develop a vegetation classification of Russia. To achieve this goal will require: - organization of a network of leading teams within the framework of the Scientific Program of the Russian Academy of Sciences «Vegetation classification of Russia», adjustment of the content of state assignment with the allocation of additional funding. - approval of the thematic Program Committee by the RAS for the development of organizational approaches and elaboration of specific plans for the realization of the Scientific Program, - implementation of the zonal-geographical principle in organization of activity on developing the regional classifications and integrating them into a single classification system of the vegetation of Russia. - ensuring the integration of the system of vegetation classification of Russia with similar systems in the countries of the former USSR, Europe, USA, China, Japan, etc. Potential organizations-participants in the scientific Program — 18 institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and 8 Universities. Estimated timelines of the implementation of the concept «Vegetation classification of Russia» — 2021–2030. General schedule for the entire period of research 2021. Approval of classification principles, unified methodical and methodological approaches by project participants. Discussion and elaboration of the rules of organization of the all-Russian archive of geobotanical relevés and syntaxa. 2022–2026. Formation of all-Russian archive of geobotanical relevés and syntaxa. Development of plant community classification and identification of the potential indicative features of units of different ranks based on quantitative methods and comparative syntaxonomic analysis with existing classification systems in Europe, North and East Asia. Justification of new concepts for key syntaxa. The study of environmental and geographical patterns of the vegetation diversity in Russia using up-to-date methods of ordination modeling and botany-geography ana­lysis. 2022. Publication of a Prodromus of vegetation classification of Russia. Schedule for the publication of volumes of the «Vegetation classification of Russia» 2023. «Boreal forests and pre-tundra woodlands» 2024. «Forests of the temperate zone» 2025. «Tundra and polar deserts» and «Alpine ve­getation» 2026. «Steppe vegetation» and «Meadow vegetation» 2027. «Aquatic and bog vegetation» 2028. «Halophytic vegetation» 2029. «Synanthropic vegetation» 2027–2030. Development of criteria for assessing the environmental significance of the plant community syntaxonomic categories for various natural zones based on world criteria. Preparation of the volume «Classification of habitats of Russia and assessment of their environmental significance».

Peter the Great Bay (PGB) was not known to Europeans for a long time. The first European ship reached PGB in 1852. She was the French corvette Capricieuse commanded by captain G. de Rocquemaurel who was sent by his government for exploring the western coast of the Japan Sea; actually he had described the Posyet Bay only. Later the British HMS Winchester and Barracuda visited PGB in August, 1856. They discovered the Golden Horn Bay, them as Port May, and gave names to many other geographical locations. Large Russian expedition of 7 vessels was sent to Primorye coast under the leadership of N.N. Muravyov-Amursky, the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, in the summer of 1859. They described thoroughly the entire PGB and changed many (not all) foreign geographical names to Russian ones. Scientific researches in the Japan Sea were started soon by L.I. Schrenk, who summarized the results of Russian observations in two books published in 1869 and 1874. Great success in understanding of oceanographic regime was the work of S.O. Makarov «The «Vitiaz» and the Pacific Ocean» (1894). S. Ogura created in 1927 the general chart of currents in the Japan Sea on the base of Japanese observations in 1900–1911 that was more detailed and comprehensive than the first chart of L.I. Shrenk. Moreover, S. Ogura plotted the water temperature and salinity distribution over the whole Japan Sea for February and August. Oceanographic studies in PGB were made in 1920s by K.A. Gomoyunov, the first professional oceanographer who lived constantly in the Russian Far East; he began from the Amur Bay survey in the summer of 1925. The USSR Hydrographic Office conducted the oceanographic survey in PGB and the Tatar Strait in 1926–1928, with measuring of temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen content, pH, and water transparency, with the deepest measurements at the depth of 3500 m. In 1932, the Pacific Res. Inst. of Fisheries in Vladivostok together with the State Hydrographic Institute in Leningrad organized the large-scale Pacific expedition that covered all Far-Eastern Seas. In the framework of this expedition, the 5 cruises of RV Rossinante to the Japan Sea headed by N.I. Tarasov explored PGB, too, that allowed to analyze seasonal variations of temperature, salinity, oxygen content, and currents. Oceanographic researches in the Japan Sea became more active in the times of WWII, 4 small research vessels made observations at Primorye coast every month from April to October under general supervision of A.M. Batalin; in total, more than 100 exits to the sea were recorded in 1941–1946. The data collected in those years was the basis for the big atlas of the Japan Sea created under the leadership of A.I. Rumyantsev and published in 1951.

Background.Mung bean (Vigna radiata(L.) R. Wilczek) is a nontraditional crop for Russia. The crop’s main areas of cultivation are situated in the subtropical zone of the planet. However, positive experience with mung bean cultivation in a number of regions – the South of the European part and the Far East of Russia – implies the expediency of a search for source materials suitable for the development of cultivars adapted to these conditions.Materials and methods.The results of the field phenotyping of 76 mung bean landraces from VIR have been analyzed. The experiments were performed in 1949–1956 in Uzbekistan (former Central Asian Branch of VIR), and in 2009, 2018 and 2019 in Astrakhan Province, where VIR’s collection had been reproduced from the early 1990s. The data on the variability of phenological and agronomic characters and their relationships were compared for both areas and analyzed using the methods of multidimensional statistics.Results and discussion.A strong variability of all studied characters and their dependence on the environment were observed in both locations. According to the averaged longterm data, differences were found in the duration of interphase periods and the entire growing season, seed yield, plant height, and 1000 seed weight in both sites. Significant differences were shown in the strength of correlations between the studied characters. In Astrakhan Province and in the years with less favorable conditions in Uzbekistan, the level of correlations between most traits was higher. Therefore, an increase in the strength of the relationships between crop characters may be regarded as an indicator of unfavorable growing conditions. The genotypes with short periods from sprouting to flowering and from sprouting to maturation were the most resistant to environmental changes. It is these traits that should first of all be transferred to mung bean cultivars when promoting its production to the north, beyond its traditional area.

During the Polish occupation between the First and Second World Wars, scientific and exploration work in Western Ukraine was carried out by Polish, Ukrainian, Czech and Hungarian researchers. The Carpathian folded region, the Precarpathian boundary deflection, the Transcarpathian inner deflection and the Volyn-Podillia outskirts of the East European platform were studied. The main areas of research were the Carpathians and Precarpathians in connection with the discovery and development of deposits of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons discovered here, which attracted the attention of researchers for obvious reasons. The main research conducted during this period was organized by the Geological Institute (Warsaw) and the Carpathian Geological Institute (Boryslav). No special studies have been conducted to study the structure of the Volyn-Podillia part of the East European platform at that time. After thorough work of Laskarev V.D. in 1904-1914, works which dealt mainly with local issues of tectonics appeared. This, however, significantly supplemented the existing ideas about the structural features of the region. A brief overview of studies of the structural features of the East European platform southwestern margin allows us to state the following. The most significant achievements in studying the structure of the described region were noted by such researchers as W. Teisseyre, V. Zykh, G. Teisseyre, Z. Pazdro, S. Nazarevych and others. Thus, as early as 1922 famous Polish tectonist Wawrzyniec Teisseyre proposed to consider the Holohory-Kremenets anticlinal and the Holohory flexure as independent units. They are associated with the migration of the geosynclinal axis of the Carpathians, ie with the division of the Carpathian chain into three rings (meso-, eo- and neo-Carpathians). By studying the tectonics of the foothills, he also singled out the chronological phases of migration. Comparative studies have revealed cycles of development of Precarpathian dislocations in the foothills. The initial stage of flexure development is a flat roof-like elevation preserved on the Podillia plate, with the Holohory-Kremenets anticlinal on the edge. The processes of change and disintegration of such anticlinales cause the formation of later Holohory flexures and extensive deflections. Developing his views on the decisive role of the foundation in the structure of mountain ranges and the important role of tectonic dislocations (flexures, discharges) in the nature of platform tectonics, he emphasized that transverse dislocations are the manifestation of displacements in the deep base. Russian tectonist M. Tetyaev suggested that the structure of the Transcarpathian territory is determined primarily by the folded zone of hercinide, which limits it from the west. According to him, the East European platform near the Carpathians is broken by discharges and partially hidden under the structures of the alpine fold. Ye. Oppokov, who studied the geological structure of the Devonian Podillia (Polissia) shaft, comes to the conclusion about its tectonic nature (anticlinal fold). A. Zirgoffer had a different opinion. According to the study of the relief, he believed that the Podillia shaft is a kind of barrier between the Volyn Plain and the Podillia Upland and was formed due to erosion processes. In 1928, S. Nazarevych suggested the influence of folding on the occurrence of rupture in Transnistria. According to the author the folding of gypsum, fracture of rocks of different ages (from Silurian to Neogene inclusive), the direction of the Dniester, coinciding with the main cracks, the shape of cracks may be the evidence of vigorous movements of the earth's crust, which may be the result of those mountain-building processes, which reached the maximum stress in the third age and formed Carpathians in the West. W.Teisseyre considers the fundamental issues of epeirotectonics. Based on the study of extensive Polish and foreign literature, he concludes that the network of epeirogenic lines does not correspond to the arcs of mountain ranges, and vice versa - the arcs enter at the intersection of different ages. The author opposes the understanding of epeirogenesis in the form of giant sea waves. W.Teisseyre believed that Podillia is one of the main nodes of the mountain movements of Eastern Europe. Within the Precarpathians, deep ridges and depressions are considered, established mainly according to geophysical data (Bibrka - Mykolayiv, Rozdil - Demnia, Kavske - Opary, Stara Sil - Zhuravno, etc.). From the point of view of oil and gas exploration, preference is given to the Precarpathian part of the Holohory-Kremenets-Boryslav line, then to the Dniester-Stryi basin and to the more ancient epeiroanticlinal line Smykivtsi-Kovalivka-Hrabivka-Maidan (“Stanislaviv Horst”). The importance of Transcarpathian anticlines in the search for oil and gas fields is emphasized. It is noted, in particular, that the uplift of Boryslav and Maidan - the main productive areas of the Carpathian oil and gas zone - coincides with the axes of the Podillia-Transcarpathian anticlines Holohory - Kremenets and Smykivtsi - Kovalivka. Some conclusions and generalizations were made by researchers in the interwar period (on the decisive role of the crystalline basement in the structure of mountain ranges, on the inheritance of ancient forms of the foundation surface and the chalk surface with modern relief, identified anticline uplifts in Paleozoic sediments and their oil and gas potential, on the coincidence of the axes of the Transcarpathian anticline uplifts and the main productive areas of the Carpathian oil and gas zone, etc.) have not lost their scientific value in our time and are confirmed by modern research. Studies in the 1920s and 1930s of the tectonic structure of the southwestern outskirts of the ancient East- European platform contributed to the formation of a reliable basis for the establishment and conduction of extensive exploration (oil and gas, coal, sulfur, salts, phosphorites, building materials, etc.) and systematic research in the postwar years. Key words: East European platform, tectonic structure, anticlinal uplifts, crystalline basement.

In the frame of the Atlas of Eastern and Southeastern Europe, edited by the Austrian Institute of East and Southeast European Studies in Vienna, a map on international tourist attractions in Central and Southeastern Europe is under elaboration. This map is compiled by an international team of tourism geographers and will represent besides Croatia Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Yugoslavia", Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldavia in total as well as large parts of Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the Ukraine, Belorussia, Russia and Lithuania in the scale 1: 3,000,000. It is the aim of this map to provide international investors in tourism and travel agencies with a comparative survey over the touristic potential of this larger region, not available from tourist guides or national studies. The paper informs about the methods and problems of categorizing and ranking tourist attractions on an international scale based on the discussions around and the experience derived from the elaboration of this map and tries to evaluate Croatia's international tourist attractions, their relative attractiveness and their perspectives within the scope of a further valorisation of tourist attractions in this larger region.