The role of microorganisms and plant phytocenoses in self-cleaning of the soil cover of the Absheron Peninsula from hydrocarbon pollutants is compared and estimated. The phytotoxicity of soil samples contaminated with oil and oil products is studied with respect to test cultures, the number and biomass of microorganisms in these samples, and the assimilation capacity of phytocenoses. It is found that the process of complete assimilation of hydrocarbon substances in the gray-brown soil prevailing in the peninsula, with a degree of pollution of 10%, can be about 19-23 years long. The amount of hydrocarbons absorbed by the phytocenoses of the region during the vegetation period is only in the range of 55-137 g per hectare. In the assimilation of hydrocarbons into gray-brown soils, the determining role belongs to hydrocarbon oxidizing microorganisms. It is necessary to develop and use soil remediation technologies in a controlled manner with optimization of their physicochemical properties and increase of their biogenicity, i.e. assimilation capacity in relation to hydrocarbon contamination.

We report the experience of developing a fast and convenient way of determining the maximum annual expenditures of the water flow of rare periodicity for the unexplored rivers of the Primagadan area. Use is made of the data of long-term observations of the river flow at 9 hydrological observation points of the Hydrometeorological Service. The correlations of the maximum annual water flows of various probability with the catchment area and the virtual volume of the catchment basin are presented. As a result of the study, the equations for the connection of the annual maxima of the runoff of rare frequency with the catchment area are obtained. Relations with the virtual volume of the catchment basin turn to be worse. The proposed method on average gives an error of 16-18%, which is comparable with the measurement errors of water flow during periods of high floods. A quick and convenient method for calculating annual flow maxima will be useful when mapping flood zones during floods of various probability, as well as in designing hydraulic structures (protective dams, dams, bridge crossings, etc.).

We have examined 3 samples of Corbicula japonica taken at distances of 300, 500, and 1500 m from the Razdolnaya river estuary. The microelement composition of soft tissues of the bivalve mollusk, which lives in the estuary of the Razdolnaya river, is analyzed. No significant differences in the level of trace elements in tissues of mollusks between the samples are found. It is demonstrated that the gills of Corbicula japonica are an effective biological barrier, which accumulates iron, zinc, and manganese in large quantities in comparison with other studied tissues. It is shown that Fe and Zn are mostly present in all studied tissues of Corbicula. Analysis of the microelement composition of the bottom layer of water from the places of mollusk selection shows that there is an excess of the MPC established for fishery reservoirs for such elements as iron and zinc. A morphometric analysis of the mollusks of the studied samples is carried out, while no obvious differences in size and weight characteristics are found.

The paper describes an experience of forecasting possible changes in the components of the natural environment in the areas of a thermal power station construction (as applied to the key site of the Tomarin district in the Sakhalin region). The supplements are proposed to methodological approaches aimed at forecasting possible infringements in the components of the natural environment. The author's developments are based on the field research of the territory and landscape mapping using GIS on the basis of the analysis of topographical maps and remote probing data. A landscape map of the key site is constructed. Areas of dispersion of pollutants into the atmosphere from mobile and stationary sources of Sakhalin GRES-2, which were identified on the basis of calculations, are superimposed on the landscape map and the most polluted geosystems are selected. It is proposed to rank into three levels the vegetation damage zones caused by an increase in background concentrations of aerotechnogenic pollutants as a result of the construction of Sakhalin GRES-2. A map of the affected areas of plant complexes of the key research area is constructed.

We report a study of the territorial structure of transport, the elements of which form the backbone of the regional economic system. The investigation is performed using the research methods, including comparative geographical, economic and statistical techniques, as well as spatial analysis, and a systematic and integrated approach. The assessment of the transport hubs of the Russian regions of the depressed type is performed with allowance for the throughput capacity of the transport networks. The regions are selected and the Kansky coefficients are calculated for the transport networks and transport systems of different types for the European and Asian Russia regions. It is found that from all regions under study, the Vladimir region has the best potential for the functioning of the regional economy, since its transport network is not tree-like and is polycentric. The most vulnerable are linear-type transport systems in the Jewish Autonomous region and the Republic of Adygea. A special type is formed by incomplete monocentric regional transport systems, in particular, the Republic of Mordovia. The conditions and factors affecting the development of transport systems, in particular, the parameters of the territory, are identified.

The paper analyzes the regional differentiation of per capita electricity consumption in the domestic sector, which is an important indicator of the standard of living of the population. The analysis is based on the available data from the state statistics on energy supply and electricity consumption in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for 2017, and annually approved by the Regional Energy Commissions electricity consumption balances. We consider the content of the concept of “household” electricity consumption, the problems of statistical accounting of the latter, and the factors affecting the differentiation of such consumption across the country: the number of consumers, the cost of energy, the number of household electric stoves, the presence of gas networks, the state and quality of heat supply, the features of the energy market, etc. The results allow us to identify regions that require special attention when deciding on the ‘social’ norm of electricity consumption.

The paper studies structural features and territorial shifts in the civil aircraft industry of the USSR and post-Soviet countries. A typology of plants by the dynamics of their production is developed using statistical data. A hypothesis on the lifecycles of the identified types of companies is formulated, which allows one to predict their contribution to the production of civil aircraft. Russian aircraft manufacturers are grouped in accordance with their place in the structure of regional employment. It is shown that if the aviation industry of Siberia and the Far East occupies a dominant position in the mechanical engineering of the region and even determines its specialization, in the old industrial Middle Volga regions, aircraft production is organically integrated into the developed industrial environment. The ‘compression’ of the aircraft building space is revealed, i.e. mass serial production is concentrated in single centers, with the aircraft industry being withdrawn from the non-Russian territories of the post-Soviet space. The ‘Eastern’ gradient in the placement of new production sites is ascertained: in the post-Soviet period, they are being developed in the Siberian and Far Eastern regions.

The paper presents the results of a study of the development of tourism in single-industry towns of Russia, using the example of the city of Kirovsk, including the identification of factors constraining the development of the industry. The tourism potential of the city of Kirovsk is analyzed, including the dynamics of tourism development in the city, the role of the city-forming enterprises in the formation of the social and tourist infrastructure of the city, and the mechanism for supporting the tourism industry. The main problems of the tourist industry of the city of Kirovsk (image, transport, infrastructure factors, and lack of product diversity) are identified and options for solving them are proposed.

The paper studies and analyzes the important factors of location of the objects of the hotel industry in the Kemerovo region. The study is based on the methods of analysis and synthesis of statistics, and secondary information, including thematic publications. The largest number of hotel industry facilities is concentrated in the most populated parts of the region. Their location on the territory of various municipalities is determined by the factor of the presence of enterprises, as well as cultural, educational and scientific institutions. Under the influence of this factor, two large tourist and recreational complexes are being formed in the region, i.e. South Kuzbass (Novokuznetsk district) and Pritomsk (Kemerovo region). Another factor in the placement of hotel industry facilities is the high natural resource potential for the development of mountain skiing and other types of active tourism (Tashtagol district).

The paper summarizes the experience of managing biosphere resources from the late XIX to the beginning of the XXI centuries and related social and military conflicts, including in the Russian Empire, the USSR and the Russian Federation. The quality of the environment is considered to be a significant factor in politics and the idea of political ecology, as a kind of interdisciplinary and intersubject system analysis in the sense of V. I. Vernadsky’s concept of science, is introduced. Political ecology involves the analysis of political processes in connection with the experience of interaction of communities of people, as well as state and political systems with environmental problems, including the assessment of managerial decisions and their consequences, and a scientific analysis of the consequences of these decisions in the competition of communities of people and government systems for a limited biosphere resource during a historical period available for the study. A set of priority measures is determined to ensure the political and environmental security of Russia.

The paper estimates the nitrate ion content in foods of plant origin sold in retail stores of Podolsk, Moscow region, using 60 samples of fruits and vegetables as an example. The content of nitrate ion is assessed by a standard ionometric procedure using a MIKON-2 kit. The measurements are performed using an electrode system consisting of a nitrate selective electrode and an auxiliary silver chloride electrode with a thickened electrolyte. The measured concentrations are within acceptable limits, with the average nitrate ion content for vegetables and fruits being 47 mg/kg and 19 mg/kg, respectively. A low correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.005) between the electrical conductivity and the nitrate ion content for the studied samples is established, showing that the determination of nitrates in plant products using conductometric nitrate testers leads to false data. It is found that at Eh and pH values characteristic of the studied samples, the most stable form of nitrogen is molecular nitrogen, which thermodynamically leads to a low probability of the accumulation of significant concentrations of nitrates in the studied samples.