Abstract This report presents some new methodological opportunities that biophysics can offer for solving the fundamental problem of planetary ecology—deciphering the mechanism that maintains the equilibrium state of the biosphere. The Institute of Biophysics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, where the author of this report works, is developing two complementary directions in ecological

Abstract This article analyzes the history of the development and dynamics of the structure and species composition of the principal target species of the national commercial fisheries in the Black Sea from the time of the demise of the Crimean Khanate in 1783 to the present day, as well as the structure of the Black Sea exploitable bioresources that had evolved throughout the geological history of

Abstract On June 18, 2019, a joint meeting of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus took place. The meeting discussed the results of joint work in 2018, promising draft programs of the Union State, and plans for cooperation between the RAS and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for the near future. Particular attention

Abstract Three model scenarios of changes in road infrastructure sustainability under permafrost thawing and degradation due to global climate change in nine Russian Arctic regions are considered. Until the current mid-century, economic assessment of the aftermath of climate change in these regions was physicogeographically based on six model climate assessments of cryogenic conditions, reflecting

Abstract The status and dynamics of religiosity in modern Russia are considered. The distinctive features of religious consciousness and behavior have been fixed proceeding from the system of indexes and empirical indicators developed. In the course of comparative representative studies, which have been accomplished in the metropolitan area over the last three decades on the basis of a single methodology

Abstract This paper is devoted to the life and professional activities of Academician A.A. Blagonravov (1894−1975) as an outstanding Soviet scientist and great promoter of science. He made an invaluable contribution to the development of the national school of automatic small arms and artillery weapons, the design of all-purpose industrial machines and mechanisms, advancement of machine science, and

Abstract This article relates the life and scientific achievements of Sergei Alekseevich Chaplygin (1869–1942), a mathematician and mechanic, one of the founders of aerodynamics, an organizer of science and higher education, a talented teacher, the creator of the largest scientific school in the field of aerohydromechanics, one of the organizers of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), who

Abstract This paper presents a brief history and some of the characteristics of the collections of the oldest archives formed by the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg over almost 300 years of history. Attention is focused on the main problems of the archives that arose after the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2013; prospects for their solution are outlined.

Abstract An attempt is made to sum up the results of interdisciplinary studies; to generalize the main data found in archives of the United States, Estonia, France, Spain, Italy, and other countries; and to outline the prospects for studying the history and legacy of Russian America. This article does not lay claim to comprehensive and detailed analysis of sources on the specified topic; this goal

Abstract The quality of Russia’s surface waters is analyzed. The main problems of quality control are highlighted: drinking water at odds with specified standards, defects of the economic mechanism of quality control of natural waters, the obsolete and contradictory legislative and regulatory framework for water-body management, the low efficiency of supervision, and the weakness of the monitoring

Abstract This article considers the most important aspects of the development of the oil and gas complex of Russia. The exhausted paradigm of development of the country’s raw material base should be changed to prevent a drop in oil production in Russia. The sedimentary basins in the shelves of the Russian part of the Arctic Ocean, poorly studied provinces on land, and unique unconventional oil deposits

Abstract According to the data presented in this article, in modern Russia, the level of trust in the banking system is lower than in most countries of the world, and it has been falling in recent years due to the financial crisis and a number of other factors. Among the main reasons for the low trust of Russians in the banking system, the author considers both the shortcomings in the organization

Abstract The preservation of the archaeological heritage in Russia; the current state of this sphere; and the participation of the Russian Academy of Sciences and archaeology-related academic institutes in expert, scientific‒methodological, and practical activities associated with the preservation of antiquities are considered. Certain positive changes in this field are noted, such as an increase in

Abstract An outstanding scientist and organizer of science, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences S.R. Mikulinskii (1919–1991), who in the 1960–1980s determined the general line of development of the history of science and laid the foundations of the science of science, went through a life full of tragic events. His biography included years of study, participation in the Great Patriotic

Abstract On September 10, 2019, a meeting of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences was held, at which the issue of scientific support for the advanced development of the Angara–Yenisei macroregion, including Krasnoyarsk krai, Irkutsk oblast, Tyva, and Khakassia, was discussed.

Abstract The ergot alkaloid 2-bromo-alpha-ergocryptine and its effect on lactation in rats were first described by E. Flückiger and H.R. Wagner in the journal Experientia (1968, no. 24). At first, this work did not attract much attention, but after isolating pure prolactin and establishing its physiological role, the high effectiveness of bromocriptine in the treatment of hyperprolactinemia soon became

Abstract This article presents the main biographical data on G.Yu. Vereshchagin—the founder of the Russian and Soviet Limnology—who organized complex scientific research of Lake Baikal, the deepest and oldest freshwater body on the planet. Vereshchagin’s development as an outstanding researcher of lakes is described. He started his activity on Lake Baikal as a participant, and then as the head of the

Abstract This article discusses the long period of formation of a new agroforestry paradigm, starting from the adoption in 1948 of a plan of forest protection afforestation until the present. The achievements of science of that time, put into practice, served as the basis for decisions on the global transformation of nature. Pilot objects of the early 20th century (Bogdinskii agroforestry reclamation

Abstract The results of a quantitative assessment of the lake fund of Asian Russia (AR), taking into consideration the irregularity of its territorial distribution, are presented. Some 3.2 million water bodies containing 25 175 km3 of water have been identified in AR on aerial photographs. More than half of these bodies are located in the Ural Federal District, while lakes of the Far East and Siberian

Abstract The accounting of scientific publications using scientometric indicators is analyzed in the context of evaluating the performance of the academic staff of Russian universities and associates of RAS research institutes and the way in which it is used by state and administrative structures. The evolution of the country’s attitude to scientometric indicators in recent decades is shown, the main