Vol 93, No 5 (2023)

Academic geography is one of the most demanding sciences in Russia. Over the 300 years of its development, it has covered a long way: the results obtained in numerous expeditions by generations of researchers contributed to the formation of a single geopolitical space of the country, the liquidation of blanks on the map of Northern Eurasia, and the mobilization of resources for the development of the economy. The academic geography of the 21st century, characterized by features of a worldview science, strives to respond effectively to the most topical modern challenges and to create, based on the latest research methods, the foundations for the future rational spatial development of Russia. This article traces the evolution of ideas, methods, and schools of geography in the Russian Academy of Sciences.

A new methodological approach to identify the nature of the group optimum is employed. Its constituent elements are the rejection of a unified perception of the problem in relation to all types of groups, as well as its separate consideration in conditions of certainty and uncertainty. The social optimum is considered as a state of coherence of the interests of members of society, and its nature is identified within the framework of the analysis of a “simple integral group” under conditions of certainty. The necessity of an “institutional lining”—an agreed principle of social choice—between individual preferences and the social optimum is substantiated. The limited possibilities for obtaining and processing information, which is characteristic of conditions of uncertainty, give rise to the need for the formation of a mechanism of social choice, designed to provide the possibility of maximum approximation to the social optimum constructed in this way. It is shown that the most important consequence of the existence of systemic costs associated with the operation of any such mechanism is the emergence of small groups and the transformation of a simple integral group into a complex one. The characteristic features of the three most important types of small groups are determined: the governing bodies of a “large group,” enterprises (firms), and households, which play the most important role in the functioning of the economic system. The absence of an unambiguous definition of the point of the social optimum and the ideal mechanisms for achieving it are opposed by the awareness by members of society of the undoubted benefits from cooperation with each other. As a result, social structures are relatively stable. At the same time, in comparison with natural objects, they have obvious characteristic features, which inevitably affects the nature of the social sciences.

This article is devoted to the problems of wind energy in Russia. One of the key issues in the development of wind energy in our country is the uninterrupted supply of permanent neodymium magnets and raw materials for their manufacture to wind generator manufacturers. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, several enterprises with the necessary competencies and technological equipment to produce magnets based on rare earth metals (REMs) survived in the country. However, the problem is that Russia does not have a complete production chain to the level of oxides, as well as individual rare earth elements and alloys based on them. All permanent magnets based on rare earth metals are imported, and supply interruptions negatively affect the work of high-tech companies, as well as enterprises of the fuel and energy complex and the military–industrial complex. The article analyzes the need of the country's wind energy industry for permanent neodymium magnets, the full production cycle of which can become one of the incentives to restore the production chain of rare earth metals and products based on them.

This article analyzes changes in the indicators of the deposition and release of carbon into the atmosphere on soddy podzolic soils depending on the type of land and relief elements. Deposits of different ages were chosen as the main object of research. They were compared with nearby arable and forested lands. It has been established that the maximum volumes of annual carbon sequestration and release are observed in forest lands lying on the accumulative links of the catena (5.7 and 5.41 tC/ha, respectively), while the minimum volumes are observed on arable land on the transit links (1.23 and 1.47 tC/ha, respectively). The amount of fixed carbon in fallows is determined by the period of their overgrowth and location: for fallows with a period of overgrowth of up to 20 years, it is 1.84–3.49 tC/ha, and 3.02–3.65 tC/ha for those with a period of more than 20 years. The highest rates of carbon deposition and release were observed on the accumulative links of the catena, which is explained by the best moistening conditions in such areas, especially during dry periods. The calculation of the annual carbon balance at key sites showed a negative trend in its accumulation on arable land, as well as on fallows with a period of overgrowth of up to 20 years. The greatest positive balance was recorded under forests, confirming their leading role in atmospheric carbon dioxide fixation.

This article proposes a methodology for assessing the hydrophysical and chemical-biological characteristics of unstudied small and medium-sized lakes (with an area of up to 100 km2) in the northern territories of Russia (on the example of Eastern Fennoscandia) using remote sensing methods and mathematical modeling. The methodology is based on the use of a one-dimensional model of hydrothermodynamic processes in reservoirs, FLake. Based on satellite imagery of the underlying surface, the area of the lake is determined, related by private empirical relationships to the average depth, which is the input parameter for applying the model. In addition, a series of meteorological elements of standard measurements are used, obtained from the geographic coordinates of the selected object from the meteorological reanalysis of the ERA5 family. This makes it possible to evaluate the thermal characteristics of a reservoir, as well as calculate the content of dissolved oxygen in various layers of the water mass and the likelihood of anoxic conditions occurring. In this case, contact measurements are not required, which is extremely important when studying the hard-to-reach and little-studied northern territories of our country.

This article is devoted to the life and work of the outstanding theoretical physicist, creator of world-famous scientific schools in radiophysics, plasma physics, and controlled thermonuclear fusion, Academician Mikhail Aleksandrovich Leontovich (1903–1981). His achievements in basic physics contributed to significant advances in applied research in many fields. The uniqueness of the scientific style and civic appearance of M.A. Leontovich, the lessons of his creative biography remain significant today, especially for young scientists, setting an example of selfless service to science.

The monograph by K.N. Trubetskoi and Yu.P. Galchenko is reviewed.

V.M. Vasil’ev was awarded the 2022 Primakov Gold Medal. E.P. Velikhov and M.V. Koval’chuk were awarded the 2023 Kurchatov Gold Medal. M.N. Erokhin was awarded the 2023 Goryachkin Gold Medal. L.V. Kireicheva was awarded the 2022 Kostyakov Gold Medal. E.A. Korneva was awarded the 2022 Davydovskii Gold Medal. A.I. Martynov was awarded the 2022 Botkin Gold Medal. S.S. Pertsov was awarded the 2023 Anokhin Gold Medal. M.I. Sekacheva was awarded the 2022 Blokhin Gold Medal. D.I. Berman was awarded the 2022 Sukachev Prize. A.B. Vasil’eva was awarded the 2022 Schmalhausen Prize. A.K. Vershovskii and A.K. Dmitriev were awarded the 2022 Rozhdestvenskii Prize. A.A. Galyaev, P.V. Lysenko, and V.P. Yakhno were awarded the 2022 Petrov Prize. S.V. Golubev, I.V. Izotov, and V.A. Skalyga were awarded the 2022 Artsimovich Prize. T.A. Gorshkova was awarded the 2022 Timiryazev Prize. E.A. Il’in was awarded the 2022 Orbeli Prize. S.N. Kochetkov, L.A. Aleksandrova, and A.L. Khandazhinskaya were awarded the 2022 Shemyakin Prize. V.I. Maevskii, S.Yu. Malkov, and A.A. Rubinshtein were awarded the 2022 Kondratiev Prize. A.E. Mironov was awarded the 2022 Lyapunov Prize. S.L. Nikolaev was awarded the 2022 Pushkin Prize. K.V. Titov, G.V. Gurin, and P.K. Konosavskii were awarded the 2021 Golitsyn Prize. V.Yu. Khomich and S.I. Moshkunov were awarded the 2021 Yablochkov Prize.