Vol 89, No 5 (2019)

The dynamics of long-term investment by primary economic activities is considered in general and in detail by manufacturing. Russian and American investment programs are compared in terms of gross and specific indicators. The quality of economic growth, as seen through the 2000s Russian investment pattern, mismatched the long-term goals of domestic economic development. In addition, the current phaseout of investment activity is largely an effect of the inadequate investment policy of those years. The existing institutional system orients the Russian economy toward building into the global pattern as a supplier of natural and partly agricultural resources, dooming manufacturing to stagnation at best. The authors prove that stimulation of industrial policy is fundamentally based on a state approach: investing with long-term strategic interests in mind and considering the potential of market relations (efficient resource management) would finally launch large-scale investment programs, providing conditions for the creation of a national innovative economy.

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 drawbacks of the use of scientometric criteria are identified, and possible solutions to this problem are proposed.

The results of two waves of identification of world-class universities (for 2017 and 2019) are considered, giving a geopolitical “snapshot” of the market of leading universities of the world. It is shown that United Europe is forging ahead into the lead, while Asia and the United States have worsened their positions. It is economic and cultural factors that underlie success in the formation of global universities. The economic precondition is the presence of global high-tech companies in a country, the number and strength of which determine the number and strength of world-class universities; and the cultural precondition is a wide spread of “the philosophy of collaboration,” which implies intensive sharing of experience between universities both at the domestic level and between countries through numerous forms of collaboration—international leagues and unions, regional consortia and groups, and professional associations and alliances.

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 Federal Districts contain the bulk of the water. With the current population density, most of Asian Russia is well-supplied with water resources; the water supply does not exceed 10 000 m³/person per year in only three regions. However, under insufficient wetting conditions, even high water supply values do not guarantee the prevention of a water supply deficit, which is especially clearly manifested in water-deficient years. The low quality of available waters further complicates the situation.

The authors have analyzed data on the environmental changes ongoing in the lake water resources throughout the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. The results of the trophicity and water quality assessments performed for lakes of the three federal districts are provided and the main problems pertaining to adverse changes in lake ecosystems of Asian Russia caused by anthropogenic impacts and requiring prompt resolution are addressed.

The preconditions of an ecosystem for and major phases of colonization of land by higher plants are considered. The most important finds of higher plants in pre-Silurian deposits are discussed. A new plant, Volkhoviella primitiva Naug., Gen. et sp. nov., from Ordovician deposits of Leningrad oblast is described. General questions of the early evolution of land vegetation are considered.

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 expedition of the Commission for the Study of Lake Baikal of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and as the Scientific Secretary of this Commission. In 1928, the Baikal Expedition was transformed into the Baikal Limnological Station of the USSR Academy of Sciences, which was headed by G.Yu. Vereshchagin until 1944. His scientific heritage is diverse and includes fundamental works on hydrology and hydrophysics of lakes, on plankton studies, and on the problem of the origin of endemic fauna and flora of Lake Baikal, as well as the first methodological guide for field hydrochemical analysis of natural waters and comprehensive bibliographic reports on limnology.