From Kazan to Grozny: How Existential Security Makes People Less Religious (the Cases of Volga and North Caucasus Republics of Russia)

The purpose of the current study was to develop a new spring barley variety that can form consistently large productivity in different soil and climatic conditions, including regions with frequent droughts. As a result of breeding work at the experimental breeding station ‘Prikumskaya’, a branch of the FSBRI “North Caucasus FRAC”, there was developed a new spring barley variety ‘Stepnyak’ in 2009–2020. The new genotype was obtained as a result of intraspecific hybridization, followed by individual selection from the hybrid population of Nutans g-74840 (EBS ‘Prikumskaya’, a branch of the FSBRI “North Caucasus FRAC”) and Special (ICARDA, Syria). According to maturation terms, the variety belongs to the group of middle maturing varieties. The vegetation period lasts from 75 to 87 days. The new variety has high drought and heat resistance, resistance to lodging and damage by net blotch. During 2020–2022 at the EBS ‘Prikumskaya’, the new variety ‘Stepnyak’, in comparison with the standard, was characterized by a higher productive stem stand with 353 pcs/m2 (+9 pcs. to the standard), number of grain peer head with 21 pcs. (+6 pieces to the standard) and grain yield per total mass of a plant 39.1% (+4.5 % to the standard). The mean variety productivity in the Competitive Variety Testing was 2.42 t/ha and was higher than that of the standard variety ‘Strannik’ on 0.32 t/ ha (15.2 %). The high adaptation of the new variety to changing environmental conditions makes it possible to form a stable productivity increase to the standard variety ‘Strannik’. In 2020, at the EBS ‘Prikumskaya’, with a significant moisture deficit, the variety ‘Stepnyak’ exceeded productivity of the standard variety on 0.30 t/ha. In a more favorable 2021 and 2022 the yield increase varied from 0.24 to 0.43 t/ha. When studying the variety in the Kalmyk Research Institute of Agriculture (in 2021 and 2022), the yield increase to the standard variety ‘Strannik’ was 0.25 t/ha (12.8 %). During the years of the State Variety Testing (2021 and 2022) in the North Caucasus and Low Volga regions, the new variety ‘Stepnyak’ exceeded productivity of the standard on 0.17–0.18 t/ha, respectively. In 2023, the variety ‘Stepnyak’ was included in the State List of Breeding Achievements and recommended for cultivation in the North Caucasus and Lower Volga regions.

This study aimed to examine the effect of religiosity on the gender role attitudes of Muslims toward women’s right to work. It probed the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of religiosity and tested whether measures derived from these components affect Muslims’ agreement with the statement that when jobs are scarce, men should have more rights to a job than women. This study employs individual-level data from the sixth and seventh waves of the World Values Surveys and adopts logistic regression analysis as the main empirical methodology. The main findings reaffirmed the effect of religiosity. Muslims who are more religious are more likely to have gender role attitudes that favor men’s right to work over women’s when jobs are scarce. This is true for religiosity measured by beliefs in hell, the importance of God in life, the importance of religion in life, the frequency of prayer, and the frequency of religious service attendance. Participation in religious organizations as a measure of behavioral religiosity has only a weak effect on the gender role attitudes of Muslims toward women’s right to work. These findings highlight the importance of considering religiosity when analyzing gender dynamics in labor markets within Muslim societies.

The article reviews the vital statistics analysis during the 1932–1933 famine in the North Cauca-sus region. It has been established that vital statistics registration high level and full population cover occurred in Don, Kuban’ and Stavropol’ regions high underestimating of rural population occurred in highlands national autonomies. The non-local and unknown identity residents’ birth rate and mortality are registered in Dagestan, but for other regions, the registration of non-local and unknown identity residents and presence of these data in vital statistics has not ascertained. The estimation of birth rate and mortality has done for North Caucasus by regions with underes-timating correction. It has been shown that characteristic famine peak occurred in 1933 year spring in Don, Kuban’ and Stavropol’ regions at the same time and almost equally. The most high mortality of rural population was in Stavropol’ region, regions of Kuban’ and southern Don were losses rather fewer and fewer losses regions of north Don. It has been detected the regions of cata-strophic mortality and catastrophic of natural loss of population. The natural increase of rural population was in highlands national autonomies and Black Sea seaside regions of Kuban. It has been ascertained, that urban population mortality of North Caucasus was not low mortality than country. It has been shown the demographic catastrophe in North Caucasus cities and towns, which disprove sociocide of country people (Cossacks) hypothesis in examined region during the 1932–1933 famine. It has been demonstrated absence of ethnocide (genocide) in North Caucasus regions and famine artificiality by common plan and central authority organization. The mortality in North Caucasus had zonal allocation and was determined by local government response, natu-ral, climate and epidemics conditions and administrative borders most likely. The total demo-graphic losses due to decreased birth rate in North Caucasus regions in 1932–1934 came to 190000 persons and entire number of excess deaths – 280000 persons.

Introduction. The article presents the results of the research, which helped to determine the assessments and perceptions of young people in the Caucasus region about the state, nature and direction of the development of ethnopolitical processes, to identify common and special in the views of youth in the North and South Caucasus. Methods and Materials. Sociological research within the framework of the scientific project “Ethno-Political Processes in the Caucasus in the Assessments and Perceptions of Modern Youth” was carried out by the authors of the article in 2019 using the online survey method. 2,000 respondents were interviewed, namely students of leading universities of the region (1,000 respondents were interviewed in the North Caucasus and 1,000 respondents in the South Caucasus), the age of the respondents being 18-24 years old. The role of state authorities in the formation of civic and national identity among youth of the North Caucasus was revealed as a result of the content analysis of regional programs and other information materials in 2018. Analysis. It was found that the spectrum of the main ethnopolitical issues of concern to young people in the Caucasus region is largely identical for both the North and South Caucasus. It was revealed that civic, national, and religious identities are of priority and equal importance for the vast majority of youth. Civic and national identity for the absolute majority of Caucasian respondents is associated with the preservation of national culture and history, pride of their country and its achievements, protection of the Fatherland, and the guarantee of human rights and freedoms. Regional identity is a priority for the overwhelming majority of young people in the Caucasus. It can be assumed that risks of conflict between civil, national, and confessional identities persist among young people in the region. Youth in the Caucasus have a high level of political activity and consider their active participation in the political life of the region necessary. At the same time, they are more inclined towards a constructive solution to socio-political problems, volunteering, as well as dialogue and cooperation with state authorities. The main actors forming political views, according to the majority of respondents, are the environment in which they communicate, close relatives, as well as the blogosphere and social networks. The role of state administration in the formation of civil and national identity among young people in the North Caucasus is analyzed. The conclusion is that it is necessary to strengthen work in the region to develop public initiatives among youth, to involve them in socially significant activities, to activate their creative potential, and to develop their participation in various civil society institutions, especially volunteer organizations. Results. The conclusion is made about the need for a wide integration of young people of the region into the all-Russian socio-cultural space, the implementation of equal partnership between youth, civil society institutions and state authorities, greater involvement of young people in activities that contribute to the economic, socio-political and cultural development of the region. Key words: youth, ethnopolitical processes, Caucasus, political activity, civic identity, national identity.

The purpose of the direction of research activity is scientific and technical support with technical means and sound technological support for the production of cow’s milk in the conditions of foothill and mountain animal husbandry. The article is an appendix to a separate research work in the field of scientific support for the production of cow’s milk in the conditions of the North Caucasus or similar regions of the country and the world. The number of milking machines used by producers is growing every year. Here, labor productivity depends not only on the number of machines used, but also on their reliability and durability. Any machine or installation, if it often fails to work, brings losses to the farm instead of being economically efficient. Technical means and technology for dairy farming in conditions of foothill and mountain pastures have been developed. The technology for operating technical equipment includes maintenance of the proposed equipment during the full cycle of operation. Milking machines can be highly efficient only if they are skillfully operated and carried out timely and high-quality maintenance. The North Caucasus region is rich in pasture land for the production of cow’s milk, but the degree of mechanization of the production process is in its infancy. The developed maintenance includes: daily and shift maintenance before milking; technical care No. l; technical care No. 2; technical care No. 3.

The article analyzes the phenomenon of politicized ethnicity in the North Caucasus, its influence on ethno-political processes and ways to reduce the risk-generating impact of this phenomenon on the ethno-political sphere of the region are proposed. The article summarizes the results of a series of studies conducted in the North Caucasus in 2018-2023: event analysis of the ethno-political situation, analysis of positive practices, mass and expert surveys, content analysis of the media, websites of national-cultural associations, blogosphere, content analysis of normative documents, content and discourse analysis of publications of North Caucasian historians. It is shown that the main factors in the politicization of ethnicity in the North Caucasus region are "hyperethnicity" and the institutionalization of ethnicity in the form of "national republics", as well as the ethno-territorial problems and claims caused by these phenomena, and the "memory paradigm" that has developed in the region. It is concluded that it is necessary to strengthen the all-Russian vector of the regional identity policy, and for this purpose a "revision" of the legislative framework in the federal subjects in the North Caucasus is required. Since at the present stage it is impossible and impractical to abandon the institution of republics, it is important to gradually introduce into the public opinion the principle of territoriality, and not titular ethnicity, as the basis of the republics in Russian Federation. It is relevant to change the humanitarian agenda of the North Caucasus, which can go in two directions: the reorientation of public consciousness to the problems of modernization of the region and the integration of the humanitarian space of the "Big South" - the North Caucasus and Southern federal districts. The reformatting of the "memory paradigm" can be achieved by expanding the historical panorama through positively oriented constructions of the historical past, as well as changing the scientific priorities of humanitarian research with an emphasis on topics related to the centuries-old experience of living together of peoples of different cultures. The materials of the article can be used in the preparation of a new Strategy of the state national policy of the Russian Federation.

The objects of research are representatives of the genus Malus growing in the Kuban zone of the North Caucasus region. The purpose of the research is the breeding improvement of the of apple southern assortment on the basis of the development of the scientific direction “Introduction, variety study and breeding of pome crops in the North Caucasus and the creation of promising domestic varieties with improved adaptability and quality. The history of the creation and development of this scientific direction of the scientific school “Southern Horticulture” in the North Caucasus, the founder of which was Lev M. Sergeev (1886-1980. Under his leadership, the first breeding programs for seed crops (apple, pear, quince) for the North Caucasus region were developed, the priority of which was to improve the characteristics of productivity and quality characteristics of fruits; with his active participation, a network of gossortuchastok was organized in the North Caucasus and by the end of 1947 a zoned assortment of the main fruit crops of the south of Russia was formed. At present, the development of the above-mentioned scientific direction has been continued in the works of L. M. Sergeev, original studies of which are based on the use of a complex of classical and improved methods for creating and evaluating breeding material, modern achievements in molecular genetics, biochemistry, cytology, and are aimed at creating domestic varieties with improved productivity and quality of fruits, with high resistance to abiostressors and the main fungal pathogens of the North Caucasus. In recent years, the gene pool of the apple tree has been significantly updated, numbering 436 specimens of various ecological and geographical origin and ploidy, most of which are from Russia (49 %), Western European countries (18 %), and the USA (17 %). Over the years of research, scientists from North Caucasian Federal Scientific Center of Horticulture, Viticulture, Wine-making have created and submitted for State variety testing 81 new apple varieties, including 25 varieties created in collaboration with scientists from All- Russian Research Institute for Fruit Crops Breeding, I. V. Michurin Federal Research Center and others. 36 apple varieties obtained on the basis of the use of spontaneous and induced mutagenesis, an improved method of polyploidy, directed, repeated and geographically distant hybridization were included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements approved for use in the North Caucasus region.

For several centuries, the national question has remained a complex problem for Russia, inhabited by representatives of more than a hundred nations. As you know, one of the multinational and multi-confessional regions of the Russian Federation is the North Caucasus. The study of ethno-political processes in such a complex multi-ethnic region is determined by their high dynamism. And this factor requires increased attention, analysis of the current situation and monitoring of ongoing changes. The article is devoted to the analysis of factors contributing to the aggravation of interethnic relations in the North Caucasus. Particular attention is paid to the implementation of monitoring studies of regional ethno-political processes in order to identify and prevent conflict situations. Based on the study, the article concludes that, in general, interethnic relations in the North Caucasus are developing positively, maintaining manageability and stability. It is shown that the emerging conflicts in the interethnic sphere are caused by socio-economic and property-land prob-lems. The materials of the expert survey conducted by the author make it possible to meaningfully interpret the influence of the above conflictogenic factors on the emergence of interethnic contra-dictions and disputes in the region. This article also uses the data of a mass sociological survey conducted by the RCEI FERC RAS and aimed at studying interracial, interethnic (interethnic) and interfaith relations, the socio-political situation in the Republic of Dagestan. Measures to adjust interethnic relations in the North Caucasus region are proposed.

The article analyzes the assessments and perceptions of the North Caucasus youth about the state of interethnic relations in the region. The North Caucasian region is distinguished by a high level of significance of confessional, ethnic and group identities, which creates the risk of conflict in interethnic relations. Significant differences remain in the degree of ethnic and confessional self-awareness among Russian and North Caucasian youth. The issues of compatibility of various value and socio-cultural foundations of the worldview of young people, the formation of unifying civil and cultural-civilizational foundations of the all-Russian identity are gaining importance. The purpose is to determine the conflict potential of interethnic relations in the North Caucasus in the perceptions of youth. Objectives are to identifying the causes of interethnic tension, determining the ethno-confessional factors of the conflict potential of inter-ethnic relations among young people, the degree of readiness to personally participate in ethno-confessional conflicts in the interests of their ethnic and confessional group, the significance of the main macro-identities: all-Russian, ethnic and confessional. When working on the research methodology, special attention was paid to modern Russian and foreign theoretical and methodological approaches to inter-ethnic conflicts, the role of ethno-political and economic factors of conflict potential and the determination of the causes of inter-ethnic tension in a multi-ethnic environment. Empirical data were obtained by a survey-questionnaire conducted in February-March 2023. 1,400respondents were interviewed– students of leading universities in the North Caucasus. A sub-sampling was carried out according to nationality and attitude to religion. The level of interethnic tension in the North Caucasus is assessed by the respondents as low. At the same time, the potential for conflict and the mobilization potential of ethnicity, their dependence on national identity, remains. Most of the respondents singled out socio-cultural reasons as the main reasons for interethnic tension in the North Caucasus: rejection of the culture and values of other peoples, hostility and prejudice towards other peoples. The all-Russian identity has been formed and is significant for all groups of respondents. Ethnic and confessional identities are also of great importance for North Caucasian youth. In the North Caucasus, there remain latent risks of conflict in interethnic relations among the youth, the mobilization potential of ethnic and confessional identity. The main causes of interethnic tension are of a value-ideological nature. In the minds of young people there is a high significance, along with the all-Russian, ethnic and confessional identity. There is a tendency for the "field of conflict" to flow from the ethno-political into the socio-cultural sphere. Emotional-psychological and socio-cultural reasons for young people are of greater importance than socio-economic and ethno-political ones.

Due to the increased aridization of the environment in the main agricultural zones of the Don, the parameters of the model of winter soft wheat varieties of intensive and semi-intensive types have been clarified. At the present stage, the potential productivity of intensive wheat at a high agrofone is 9,0-10,5 t/ha of grain, which is due to the productive stem of 660-800 ears/m2. In semi-intensive varieties on the average agrophone, the values of these indicators are respectively 7,0-7,5 t/ha and 580-620 ears/m2. The productivity of the ear, respectively, should be 1,2-1,5 g and 1,1-1,2 g and with a grain share in the cenosis of 40-45% and 36-38%, respectively. With different stress factors, the peculiarities of the formation of agroecotypes of new varieties were revealed. The selection criterion for drought-resistant productive forms was the selection of genotypes with a high yield index. However, the main trend related to productivity and adaptability in drought conditions is the creation of new genotypes with increased grain weight from the plant and from the ear. This is the most objective integrated assessment of their drought resistance. The progress in the yield growth of semi-dwarf and medium-sized wheat varieties is also due to an increase in the capacity of cenosis. as a result of the use of new parameters of the model of intensive and high-intensity genotypes, varieties of winter soft wheat Donmira, Akapella, Bogema, Bylina Dona i Pal'mira 18, Kuryanochka 19, Pafos, developed for the Central Chernozem, North Caucasus, Lower Volga, Middle Volga and Ural regions, were created and included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements in 2019-2022. These varieties are well adapted for arid regions according to the complex of breeding and valuable traits.

The large-seeded sunflower variety Konditer was developed at V.S. Pustovoit All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops as part of the breeding program for developing varieties of different maturity groups, directions of use and resistance to stressful environment conditions. The variety Konditer belongs to the middle maturity group. The period from seedling to physiological maturity is 96–98 days. Its feature is a potentially high yield, resistance to the complex of broomrape races E, F, G. The plant height is 190–200 cm. The new variety is characterized by high initial growth rate and high germination energy. Thousand-seed weight varies within 100 g at a density of 40 thousand plants/ha, under the recommended density of 25–30 thousand plants/ha, the thousand-seed weight is more than 150 g. Dehulling ability of the variety Konditer is the same as that of the standard variety Dzhinn. The variety Kodniter has been in-cluded in the State Register of Breeding Achieve-ments of the Russian Federation since 2022 and is approved for cultivation in the Central Black Earth (5), North Caucasus (6), Middle Volga (7), and Lower Volga (8) regions.

A very early maturing soybean cultivar Lipchanka with a reduced response on a day length was isolated from the hybrid combination F4 D-12/14 × L-247 by traits of productivity, cold resistance, photoperiodic sensitivity, and the morphotype of the flower ovary style. The Lipchanka variety belongs to a very early maturity group, at the latitude of Krasnodar (45°) it ripens in 95 days, and in terms of yield exceeds the standard cultivar Barguzin by an average of 0.11 t/ha. In a competitive variety testing in Krasnodar in 2021–2023 its yield was 1.32–3.19 t/ha. In a competitive variety trial in Lipetsk at a latitude of 52°, the duration of the growing season of this cultivar averaged 105 days with a yield of 2.41–2.67 t/ha, which exceeded the standard variety Barguzin by 0.09 t/ha. Under the conditions of the Kaluga region, at a latitude of 54°, the cultivar Lipchanka had a growing season of 113 days and successfully ripened until mid-September. The height of Lipchanka plants at the latitude of Krasnodar was 70–85 cm. In the Lipetsk region, the plant height of Lipchanka varied within 70–95 cm. In the conditions of the Kaluga region, the height of the cultivar Lipchanka was 71 cm. The new very early maturing soybean cultivar Lipchanka has reduced sensitivity to the range of day lengths formed at latitudes of 45–54°, high yield in the long-day conditions of the Central Black Earth region, and successful ripening in the conditions of the Central region of the Russian Federation. Such features of the cultivar allows to recommend it for cultivation in the Central, Volga-Vyatka, Central Black Earth, North Caucasus, Middle Volga, Lower Volga, Ural, and West Siberian regions of the Russian Federation.

The variety Balance was developed by intraspecific hybridization of the variety Viking-VNIIMK and breeding line No 4801 with subsequent selection by self-pollination in 2012–2022 at V.S. Pustovoit All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops. In competitive trials, the variety Balance (No 1015) was characterized by consistently high seed yield – 1.49–3.24 t/ha – and exceeded the standard variety Tavrion on average over five years by 0.20 t/ha. In terms of seed oil content, the variety Balance was 0.7 % lower than the standard variety Tavrion but exceeded the standard in oil yield by 0.07 t/ha. The new variety was characterized by larger seeds, thousand-seed weight during the trials years was 3.09 g, while the standard was 2.77 g. The duration of the growing season and the protein content of the seeds were at the level of the standard. The content of glucosinolates in seeds of the new variety differed from the standard insignificantly. In terms of morphobiological traits, the variety Balance was characterized by a lower plant height, but a higher number of lateral branches com-pared to the previous varieties. The onset of flowering and ripening were almost identical to the variety Viking-VNIIMK, and it did not differ from the standard in lodging resistance. Fusarium blight affection and the percentage of manifestation intensity of this dis-ease is lower by 3.5% compared to the variety Tavrion. The variety Balance is recommended for the cultivation for grain in the North-West, Central, Volga-Vyatka, Central Chernozem, North Caucasus, Middle Volga, Lower Volga, Ural, West Siberia, and East Siberia regions of the Russian Federation.

The causative agent of Septoria leaf spot of wheat - Zimoseptoria tritici is one of the most harmful and common Septoria pathogens in Russia. Its great intraspecific variability provides the potential for selection of races with increased virulence to resistant varieties. The aim of the research was to reveal the frequency of occurrence of potentially dangerous races in the regional Z. tritici populations on wheat. The investigations were conducted from 2003 to 2018 on the basis of All-Russian Research Institute of Phytopathology. 304 monospores isolates from 7 regions of Russia were tested. The analysis of combinations of the interaction cultivar-isolate and of the diversity of morphological types of colonies of the fungus was discovered 260 races. The potential danger of the race was determined by the aggressiveness degree and the virulence genes spectrum. On these characteristic Z. tritici races were divided into 6 groups. The proportion of potentially dangerous races in regional populations ranged from 5.4 to 16.9%. The highest frequency of potentially dangerous races was observed in the North Caucasus and Central-Chernozem regions. The Volga region was the second most likely to detect such races. In other regions, the numbers of such races was 2-3 times lower, and in Siberia were not observed. The races, virulent to effective resistance Stb-genes, were discovered in all regions, except West-Siberian. Their share in populations was 16-28.6%, and they were more common among races with a wide range of virulence genes. These studies have concluded that the greatest probability of occurrence of potentially dangerous races Z. tritici exists in regions where favorable conditions and this species dominate in the Septoria complex. Expansion of the Z. tritici areal due to changing climatic conditions may lead to an increase in the proportion of aggressive and widely virulent races in other regions.

Common winter wheat is the main grain crop cultivated in the North Caucasus. Rust disease damage isone of the factors limiting wheat productivity. There are three species of rust in the region: leaf (Puccinia triticina),stem (P. graminis) and stripe rust (P. striiformis), and their signif icance varies from year to year. The most commonis leaf rust, but in the last decade the frequency of its epiphytotic development has signif icantly decreased. At thesame time, an increase in the harmfulness of stripe rust (P. striiformis) is noted. Stem rust in the region is mainlyabsent or observed at the end of the wheat growing season to a weak degree. Only in some years with favorableweather conditions its mass development is noted on susceptible cultivars. It is believed that the sources of infectionwith rust species in the North Caucasus are infested soft wheat crops, wild-growing cereals and exodemicinfection carried by air currents from adjacent territories. In the North Caucasus, forage and wild grasses areaffected by Puccinia species almost every year. Depending on weather conditions, the symptom expression isnoted from late September to December and then from late February to May–June. Potentially, an autumn infectionon grasses can serve as a source for infection of winter soft wheat cultivars sown in October. The purpose ofthese studies is to characterize the virulence of P. triticina, P. graminis, P. striiformis on wild cereals and to assessthe specialization of causative agents to winter wheat in the North Caucasus. Infectious material representedby leaves with urediniopustules of leaf, stem and stripe rusts was collected from wild cereals (Poa spp., Bromusspp.) in the Krasnodar Territory in October–November 2019. Uredinium material from P. triticina, P. striiformis, andP. graminis was propagated and cloned. Monopustular Puccinia spp. isolates were used for virulence geneticsanalysis. In experiments to study the specialization of rust species from wild-growing cereals on common wheat,12 winter cultivars were used (Grom, Tanya, Yuka, Tabor, Bezostaya 100, Yubileynaya 100, Vekha, Vassa, Alekseich,Stan, Gurt, Bagrat). These cultivars are widely cultivated in the North Caucasus region and are characterized byvarying degrees of resistance to rust. Additionally, wheat material was inoculated with Krasnodar populations ofP. triticina, P. striiformis, P. graminis from common wheat. In the virulence analysis of P. triticina on cereal grasses,four phenotypes (races) were identif ied: MCTKH (30 %), TCTTR (30 %), TNTTR (25 %), MHTKH (15 %), and f ivewere identif ied in P. graminis (RKMTF (60 %), TKTTF, RKLTF, QKLTF, LHLPF (10 % each). Among P. striiformis isolates,three phenotypes were identif ied using the International and European sets of differentiating cultivars –111E231 (88 %), 111E247 (6 %) and 78E199 (6 %). Using isogenic Avocet lines, 3 races were also identif ied, whichdiffered among themselves in virulence to the Yr1, Yr11, Yr18 genes (with the prevalence of virulent ones (94 %)).Composite urediniums’ samples (a mixture of all identif ied races) of grass rust of each species were used to inoculatewinter wheat cultivars. The most common winter wheat cultivars (75 %) were characterized by a resistantresponse when infected with P. graminis populations from common wheat and cereal grasses. All these cultivarswere developed using donors of the rye translocation 1BL.1RS, in which the Lr26, Sr31, and Yr9 genes are localized.The number of winter wheat cultivars resistant to leaf rust in the seedling phase was lower (58 %). At thesame time, all the studied cultivars in the seedling phase were susceptible to P. striiformis to varying degrees. Thevirulence analysis of the leaf, stem and stripe rust populations did not reveal signif icant differences in the virulenceof the pathogens between wild-growing cereals and soft wheat. Urediniomaterial of all studied rust speciessuccessfully infested soft wheat cultivars. The results obtained indicate that grasses are rust infection reservoirsfor common wheat crops in the North Caucasus.