Crimean Bridge Research Articles

Application of Topic Modelling Technology to the Analysis of Social Media Comments in the Context of State Identity Politics Research

In the situation of a shrinking field of public politics and a crisis of political trust, citizens may seek an alternative arena for presenting their own point of view. The social Internet space serves as a virtual projection of public contradictions and acts as an arena for the presentation and confrontation of political interests. At the same time, the increasing state presence in virtual space and the growing trust to online sources of information make social media an important channel for promoting certain patterns of political interpretations. The aim of this paper is to analyse the reactions of social media users to discover their attitudes towards the main narratives of contemporary identity politics of the Russian state. We used the Topic modelling method to study citizens’ reactions to various aspects of state identity politics. The total number of comments in the collected database is 8,023 (09/2022‑09/2023). In almost all the identified topics we can note the polarity of citizens’ opinions, examples of which are given in the article. However, there are a few topics where the users’ opinion is quite consolidated; for example, the image of the Crimean bridge on the cover of new textbooks was widely supported in comments, while the topic of traditional values, on the contrary, evokes negative feelings and shows “public tiredness”. Despite the limitations described in the conclusion of the article, the study demonstrates the high potential of applying the method of topic modelling to the analysis of the reactions of social media users.

Государственное регулирование в области транспортной безопасности на железнодорожном транспорте

What happened on the Crimean Bridge in 2022 has shown that transport facilities are still attractive for committing acts of unlawful interference, and that the state mechanism protecting them is not perfect. The purpose of the study was to systematize strategic planning documents and railway transport development programs, to identify if the established mandatory requirements for ensuring transport security are adequate to potential threats. The author substantiates the necessity for making amendments to the Federal Law ‘On Railway Transport’.

Влияние опасных гидрометеорологических явлений на эксплуатацию транспортного перехода через Керченский пролив

The article considers the natural and climatic conditions of the Kerch Strait, the Taman Peninsula and the Kerch Peninsula through which passes the transport crossing that connects the Republic of Crimea with the Russian mainland. The paper reflects the main features of the formation of dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena in the Kerch Strait. Hydrometeorological conditions of formation of ice and wind-wave regimes and other dangerous hydrological and hydrometeorological phenomena in the Kerch Strait are highlighted based on the coastal and expedition observations, measurements of currents at automatic buoy stations, numerical modeling of water dynamics in the Kerch Strait for different types of atmospheric effects on the grid with high spatial resolution. The research shows that in the coastal zone and on the Kerch Strait water area periodically there are dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena, such as ice blockages on the bridge piers, strong storm or hurricane wind, heavy precipitation, fogs, which significantly worsen the visibility and complicate marine cargo transportation in the Strait, thunderstorms and tornados. The data presented in this work may be the basis for the assessment of the current state of the environment within the environmental support of the projects, as well as the subsequent ice and hydrometeorological monitoring in the area of the Crimean bridge.

The Provenance Study of the Raw Materials of the Ancient Terracotta Found near the Crimean Bridge: Natural-Science Approach

The Provenance Study of the Raw Materials of the Ancient Terracotta Found near the Crimean Bridge: Natural-Science Approach

Troubled waters [Crimea - Infrastructure

Following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, there had been protracted discussions between Russia and Ukraine aimed at reaching an agreement for the joint construction of an international road and rail link across the Kerch Strait that separates Russia from the annexed territory of Crimea. Talks eventually broke down, and after the annexation of Crimea the construction of the bridge went ahead without Ukraine's consent. The Crimean Bridge is a controversial feat of engineering, and in October 2022 it was severely damaged by an explosion. The heavily defended infrastructure is a crucial military resupply route for Russian troops and is regarded by the Ukrainian government as a legitimate military target. E&T examines the bridge's complex story, so far.

Russia Retaliates for Crimean Bridge Explosion

Russia Retaliates for Crimean Bridge Explosion

Dispute between Albania and Greece over the Delimitation of Maritime Zones

The maritime industry in Ukraine has now been under significant pressure for eight years. The illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014 created a gray area which included a portion of Ukrainian coastal waters around Crimea, where Russia exercises effective control. Disputes over coastal state rights and shipping transit created fertile ground for further bellicose actions and costly vessel detentions. In that period, Russia exerted hybrid pressure on Ukraine’s maritime industry. This involved the creation of various obstacles to freedom of navigation through the construction of the Crimean bridge and the complication of the passage of ships through the Kerch Strait; the closure of significant sea areas by the Russian Federation under the pretext of military exercises; and Ukraine’s actual loss of control over a significant part of the EEZ, among others. With the start of a full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, the Ukrainian maritime industry became the target of direct and indirect attacks. Ukrainian ports and other maritime infrastructure in Ukrainian-controlled territories are regularly subjected to rocket attacks, while the Russian occupation administration loots captured ports. Ukrainian ports have also been indirectly damaged by the blocking of navigation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. This article analyzes the legal aspects of the naval blockade of Ukraine, and the legal actions taken by the Ukrainian maritime authorities and the maritime industry to mitigate the consequences of the ongoing armed conflict.

Ukrainian Maritime Industry under Fire: Consequences of Russian Invasion

The maritime industry in Ukraine has now been under significant pressure for eight years. The illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014 created a gray area which included a portion of Ukrainian coastal waters around Crimea, where Russia exercises effective control. Disputes over coastal state rights and shipping transit created fertile ground for further bellicose actions and costly vessel detentions. In that period, Russia exerted hybrid pressure on Ukraine’s maritime industry. This involved the creation of various obstacles to freedom of navigation through the construction of the Crimean bridge and the complication of the passage of ships through the Kerch Strait; the closure of significant sea areas by the Russian Federation under the pretext of military exercises; and Ukraine’s actual loss of control over a significant part of the EEZ, among others. With the start of a full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, the Ukrainian maritime industry became the target of direct and indirect attacks. Ukrainian ports and other maritime infrastructure in Ukrainian-controlled territories are regularly subjected to rocket attacks, while the Russian occupation administration loots captured ports. Ukrainian ports have also been indirectly damaged by the blocking of navigation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. This article analyzes the legal aspects of the naval blockade of Ukraine, and the legal actions taken by the Ukrainian maritime authorities and the maritime industry to mitigate the consequences of the ongoing armed conflict.

МІСТ ВІЙНИ

The large-scale war, which began on February 24, 2022, divided the history of independent Ukraine into two parts. The enemy attacked along the common state border. The offensive in the south on the Taurid section of the front had a special place. The formation of a large military group on the territory of the annexed Crimea would not have been possible without the regular movement of military units and special equipment across the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait. The article raises the question of whether such use of this strategically important object of transport infrastructure is accidental or whether its construction was necessary for military purposes? To confirm their hypothesis, the authors analyze all the bridges that were built and operated for a certain (short) period between the Crimean and Taman peninsulas. These are the German bridge of 1943, the Soviet bridge of 1944-1945 and the modern bridge, built by the decision of the Russian federal government after the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. It was established that all of them were built to ensure the implementation of military operations. An analysis of their construction directly indicates that these bridges were built in order to quickly move large military units in the Crimean direction. Thus, the existing Crimean bridge can rightly be called a bridge of war. In peacetime, there are no significant flows of people and goods that could determine the feasibility of its construction. It is worth noting that Ukrainian geographers, despite eight years of annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, have not published any publications on this issue. A natural question arises as to whether this is due to the fact that most of them were formed on the theoretical and methodological basis of the Soviet and post-Soviet scientific schools, where issues of military and political geography have always been marginal topics of open research. The authors propose to study the phenomenon of “bridge of war” to involve modern post-classical works of French geographers, which should help correct the situation in Ukrainian geography, when issues of territorial integrity and military action were to become priority rather than marginal topics of research.

THE LONG SHELL PILE BEARING CAPACITY CALCULATION

A comparative assessment of the long steel shell-pile bearing capacity is carried out in conditions of deep bedding of dense soils on the example of the Crimean bridge. The soil column is represented by six layers of soil only the last sixth layer of which located at a depth of 62 m has a high bearing capacity. Three design schemes are considered, taking into account soil resistance along the outer side surface and under the lower end of the pile, along the outer and inner side surfaces of the pile, as well as along the outer side surface and under the lower end of the pile, taking into account the soil core and self-locking effect. The results of calculating the bearing capacity of the steel pile-shell for each of the design schemes are presented in tabular and graphical form. Conclusions are drawn about the nature of the change in the soil resistance forces with the depth of the pile immersion both along its outer and inner lateral surfaces as well as under its lower end. The depth at which the soil core formation begins as well as the depths within which the soil is compacted and self-locking inside the pile cavity has been established. In this case the pile begins to work as a pile with a closed lower end and a further increase in its bearing capacity occurs due to the frictional forces of the soil along the outer lateral surface. A comparison is made of the bearing capacity values calculated for each of the three design schemes with the partial value of the ultimate resistance according to immersion data with actual (measured) residual failures based on the results of field tests with dynamic load.

Modern technological solutions to ensure transport security

To ensure uninterrupted railway communication with the Republic of Crimea, within the framework of the largest national infrastructure project, the construction of a transport crossing through the Kerch Strait was completed in 2018, which also includes a railway component. The article considers the regulatory legal grounds for the use of modern stationary inspection and screening complexes that allow for the inspection of freight trains plying on the railway of the transport passage through the Kerch Strait.The uniqueness of the legal regime for the protection of this structure is complemented by the use of the latest technical means of ensuring transport security to prevent the commission of unlawful encroachments in the activities of the transport complex, including stationary inspection railway complexes.The principle of operation of inspection complexes, which is based on the physical method of introscopy, is shown, and their technical characteristics are given. The use of inspection railway complexes allows the transport security forces to identify objects and substances that are prohibited or restricted for movement into the transport security zone, practically without interfering with the technological processes of freight traffic, since the scanning of wagons is carried out while the passage is moving. Modern installations at a high level reliably protect the Crimean bridge from illegal encroachments.

REUNIFICATION OF A ONE SPACE THE HERO CITIES AND CITIES OF MILITARY GLORY THE SOUTH OF RUSSIA AS ONE OF THE MECHANISMS OF PRESERVING THE HISTORICAL MEMORY OF YOUTH

The "space - time" of the social world is not only a physical, social or logical environment for sociological subjects, and not even their General properties, since the expressions "social space" and "social time" are commonly used and, as it were, taken for granted in all judgments, in all respects. But it is through these categories, connecting the space and time of a particular historical period and bringing it closer to the current time, we are able to understand and feel the origins of the processes taking place at the present time. The space of hero cities and cities of military glory is a unique subspace of a one unique socio-cultural space of the South of Russia, the integrity of which can be understood only after seeing the places of memory of the people. Such an opportunety - immersion in the heroic and Patriotic history of Russia and the development of this past-provide tourist trips to the hero cities and cities of military glory. So the past becomes part of the present and contributes to the preservation of the historical memory of the inhabitants of the country. The authors believe that the completion of the construction of the Crimean Bridge not only expands the heroic and Patriotic space of the South of Russia physically and its tourist opportunities, will cause a change in the vector of travelers in the direction of the Crimea, but will also contribute to the preservation of people's memory of the heroes of the past years. The developed route (program) of the week Patriotic tour from Volgograd through the Crimean Bridge to Sevastopol "from Mamayev Kurgan to Sapun-Gora" for organized students and schoolchildren groups of is offered.

The Crimean Bridge and Its Effect in Vladimir Putin’s Image as a Strong Leader

The Crimean Bridge and Its Effect in Vladimir Putin’s Image as a Strong Leader

Methods for ensuring the required consumer properties for the construction of transport facilities in an accelerated time frame

The article discusses methods for providing concreting of transport objects without defects using the example of the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait. It is shown that through the use of modern calculation and analytical methods, it is possible to obtain high-quality structures and operational reliability under the conditions of the necessary construction pace. These methods are based on the construction of a thermophysical model of the processes that occur in hardening concrete during heating and cooling. The existing experience in the construction of similar facilities is also taken into account. The problem posed today is relevant in connection with the development of bridge building in our country. It has important economic and geo-political significance, and its solution is not possible without taking into account the temperature factor of hardening concrete. The proposed methods made it possible to ensure the required operational properties of the structures of this type and to withstand the established deadlines for the construction of the Crimean bridge. They can be used in the construction of other objects of this type.

Tomographic Studies of the Terracotta Head from Kerch Bay

An ancient terracotta sculpture (bearded male head), found in underwater excavations in the Kerch Bay (performed by experts of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences before the construction of Crimean bridge pillars), has been studied at the National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute” using neutron and X-ray tomography. Based on the analysis of revealed technological seams, it is established that the object was made primarily by sculpturing, with successive addition of profiled details (hairstyle, nose, eyelids, eye, ears, nasolabial fold, beard) to the clay base. The terracotta was likely attached by its lower part to the lost support or base by a lead tie. All studies were carried out by nondestructive methods allowing for monitoring hidden cavities, which may further pose a threat to the preservation of valuable cultural heritage object.

Optimization of advertising media placement on transport infrastructural sites on the basis of big data technologies

This paper shows that the integral socio-economic efficiency of the state-private partnership projects in the road maintenance sector is mainly determined by the effectiveness of three factors: fare payment; road service facilities; outdoor advertisements placed on buildings, located on the land plots designed to accommodate the road structural elements and road facilities structures. The paper content is devoted to solving the problem of algorithms constructing for integrated quantitative evaluation of outdoor advertising. It is shown that the effectiveness of advertising is determined not only by the number of individuals entering into visual contact with advertisement media, but also by the measure of conformity of characteristics of such individuals with the parameters of target audience of the advertising message. The methods of automated data collection are formulated, allowing the determination of these individuals’ characteristics, based on the vehicle fixation systems. The formulated methods significantly expand the possibilities of geo-targeting on the bases of not only the position of members of the target audience on the road, but also on the bases of the region of their vehicle registration. An algorithm is obtained that allows combining geo-targeting with social targeting, by describing the average socio-economic, gender and age characteristics of the target audience members. It is shown that the information necessary for the implementation of this algorithm can be obtained on the data basis of the region of vehicles registration. Furthermore, the objective function, the task of optimizing the effectiveness of advertising media are defined and its particular cases for commercial and various types of social and political advertising are obtained. As an example, the dependence of the effectiveness of social advertising on time is calculated, based on the target audience members moving across the Crimean Bridge in the first year of its operation.

Tsunamiopasnost' Krymskogo poberezh'ya Chernogo morya i Kerchenskogo proliva pri katastroficheskih tsunamigennyh zemletryaseniyah, blizkih po lokalizatsii k istoricheskomu YAltinskomu zemletryaseniyu 12 sentyabrya 1927 goda

Purpose. The main purpose of the work is to assess a possible tsunami hazard for the region of location of the Crimean Bridge constructed across the Kerch Strait, since up to present, numerical simulations of the tsunamigenic earthquakes in the Black Sea have never taken the Kerch Strait region (except for the water area at the strait entrance) into consideration as a possible object for a tsunami hazard. Methods and Results. To assess a tsunami hazard for the Kerch Strait and, particularly, for the region of location of the constructed Crimean Bridge, the present paper considers the historical catastrophic tsunamigenic earthquake in the southeastern part of the Crimea Peninsula on September 12, 1927 as well as possible strong earthquakes, the source locations and magnitudes of which can be close to those of the above-mentioned one. The available data on localization and intensity of the earthquake on September 12, 1927 allowed to model the source of such an earthquake. Besides, within the framework of the nonlinear shallow water equations, simulated were the tsunami generation and the tsunami waves’ propagation from the single- and two-block seismic sources in the Black Sea along the Crimea Peninsula, at the Kerch Strait entrance and in its water area. The seismic sources of close localization were similarly simulated for two possible tsunamigenic earthquakes in the southeastern part of the Crimea Peninsula. Conclusions. For all the considered scenarios, generation and propagation of the tsunami waves over the water area regions under study were numerically simulated, the histograms of distribution of the wave run-up maximum heights along the Crimea Peninsula and the Kerch Strait coasts were constructed. It is shown that for all the scenarios, in the region of the Crimean Bridge western pillars the tsunami wave heights do not exceed 0.3–0.5 m, whereas in the region of its eastern pillars, possible wave heights are within the range 0.6–1.95 m. The results represented in the paper are compared with the available data on the wave heights in a number of settlements of the Crimea Peninsula coast and at the Kerch Strait entrance, obtained by the other authors.

Risk factors for workers of shaft labour forms in the south of Russia


 The purpose of the study is to identify the most uncomfortable climatic, geographical, industrial and social factors in the opinion of shift workers of various professional groups in the south of the Russian Federation. The study was conducted, in which 82 employees participated, engaged in the construction of the Crimean bridge, using shift work organization. Research methods: study of documentation, observation, questionnaire, statistical methods. The most uncomfortable climatic, industrial and social factors for shift workers in the south of the Russian Federation are high temperatures, wind, solar radiation and high humidity; noise, chemical factors, enhanced monitoring of compliance with safety regulations, high labor intensity; lack of developed cultural infrastructure, lack of food, and difficulties with transport and communications. Statistically significant differences were found in assessing the discomfort of climatic, geographical, industrial and social factors as shift workers of various groups.
 
 Keywords: risk factor, south, shift method, labor psychology, climatic factors, production factors, social factors, construction of large facilities.

The applicability of public-private partnership contracts for infrastructure projects as a function of their specificity

The Crimean bridge, as Russia’s largest infrastructure project, can be considered a marginal case of the relative effectiveness of public financing without the involvement of private partners. According to the formalization employed, the implementation of this project through market coordination leads to additional costs due to the rising level of specificity. The increase in these costs is not linear and is more intensive than growth in the level of specificity. Introduction of an NPV-efficiency assessment tool into the analysis allows us to prove a limiting reduction of this interval for considering the risk profile of the project under сonsideration. Reserves required due to the risk of rising budget expenditures due to the project’s scale actually does not exist according to these reasons: increases in the discount rate is more intensive than the rise of negative expectations; the rise of additional equity premiums is more intensive than the rise of the risk-free rate itself. Thus, the Crimean bridge project should be considered a marginal case of the relative effectiveness of direct state funding comparing PPP scheme.

The Crimean Bridge and Infrastructural Deepfake

The Crimean Bridge and Infrastructural Deepfake