East Of Russia Research Articles

Несентиментальное путешествие: письмо А. И. Тарасова-Родионова в Петроградское бюро ЦК РКП(б) о своей поездке в Сибирь летом 1918 г.

The paper presents the letter from Bolshevik Alexander Ignatievich Tarasov-Rodionov, who later became a famous Soviet writer, to the top party leadership describing his journey from red Petrograd to white Tyumen and back across the front line in July — August 1918. Excluded from the party on the eve of his trip to Tyumen, Alexander Tarasov-Rodionov decided to use his trip as a way to regain the trust of party leadership by collecting and providing the latter with valuable information about the state of white rear. To this end, during his journey, he was interested in the course of hostilities, the political and economic situation in the white-occupied areas of the Volga region, the Urals and Western Siberia. The source of the information received by Tarasov-Rodionov was his own observations, materials from anti-Bolshevik newspapers and conversations with fellow travelers. The result of his observations on his return from the trip, he outlined in a detailed letter to the Petrograd Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP(b), written on August 27, 1918. This letter is a valuable historical source on the initial period of the Civil War in the East of Russia, containing interesting information about the White terror, about everyday life in the White rear, as well as about the tactics of combat operations at the front, collected by the author at the risk of his life during his journey. To visualize the route of Tarasov-Rodionov’s journey, a schematic map was prepared, published in the appendix to the paper.

Molecular identification and virological characteristics of highly pathogenic avian influenza A/H5N5 virus in wild birds in Egypt.

Multiple incursions of different subtypes of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A/H5NX viruses have caused widely considerable outbreaks in poultry and hundreds of human infections. Extensive reassortment events associated with currently circulating clade 2.3.4.4b of A/H5NX viruses have been widely recorded. Wild migratory birds contribute to the spillover of diverse viruses throughout their migration flyways. During our active surveillance of avian influenza in Egypt, we successfully isolated and fully characterized HPAI A/H5N5 virus of clade 2.3.4.4b that was detected in a healthy purple heron. The Egyptian H5N5 virus is genotypically similar with the same subtype that was detected in the far east of Russia and several European countries. The antigenic analysis showed that the Egyptian H5N5 virus is distinct from HPAI A(H5N8) viruses in Egypt. The virus preferentially binds to avian-like receptors rather than human-like receptors. Our results showed that the virus caused 100% and 60% lethality in chicken and mice respectively. Increasing active surveillance efforts, monitoring the dynamics of emerging AIVs, and risk assessment implementation should be globally applied especially in hot spot regions like Egypt.

Оценка влияния агломерационных факторов на экономическую активность (микроэкономический анализ)

While agglomeration effects are an essential element of the economic environment determining the decision-making on the capacity allocation and implementation of infrastructure projects, their impact in the East of Russia is questioned. Development conditions of Novosibirsk oblast can have a contradictory effect on agglomeration forces. The paper aims to obtain quantitative estimates of the impact of agglomeration effects on enterprise performance by analysing the SPARK-Interfax database for 2019. To this end, the visualisation of the spatial distribution of the sample data, average output and profit characteristics was performed. Additionally, the econometric analysis of the influence of agglomeration factors on enterprise performance was conducted. As a result, the microeconomic analysis showed a statistically significant impact of agglomeration effects on the productivity of firms in Novosibirsk oblast. A two-fold increase in the distance to the regional capital leads to a reduction in output and profitability of enterprises by 3.5 %. This finding supports the development and implementation of private and public infrastructure projects. The analysis demonstrated a higher differentiation of profit indicators in cities, as well as a significant drop in performance and efficiency of companies located in the immediate neighbourhood of the regional capital. The revealed patterns characterising the heterogeneous functioning of Novosibirsk economy can be considered by regional and local authorities when making decisions to support and develop business.

On the Front Line: The White Army and the Population

The article considers the interaction of the White Army and the population in the South and East of Russia. It evaluates the specifics of combat operations and recruitment in the conditions of civil war and emphasizes the importance of interaction with the civilian population. The author analyzes the areas of large-scale confrontation of the population and the causes of this phenomenon, and explains the reasons behind the blurring of the boundaries between combatants and non-combatants in internecine struggle. The author draws attention to the restoration of law enforcement and other forms of infrastructure in the areas occupied by the White Army, to the phenomenon of self-defense on a territorial or ethnic basis. The conclusion made concerns the decisive interaction between the army and the population on the front line in the conditions of a large-scale civil war. The article provides numerous examples of support of the white units by the population; analyses successful and unsuccessful examples of the demand for such support by the command of White formations. For this purpose, various sources are used, primarily memoirs, both published and stored in the archives of the Russian Federation. The author concludes about the utmost importance of contact with the population on the front line for the victory in the civil war and highlights a high potential for the support of white formations and the areas where this was manifested most prominently. The article proposes to distinguish between the willingness to surrender or to be legalized with the approach of the Whites and the willingness to actively support the troops with military participation. This phenomenon was also evident on the red side of the confrontation, which had its own specifics and is worthy of independent study.

General patterns of macrozoobenthos distribution in two rivers basins of the Khabarovsky Krai (Far East of Russia)

This article analyses the distribution patterns of macrozoobenthos in watercourses of the basins of the River Bajal and River Anyuy (Khabarovsky Krai, Russia) on the territories of the Bajal Sanctuary and Anyuy National Park. The distance-based linear models (DistLM) method was used to estimate the proportion of distribution of macroinvertebrates explained by the factors considered in the study (river basin, current velocity, substrate, channel width, temperature, pH). All of these factors contributed significantly, together explaining about one-third of the variability of macroinvertebrate distribution. The main explanatory factors were river basin and substrate (9.3% and 10.5%, respectively), as well as the current velocity (5.7%). Based on the cluster analysis, eight statistically significant groups of samples on the basis of similarity of taxonomic composition were identified. A set of indicator taxa was determined for each group and their indicator values were found. Using the Kruskal-Wallis analysis, the environmental factors significantly differing between the obtained groups and subgroups were singled out. There are well-defined patterns in the confinement of taxonomic complexes to certain habitats. Local environmental factors are the strong filter influencing the formation of taxonomic communities. The factor of belonging to the river basin also plays a significant role in the formation of invertebrate communities, which should be considered in the planning of monitoring studies on a large spatial scale. However, the distinguished groups and subgroups are characterised by a low level of internal similarity. Only about a quarter of the total species number belongs to indicator taxa, and samples do not form discrete clusters with obvious hiatus on the ordination diagram. The longitudinal distribution of macroinvertebrates for each river can be characterised as a punctuated gradient.

ГРУЗОВОЙ ТРАНСПОРТ РОССИИ: НЕКОТОРЫЕ ИТОГИ 2022 ГОДА

The author analyzes some of the outcomes of Russian freight transport performance in 2022, as well as the ways to transform the entire transport industry of Russia under the increased sanctions pressure. She considers topical issues of modernizing the transport and logistics infrastructure in the East of Russia, highlights the problems causing the need to accelerate the development of the Eastern zone of Russian Railways and analyzes the dynamics of cargo shipment by Russian sea transport in foreign navigation and the use of the so-called shadow fleet, which contributed to the growth of Russian energy exports in 2022. Finally, the author assesses the prospects of increasing pipeline deliveries to the Asian markets and enhancing the capacity of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)

РАДОН В МИНЕРАЛЬНЫХ ВОДАХ СИХОТЭ-АЛИНЯ (ПРИМОРСКИЙ КРАЙ)

Geological and hydrogeological conditions of 19 occurrences of thermomineral water in the southern Far East of Russia are considered in the paper. Concentrations of radon were measured in waters and those of uranium and thorium in host rocks and secondary minerals. The results were compared with the chemical composition of waters and gases in the mineral springs. It is established that water-bearing rocks are classified into rocks of low and normal radioactivity. The contents of uranium (< 0.56 µg/l) and thorium (< 0.1 µg/l) in the waters are low. Measurements of radon concentration in mineral water springs occurring in Primorye indicate that most of them are weakly radioactive (0.2–1.5 kBq/l), whereas two are moderately radioactive (1.5–7.5 kBq/l). From a medical-balneological point of view, waters in 7 out of 19 springs were defined as radon waters, with four of them classified as nitrogen thermal water and three as CO2-rich mineral water. CO2-rich mineral waters of the Shetukhinskaya group exhibit the highest level of radioactivity. Such nature-made objects reflect the state of the geological environment and can be utilized both for medical purposes and for monitoring a wide range of hydrogeochemical parameters. Based on the analysis of geological conditions and geochemical features of thermomineral water occurrences, the factors that determine the level of radioactivity were identified and general schemes were proposed for the transport of radon to the surface in various geological and hydrogeological conditions.

A melt inclusion approach to reconstructing sulfur contents and sulfide saturation of primitive basaltic melts

The study of melt inclusions in minerals is the only direct approach to estimate the contents of volatile components in silicate melts, which are essential to constrain the processes of magma generation and evolution. In particular, the content of sulfur in silicate melts is closely connected with the P-T-fO2 conditions of mantle melting and the formation of sulfide deposits. Inclusions in high-Mg olivine can provide access to the composition of the most primitive melts, but these are the most susceptible to post-entrapment modification such as ‘Fe-loss’. The loss of Fe consequently decreases sulfur solubility and leads to silicate-sulfide immiscibility and formation of daughter sulfide globules, significantly affecting the initial proportions of S contained within the silicate part (glass) of melt inclusions. In this study, we investigated the budget of sulfur in heated and quenched melt inclusions hosted in primitive olivine (87–90 mol% Fo) by accounting for sulfur stored in silicate glass (melt), daughter sulfide globules and shrinkage bubbles. Melt inclusions from MORB-like olivine-phyric rocks (Kamchatsky Mys, Far East Russia) heated for 30 min at 1200 °C and 1300 °C were compared with similar experiments on olivine-hosted melt inclusions over a 5 min duration (at 1200 °C and 1350 °C). Sulfur contents were calculated in the following types of melt inclusions, containing: (i) both sulfide globules and shrinkage bubbles, (ii) only sulfide globules, (iii) only shrinkage bubbles, and (iv) completely homogenized. Our findings indicate that S content in shrinkage bubbles and its precipitates is negligible in reheated water-poor melt inclusions, whereas daughter sulfide globules are significant repositories of initial S. Therefore, when estimating initial S contents in parental melts, the amounts stored in both daughter sulfide and silicate glass should be considered. Our experiments with MORB-type melt inclusions in forsteritic olivine phenocrysts demonstrate that effective homogenization is best achieved by briefly overheating melt inclusions prior to rapid quenching. Although this technique does not allow for the MgFe equilibrium between melt inclusions and their host olivine to be fully achieved, it promotes the dissolution of daughter sulfide globules and shrinkage bubbles, and thus the release of initial sulfur back to the melt/glass.

Colpomenia borea sp. nov. (Scytosiphonaceae, Phaeophyceae) from Japan and Far East Russia

<scp><i>Colpomenia borea</i></scp> sp. nov. (Scytosiphonaceae, Phaeophyceae) from Japan and Far East Russia

Status and Prospect of Ecological Environment in the Belt and Road Initiative Regions.

With the widespread recognition and in-depth implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), especially in the context of global climate change, the ecological environment of Belt and Road Initiative regions might be confronted with pressures and challenges with rapid socioeconomic development. In response to those potential environmental challenges, China has put forward Green BRI and enriched the new Silk Road with more environmental connotations, aiming to reduce the conflict between economic development and eco-environmental protection. Currently, there is a lack of systematic and holistic research on eco-environmental issues in BRI regions. In addition, feasible solutions to enhance BRI's contribution to the eco-environment remain insufficient. Having systematically reviewed the relevant literature on the eco-environment in BRI regions, we found that most regions along the BRI routes are in sensitive zones of climate and geological change, with fragile eco-environments and strong vulnerability to climate change, natural disasters and human activities. The main eco-environment status of the BRI regions is as follows: (1) The total water resources in BRI regions account for only 36% of the global total, with uneven distribution and complex spatial precipitation, posing higher pressure on water security. (2) Vegetation varies significantly from region to region. The vegetation in South Asia is the richest, with its mean annual NDVI exceeding 0.7. The NDVI in East Europe, Russia and South China are between 0.4 and 0.7, and that in Central Asia and West Asia are below 0.2. (3) The BRI regions are abundantly blessed with natural resources, with the total recoverable oil reserves, natural gas reserves and the total mining area reaching 66%, 65.5% and 42.31% of the world's total, respectively, but severe overexploitation and overconsumption of those resources degrade their eco-environment. Accordingly, future research directions, such as target on integrated, interdisciplinary and coordinated studies on eco-environmental issues in BRI regions, are proposed in this paper to achieve optimization of BRI's contribution to eco-environment protection in BRI regions.

Basic conditions of the Russian Far East territories’ development: on the issue of regional disparity

Relevance. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that, despite the existing policy for equalizing the economic development and the efforts to improve the life quality of the population in the challenged eastern regions of Russia, the issue of economic and social disparity still stands. This is evidence that the approaches to the regions’ development and administration must be diversified and tailored to the specific needs of a given territory. The purpose of the article is to consider the basic conditions that form the opportunities and limitations of the regions’ development in connection with the availability of mineral resources. The informational basis of the study is derived from the official statistical indicators. Results. The article considers various indicators of the Russian Far East regions’ and the Baikal region’s basic development conditions. The aspect of the regions’ development due to the basic conditions in the context of the medical care availability is also highlighted. Conclusion. The lower basic development conditions indicators are observed in the following regions: Transbaikal Territory, The Republic of Buryatia and the Jewish Autonomous region. In these regions the situation with the per capita fiscal capacity and population’s the average monetary income by 2018 has worsened in comparison with the Russian average. The situation is somewhat better in Irkutsk and Amursk regions, but they are still on the second last place. The resource regions of the northern zone of the Russian East have higher levels of the indicators in question, that has to do with the presence of resources for the mining industry. A relevant issue for the eastern region in the field of healthcare is the issue of the human resources availability.

Stratiform Fluorite Mineralization along the Periphery of the Siberian Platform and in the East of Russia

Stratiform Fluorite Mineralization along the Periphery of the Siberian Platform and in the East of Russia

Hypergenic Evolution of Tin Sulfide Deposits and Geochemistry of Technogenic Waters in Komsomolsk District (Khabarovsk Krai, Far East of Russia)

Hypergenic Evolution of Tin Sulfide Deposits and Geochemistry of Technogenic Waters in Komsomolsk District (Khabarovsk Krai, Far East of Russia)

Mineral composition of Albazinskoe deposit ores as an indicator of its belonging to the gold-rare metallic ore-formational type

The paper presents new data on mineral composition and geochemical peculiarities of ores from the Albazinskoe gold-bearing deposit (Khabarovsk region, Far East of Russia). Excepting earlier known ore minerals represented by sulfides of iron, arsenic, lead, zinc, and copper, authors have established about two tens of ore minerals, new for this deposit. Among them are sulfides of antimony, bismuth and molybdenum, native bismuth, copper, nickel, silver, tellurides of bismuth, cobalt sulphoarsenite, nickel sulphoantimonite, silver sulphobismuthites, lead-antimony-bismuth sulphosalts, oxides of tin, titanium, tungsten and some others. The revealed specificity of the ores' material composition indicates this deposit belongs to the gold-rare metallic ore-formational type. The sets of geological and structural data show that gold-bearing deposits of this ore-formational type are spatially and genetically associated with the granitoid magmatism, which is exhibited within transform continental margin and related to the geodynamic mode of sliding of the continental and oceanic lithospheric plates.

Summer net community production in the northern Chukchi Sea: Comparison between 2017 and 2020

The Arctic Ocean environment is drastically changing because of global warming. Although warming-induced processes, such as the decrease in sea-ice extent and freshening of the surface layer, have the potential to alter primary production, the changes that will likely occur in their production and their mechanisms are still poorly understood. To assess the potential changes in net community production, which is a measure of biological carbon pump, in response to climate change, we observed the O2/Ar at the surface of the northern Chukchi Sea in the summers of 2017 and 2020. The net community production (NCP) estimates that we derived from O2/Ar measurements were largely in the range of 1 – 11 mmol O2 m-2 d-1 in the northern Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, close to the lower bounds of the values in the global oceans. The average NCP of 1.5 ± 1.7 mmol O2 m-2 d-1 in 2020 was substantially lower than 7.1 ± 7.4 mmol O2 m-2 d-1 in 2017, with the most pronounced decrease occurring in the ice-free region of the northern Chukchi Sea; the NCP of the ice-free region in 2020 was only 12% of that in 2017. The decrease in NCP in 2020 was accompanied by a lower salinity of &amp;gt; 2, which resulted in shallower mixed layer depths and stronger stratification. We speculated that the anomalously low pressure near the east Russian coast and the lack of strong winds contributed to the strong stratification in 2020. With a continuing decrease in the extent of sea ice, the northern Chukchi Sea will likely experience earlier phytoplankton blooms and nitrate exhaustion. Unless winds blow strong enough to break the stratification, the biological pump in late summer is likely to remain weak.

Natural Population Dynamics of the Territory Controlled by the Siberian Cossack Host over Twenty Years (1894–1914): To the Question of the Beginning of the Demographic Transition in the East of Russia

The article describes the natural development of population in the territories controlled by the Siberian Cossack Host. It is primarily based on the official demographic statistics included in the annual “Reports on the State of the Siberian Cossack Troops for…”, which presents dynamics of absolute and relative indicators depicting the fertility, mortality, and natural growth of the population. The sources reveal the scale, pace, and trends of natural population development over 20 years with chronological changes presented by year and by stage. The authors comprehensively examine all data related to the population of the Siberian Cossack Host, including the Cossacks and “non-residents” registered by the Host. The article concludes by arguing that over time the annual natural population growth increased due to a consistent drop in mortality, while the birth rate declined at a slower pace. Compared to the Steppe Region, the Transbaikal Cossack Host, and in general Siberia and the Russian Empire as the whole, the Siberian Cossack Host demonstrated the largest natural increase in the number of residents. The lands of the Host were dominated by the traditional, “cost-intensive” reproduction of the population established in the past. However, the shifts brought by modernization to the natural development of the population, especially the “explosive” natural population growth, indicate that, at the turn of the 20th century, the Siberian Host entered the first phase of a demographic transition – the formation of a modern type of generational renewal.

Two new «nosed» species of the genus Megalothorax (Collembola: Neelidae) from Russia

Two new species with forehead processes are described from the east of the European part and Western Siberia. Megalothorax processus sp. nov. has a long cuticular process extended at the tip. The cuticular process in M. roseus sp. nov. is formed by a group of four papillae. Two other species, M. potapovi Schneider, Porco & Deharveng, 2016 and M. sanctistephani Christian, 1998, with a "nose" in the frontal part of the head are known from the Far East of Russia and West Europe, respectively. The «noses» probably arise independently in the four species; their function is unclear. Apart from the form of the forehead processes M. processus sp. nov. differs from M. roseus sp. nov. by the shape of sensilla within sensory fields (flame-shaped vs. globular) and the absence of chaeta а0 (vs. present in M. roseus sp. nov.). Chaetotaxy of the frontal part of the head and abdomen is reduced in both species.

Mathematical Modeling and Review of Pine Wilt Disease

Pine Wilt Disease (PWD), caused by the pinewood nematode (PWN) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, causes significant losses in coniferous forests in eastern Asia, including Japan, China, and South Korea, as well as western Europe, including Portugal. The results of the research papers given at the International Symposium on Pine Wilt Disease (IUFRO Working Party Meeting 4.04.03) in Nanjing, China, in July 2009 are summarized in this article. The basic themes discussed included pine wilt disease (PWD), the pinewood nematode (PWN) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, and other PWN-associated microorganisms that play a significant role in PWD, such as bacteria (e.g., Pseudomonas fluorescens). The majority of the papers are based on PWD-PWN research in East Asia and Russia. The following are some of the specific topics covered: 1) fundamental concepts of PWD development, 2) pathogenicity, 3) host-parasite relationships, including histopathology of diseased conifers and the role of toxins from bacteria-nematode ecto-symbionts, 4) PWN life cycle and transmission, 5) B. xylophilus dissemination models, 6) associations (with other nematodes), 7) diagnostics, 8) quarantine and control of the PWN and 9) biocontrol of the PWN.

Assessment of Net Erosion and Suspended Sediments Yield within River Basins of the Agricultural Belt of Russia

The SEA/Balance (soil erosion–accumulation balance) model and the WATEM/SEDEM model both mapping the erosion–accumulation budget of sediment within river basins were tested for 11 river basins of the eastern Russian Plain. The dynamics of river sediment yield were evaluated within one of the river basins. The analysis is based on observations of suspended sediment yield in test river basins with an area ranging from 100 to 1500 km2. The maps of the average annual erosion–accumulative budget of sediment were constructed using two methods, making it possible to quantitatively assess the amount of sediment yield from the catchment area for the river basins under study. The WATEM/SEDEM model and the author’s SEA/Balance model were used for sediment yield estimation. The results of calculation using the WATEM/SEDEM model have an average bias of +11% compared to observed suspended sediment yield. The corresponding value in the case of the SEA/Balance model application is −29%. SEA/Balance model assessment sediment yield dynamics for the Sterlya river basin show an 11 percent reduction. It is possible to conclude that the proposed method of SEA/Balance can be applied to river basins of the agricultural zone of the east Russian Plain.

Extreme wind speeds analysis using extended wind rose based on statistic methods

The extreme wind speed is a big problem in the design of buildings and structures, especially for unique building and structures. But modern Russian building codes prescribe taking into account regular winds only. Meanwhile, exactly extreme wind speed cost the most damage to constructions. The paper offers a statistic extreme wind speed analyses with Methodology for testing the statistical significance between different wind speeds and directions. At the first step the presence of a relationship between extreme wind speeds and directions is investigated based on the chi-square statistic. If there is this type of correlation, the extended wind rose for the extreme wind speed is being built. Two examples of using this technique for two different Russian regions (Moscow were extreme wind speeds are rare, and Far East of Russia were extreme wind speed are regular). The recommendation for building stage at this regions was given.