Large Russian Cities Research Articles

Methods of Parametricism in the architecture of children’s supplementary education facilities

The purpose of this article is to show the problem of design and construction of art schools in large Russian cities. The absence of attractive solutions of facades does not mark out the schools of arts from the mass of urban development. To solve the posed problem there are presented the possibilities of using the methods of parametric architecture for designing schools of art by computer modeling. By using unique room layouts, interesting planning the territory of buildings, unusual types of facades, it is possible to get children’s attention to such a type of schools, to motivate them to study here and to get new experience in their chosen field of activity. The authors examined the methodology of architectural design and the concept of parametricism as a modern way of modelling architectural space. We have analyzed some parametric design methods. Artificial intelligence and modern computer technology introduce a number of fundamentally new methods of parametric and compositional design. The application of parametric modelling methods is shown on the example of art school’s design-project to prepare children for admission to architecture or art high schools.

Комплексное развитие территорий: современное состояние и проблемы реализации

Resources for territorial development of Russian cities are exhausted in modern conditions of urbanization. The issue of complex development of territories by solving the problems of resettlement of residents from dilapidated and unfit housing, creation of urban space that meets the modern needs of citizens is acute for local governments. One of the modern mechanisms for managing these processes are integrated territorial develop-ment projects. This mechanism has become the flagship of changes in the urban space of large Russian cities in almost half of the subjects of the Russian Federation. The aim of the study is to systematize the main features of the current state and problems of application of integrated territorial development in Russian cities. The analysis in the article reflects the desire of the city authorities to get rid of the old "problematic" development in favor of modern infrastructure blocks, within the boundaries of which all conditions for the comfortable life of citizens will be created. The article is based on the results of the methodological and statistical analysis of the main trends in the complex development of territories. The weak involvement of residents in the decision-making process of complex development of territories leads to social tensions, formation of social and economic risks in the process of transformation of the urban environment.

Особенности протестной активности в городах-миллионниках на примере Екатеринбурга

The article attempts to use the example of a large Russian city (Yekaterinburg) to reveal two components of protest: “real” and electoral. The features of large cities that cause protest activity are analyzed. It is estimated how the political history of Yekaterinburg influenced the formation of the political culture of the city's residents and the format of their political activity. The analysis of protest activity of Yekaterinburg residents over the past two years is carried out, as a result of which protest activity is classified into four categories: urban planning protest; protest against restrictive measures imposed in the region in connection with the spread of COVID-19; protest against the increase in tariffs for housing and communal services, and other protest topics. Based on electoral statistics, including the presidential elections of the Russian Federation (2018), the All-Russian vote on the approval of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation (2020), the elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation (2021), the elections of deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk region (2021), the elections of the Governor of the Sverdlovsk region (2022) are made conclusions about the peculiarities of electoral behavior of Yekaterinburg residents. The strategies and forms of electoral protest are determined. As a result, the proven methodological approach can be used to analyze the specifics of the electoral protest of individual territories and regions of the Russian Federation.

Metabolic Transformations in the Area of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Russian Megalopolises: The City of Moscow Case

Based on secondary data analysis and semi-structured expert interviews (n = 90), the study analyses metabolic transformations in the area of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Russian megalopolises using the city of Moscow as a case study. The findings suggest that the key node that triggered numerous interdependent processes involved the changes introduced in the legislation on MSW management and the decision to shut down several large MSW landfills without the simultaneous implementation of other landfills. These actions affected the health of the population and contributed to environmental inequality. The authors provide recommendations for the mitigation of risks associated with MSW generation, recycling, and storage in large Russian cities.

Migration processes in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania since 2018 early 2022

The issues of studying migration processes are particularly relevant at the present time. In this paper, the author tried to explore migration processes and analyze the impact of migration on the socio-demographic situation in the republic. The purpose of this study is to identify migration processes in North Ossetia-Alania from 2018 to early 2022. The author examined the impact of migration on socio-economic processes, statistical data on population migration, population statistics in North Ossetia-Alania and mortality and birth rate statistics, and many others. In this study, the following research methods are used: theoretical analysis of statistics for the Russian Federation and North Ossetia-Alania, the study of recent studies and publications on this topic. Currently, a big problem is the outflow of migrants in North Ossetia-Alania to other cities of the Russian Federation and the country. Young people tend to move to large cities in Russia or go to foreign countries where there are more opportunities for professional development and career growth. In 2022, the unemployment rate in North Ossetia-Alania decreased and 2 700 people were employed. Reduce the unemployment rate in the republic in 2022. succeeded thanks to the program "Promoting employment of the population" and national projects. There is also a difficult demographic situation in the republic. In recent years, the death rate has exceeded the birth rate. Migration processes do not contribute to population growth, since much more people leave the republic than come. In conclusion, the author proposed some measures to solve this problem.

Влияние урбанизации на уровень жизни населения в России

Urbanization has a significant impact on the development of human civilization. At the same time, the way civilization develops generates urbanization. The growth of large million-plus cities is changing the quality and style of life of an individual, family, household, as well as society, region and country. Large urban formations in modern conditions are both a consequence and indicator of the development of a country and the engine of its economic development. The greater the number and size of urban agglomerations and the faster their growth, the faster economic growth occurs. Under the conditions of urbanization, the structure of household incomes and expenditures, average wage and other factors affecting the standard of living of the population are changing. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between individual aspects of the standard of living of the population in large cities of Russia. In particular, the dependence of the average wage and the purchasing power of the population on the size of the city’s population is considered. The article provides a more detailed analysis of the purchasing power of the population in the 15 largest cities of Russia and the degree of its dependence on the size of the city, as well as its growth rate. The relationship of urbanization with other factors affecting the standard of living of the population during the period of constant reform of the country’s economy has been studied. The analysis carried out is the basis for further forecasting of changes in the standard of living of the population and other aspects that affect household finances. The findings of the study make it possible to understand in general the main changes in the standard of living of the population in the conditions of urbanization, and sometimes deurbanization. The study was carried out on the basis of official statistical data of Rosstat, analysis of materials and works of other authors carrying out scientific activities in this direction.

Генетическое тестирование в практиках заботы о здоровье (по материалам эмпирического исследования)

The article contains the results obtained during an empirical study of health care practices among people of a large Russian city implemented in a combined strategy in 2020–2021. Our focus remains on the reference of citizens to the procedure of DNA diagnostics as a novel instrument of health-saving behavior and attitude to genetic knowledge in general. The obtained data allow concluding that genetic testing is not widely popular among population today, as only 9,5% of those interviewed have ever done it. DNA diagnostics is more frequently used by young women and men with high income and don’t trusting modern medicine, which probably reflects the actual condition of the market of genetic services in our country. Apart from financial possibilities, involvement into consumer genomics is influenced by insufficient trust in DNA information, and suspecting that players on the market of genetic services obtain economic profit. However, the most important argument against it consists in the discovered discrepancy between perception of genetic data as something inevitable and currently popular ideology of healthy lifestyle, meaning that a person can influence the outcome of the efforts made. As a result, research participants are not willing to become the everlasting ‘patients-in-waiting’ even in case of existing symptoms, but implement their ‘right not to know’. Under these conditions, an important task includes organization of active promoting awareness that unlocks potential, capabilities and limitations of genetic diagnostics.

The Party of People’s Distrust: The Roots of Electoral Success of the Communists in 2021

Abstract After the 2021 State Duma elections, the Communist Party of Russia Federation (KPRF) re-appeared on the Russian political landscape as a new political force with new faces and creative local campaigns. How and why were the communists being treated by most of the analysts and voters as systemic and rather passive opposition successfully accumulated political resistance and grievances at the polls in September 2021? In this study, we argue that mobilization against the pension reform in 2018 proved to be the crucial determinant of the electoral outcomes three years later. The latter provides evidence that protests bring about long-term consequences on voting behavior not only in democracies, but also in autocratic states. We rely on the original dataset on protests in 381 large Russian cities (more than 20,000 residents) that took place in Summer-Fall 2018 merged with the electoral data of the Duma elections in 2016 and 2021.

Online queries as a criterion for evaluating epidemiological status and effectiveness of COVID-19 control measures in Russia: results from Yandex.Wordstat analysis

ObjectivesAssessment of the significance of online queries regarding smell impairment to evaluate the epidemiological status and effectiveness of COVID-19 epidemic control measures using levofloxacin as an example.SettingThere are 81 regions...

What the youth of a large Russian city knows and thinks about vandalism: the case of Yekaterinburg

The article is devoted to the analysis of the dominant public opinion of Russian urban youth about vandalism and its forms of manifestation. The author notes that the current practice of research in social and humanitarian science is mainly focused on the analysis of specific cases of vandalism and the motivation of its subjects, while the specifics of mass representations of young people about this phenomenon remains poorly understood. Referring to the data of his own sociological research, the author seeks to take a step in overcoming this imbalance and establish the dominant attitude of Russian urban youth to the phenomenon of vandalism. The hypothesis of the work is that the ground for the spread of youth vandalism is largely created by the superficiality and flexibility of the attitude of the mass youth audience to this phenomenon. The analysis carried out in the course of the study shows that this hypothesis turned out to be fair. It was found that vandalism as a phenomenon causes mass condemnation of young people only at the level of abstract judgments, while the real attitude of young people to processes in urban space turns out to be flexible. Many young people have an extremely narrow idea of what vandalism is, and do not consider a number of destructive activities in urban space to be its manifestations. This space itself is not perceived as inviolable: the possibility of unauthorized transformations in it does not cause mass rejection of young people. And already existing vandal damage is often simply not noticed. In general, the analysis showed that educational activities should be no less important vector of prevention of youth vandalism than the existing areas of such work.

Assessment of radon levels in multistory buildings on example of eight Russian cities

In this work, the results of radon concentration measurements in samples of multi-storey apartment buildings in eight large cities of Russia are analyzed. Two samples, depending on the year of construction of the building – before and after 2000, were formed in each city on the basis of a quasi-random approach. Radon concentration measurements were performed using radon radiometers equipped with the CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detector. In the flats of multi-storey buildings, two radiometers were installed and flat’s average radon concentration was calculated. The exposure period for the radon radiometers was three months. To estimate the average annual radon concentration, seasonal coefficients calculated for the primary radon entry from building materials were used. In total, radon concentration measurements were carried out in 1032 flats. It was assumed that the combined sample for the cities of Ekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, and Chelyabinsk is representative for the multi-storey buildings in non-capital cities of Russia. The following arithmetic mean annual radon concentrations were obtained in samples of houses built up before and after 2000, respectively: Moscow – 17 and 21 Bq/m3; St. Petersburg – 15 and 25 Bq/ m3, the group of non-capital cities – 25 and 31 Bq/m3. Taking into account the contribution of each group of buildings to the general urban housing stock, the parameters characterizing the radon concentration in multi-storey multi-apartment urban buildings in Russia were calculated as follows: arithmetic mean 25 Bq/ m3; geometric mean 21 Bq/m3; the geometric standard deviation is 1.81. In general, exposure to indoor radon in multi-storey urban buildings in Russia is low both in terms of average value and range of concentrations. There is a tendency towards an increase in indoor radon exposure of the population in new buildings, which is associated with the introduction of construction technologies that increase the energy efficiency of buildings.

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ СОВРЕМЕННОГО ОБЩЕСТВЕННО-РЕКРЕАЦИОННОГО ПРОСТРАНСТВА ВДОЛЬ Р. СЕВЕРСКИЙ ДОНЕЦ В Г. БЕЛГОРОД

The article is devoted to the prospects for the development of the river Seversky Donets in Belgorod. In modern conditions of urban life, one of the most pressing problems of architecture and urban planning is the organization of new public and recreational spaces, as well as the reconstruction of degrading urban areas. In connection with the active development of riverside territories, various components of the natural environment undergo serious changes in many domestic and foreign cities. Therefore, when designing these public spaces, it is necessary to create new architectural and landscape components as integrated as possible into the natural environment. The embankments of cities are considered the most accessible places for recreation for citizens, however, in most large cities of Russia, access to the river is cut off from residential and social and cultural areas of the city. The main tasks that need to be solved when designing this type of territories are the preservation and restoration of the environment, as well as the creation of comfortable conditions for human life and leisure. Its highly urbanized environment negatively affects the psycho-emotional and physical state of citizens. Analyzing domestic and foreign existing embankments, we can conclude that the problem of creating a comfortable and accessible environment for citizens remains relevant for most modern cities. The article identifies the main problems of the riverine territory of the embankment of the river Seversky Donets. The analysis of the territory of the proposed development is carried out and a design solution is proposed for creating a new recreational space for year-round use in Belgorod.

Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

The relevance of the study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be explained by the persistence of unfavorable dynamics of the disease, even despite the achieved success in the pharmacotherapy of this pathology. In 2016, World Health Organization (WHO) ranked COPD as the third leading cause of death worldwide, far exceeding the experts' predictions, who believed that such an increase in the death rate would occur by 2030. This study aimedto determine the level of senior medical students' knowledge in the management of patients with COPD, based on the method of anonymous questioning.This research work describes the results of the second stage of the ASCO project (Assessment of Senior Medical Students in the Field of COPD) conducted in 2017-2019 among 338 senior medical students from six large cities of Russia and Ukraine. The survey revealed the average level of knowledge among senior medical students, based on the average level of correct answers (56.6%) obtained in the study. The best results were obtained for the questions about COPD risk factors, influenza vaccine prevention, and pneumococcal vaccine prevention in COPD patients. The worst results were recorded on the questions about the severity of COPD clinical symptoms, the choice of initial therapy for COPD with advanced symptoms, a high risk of exacerbations, and the moderate exacerbation of COPD. The obtained results indicated an insufficient level of students' basic knowledge in questions regarding etiopathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of COPD.

Methods and mechanisms for stimulating and replicating hybrid systems and energy-saving technologies

The article analyzes the components of the energy structure based on carbon-free energy, shows the catalysts and risks. An assessment of the reserves for increasing the energy efficiency of large cities in Russia is presented on the example of the Moscow metropolis. The ranking of the technical and economic feasibility of introducing modern energy-saving technologies based on a large-scale analysis of projects implemented in Moscow is given. Revealed and assessed the magnitude of the effects of the main stakeholders of “green building”: city; investor and owner of premises; resident and tenant; specialist-designer, engineer, architect. Sectors are shown that are most expedient both from the point of view of the achieved effects, and from the point of view of achieving the maximum economic effect.

Staying Out of Trouble: Criminal Cases Against Russian Mayors

Although repression against elites is a common occurrence in authoritarian regimes, we know little about which elites are targeted. This paper uses an original dataset on the prosecution of mayors in large Russian cities to examine the factors that make elites more likely to be arrested. We argue that in electoral authoritarian regimes like Russia, regime leaders are reluctant to arrest popular officials. Such officials command political capital that is useful to the regime, and arrests of prominent officials can produce popular backlash. We examine this argument using an original dataset on all arrests of municipal leaders in Russia’s 221 largest cities between 2002 and 2018. We find that mayors who won their elections by large margins are less likely to be arrested. In addition, we document several other substantively important patterns: (1) a mayor’s professional background is not related to the likelihood of arrest, (2) opposition mayors are four times more likely to be arrested, and (3) mobilization of votes for the regime is not protective against arrest. JEL Classifications P16, P30, R59

Кратковременные и долговременные последствия коронавирусной инфекции для организма (обзор)

To date, according to the COVID-19 Data Repository by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University, there have been 250 million cases of the disease in the world, as well as 5.05 million deaths, which is almost equal to the population of the second largest city in Russia—Saint Petersburg. According to the current data, the leading countries in terms of patients infected and the number of deaths are the United States (46.4 million cases), India (34.4 million cases), Brazil (21.9 million), UK (9.3 million) and Russia (8.65). These statistics, among other factors, are attributed to high population density. The new coronavirus infection has led to a pandemic and has had physical, mental, psychological, social and economic consequences for the world population. To date, there is evidence of adverse effects of similar diseases caused by coronaviruses, namely, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The obtained data suggest that COVID-19 has a negative impact on various systems of the human body: respiratory, cardiovascular, immune, and nervous. Possible complications include encephalitis, toxic encephalopathy, acute demyelinating lesions. COVID-19 can also intensify pre-existing neurological conditions. The paper discusses short-term adverse health effects as well as the risk of potential long-term negative effects associated with COVID-19.

Драйверы формирования гражданской активности населения в муниципальных образованиях Российской Федерации

Introduction: population’s civic engagement can be considered as a predictor to the formation of a constructive dialogue with the authorities, the involvement of initiative residents in resolving issues of local importance. Objectives: to analyze the specifics of the civic engagement development at the local level, to determine the drivers of its formation. Methods: questionnaire survey of the Russian municipalities’ residents. The final sample, based on the principle of spontaneous selection, included municipalities from 32 Russian regions. Results: the key drivers of the population’s civic engagement were systematized, and their significance for various socio-demographic groups was determined. In particular, “having trusted leaders and organizers” is one of the key drivers for the older generation and youth. This need is more relevant in the public opinion of large cities residents. For the rural population, the most significant driver for civic engagement formation is “constructive dialogue and partnerships with local authorities”. The respondents show interest to various forms of support for social partnership practices, with the focus on legal and organizational aspects that ensure the articulation of the opinions and positions of residents, the protection of their rights and interests. It has been established that the population’s civic engagement has the highest potential for its formation in large Russian cities. Conclusions: the heads of local governments have the greatest opportunities for the development of population’s civic engagement in comparison with other levels of government. The key task in this context is to build trust and reduce social distance between the municipality and residents, as well as to promote active leadership position and the readiness of local government leaders for a constructive dialogue with initiative residents, and to accumulate reputational capital of power.

Development of recommendations to popularize the idea of using public transport services by city residents

The development of the region’s economy and social sphere is promoted by the effective functioning of public transport, which contributes to the reduction of traffic jams as a result of the reduced use of personal vehicles; solving the problem of parking spaces in city centers; and reducing emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere. To find out the prospects of plans to introduce mechanisms of economic stimulation of the influx of the population in public transport, it is important to conduct research on the attitude of residents of large Russian cities to the possibility of abandoning the use of private cars as the main means of transportation in their municipalities. The purpose of the study is to develop recommendations to address the reasons that may make urban residents want to own and use private cars for their movements and to popularize the idea of using public transport services by urban residents. During the study a number of hypotheses were formulated, the confirmation or non-confirmation of which was checked in the analysis of the results of the sociological survey with the help of two- and three-dimensional tables. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that the developed recommendations to popularize the idea of using public transport services by city residents can be used by local authorities.

Dynamics of the Structure of the Public Transport Services Market in Tyumen During 2015 ... 2020: Gradual Centralization

The article is devoted to the study of the dynamics (2015 ... 2020) of the structure of the market of transport services for the population of a large Russian city – Tyumen. The basis for the assessment of the market structure was a pairwise comparison of the shares of traffic volumes and revenues from them, falling on the leader and outsider of the industry. It is established that over the past 6 years, the passenger transportation market in Tyumen has been largely centralized. Quantitatively, the leader of the passenger transportation market in Tyumen in 2020 provided 52 % of the total traffic volumes and extracted from this activity more than 55% of all the income of organized Сarriers.

МОДЕЛИ РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ КОНЦЕПЦИИ «УМНЫЙ ГОРОД» В СТРАТЕГИЯХ СОЦИАЛЬНО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОГО РАЗВИТИЯ КРУПНЫХ ГОРОДОВ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

The concept of "smart city" is one of the most popular in the practice of urban management around the world. It has been adopted at the federal management level as one of the leading ones for Russian cities. The problem lies in the objectification of the concept in the strategies of socio-economic development of cities. In addition, each concept, including the "smart city" has a variety of implementation models. There are technocratic (rating), triple, quarter spiral, etc. The purpose of the work is to determine the types of models for the implementation of the "smart city" concept in the strategies of socio-economic development of large Russian cities. The focus of the research is the model of the quarter spiral, which received its author's continuation and refinement as a subject through the strengthening of the nature of its sociality. To achieve this goal, a content analysis of the strategies of socio-economic development of cities in 20 major cities of the Russian Federation was carried out. As a result, it can be argued that the concept of a "smart city" is not represented in all strategies of large cities. Where it is stated, the prevailing type of model for the implementation of the concept is the triple helix model (consumer model). The presence of elements of the subject model in strategic documents seems promising.