Territory Of Mongolia Research Articles

Russian-Mongolian Border: Updating Checkpoints and Strengthening Infrastructure Connectivity

The article analyzes the changes on the border of Mongolia with Russia and examines the plans of the two states to develop border infrastructure. There is mutual high interest in modernizing checkpoints. On the one hand, Mongolia has identified the recovery of checkpoints as a key direction of the “New Revival Policy” being implemented. On the other hand, in the current geopolitical conditions, Russia pays great attention to the capabilities of land checkpoints in the east. The author emphasizes the high importance of the border crossings Kyakhta — Altanbulag and Naushki — Sukhbaatar, through which not only bilateral trade is carried out, but also transit goods, including containers on the China — Europe route and back. At the same time, the author notes that as road corridors develop on the territory of Mongolia, and in the future also railway ones, the importance of border crossings is expected to increase both along the western section of the Russian-Mongolian border (primarily Tashanta — Tsagaannuur crossing) and eastern (Solovyovsk — Ereentsav crossing). New transport corridors are important to ensure the transit of goods and the growing Russian-Mongolian trade. The importance of the Mongolian vector is growing not only in terms of ensuring the rapid transportation of goods, but also servicing passenger flows across the border — business and cultural ties are intensifying, and cross-border tourism is developing. Analyzing the ambitious infrastructure plans of Mongolia, the author concludes that favorable conditions has been created to strengthen the infrastructural connectivity of the countries, which is a key condition for the establishment of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor. Acknowledgements: In memory of Lyudmila Ivanovna Kondrashova, a dear scientific supervisor who inspired the study of not only China, but also Mongolia.

Картографирование и анализ транспорта Байкало-Монгольской Азии

The geographical location of the Baikal region has an important strategic role in the socioeconomic development of the country. Transport infrastructure is an integral part of the efficient functioning of all sectors of the economy. Of greater importance to transport is the fact that the main highways of the region are part of the transport corridors between Asia and Europe. Mapping of transport in Baikal-Mongolian Asia is intended to help in researching the problems of optimal economically balanced development of the region. The semantic classification of the cartographic signs of the transport systems of the region was created to streamline the display of all objects, processes, phenomena and interactions of the transport complex. Using this classification, a database of transport indicators of the regions was formed, which were included in the cartographic information system of the Baikal region. On the basis of this database, a transport map of Baikal-Mongolian Asia was created, which covers the Baikal region and the territory of Mongolia within the basin of Lake Baikal. Using the created maps, as well as other literary and statistical sources, an analysis of the transport of Baikal-Mongolian Asia was carried out. This analysis led to the conclusion that the southern most developed and populated areas of the Baikal region and the central part of Mongolia have a developed transport network. The northern regions of the Baikal region and the western part of Mongolia are poorly developed, with a low density of roads. In the future, transport mapping is intended to assist in solving the problems of the socio-economic development of the region.

ВНЕШНЕТОРГОВОЕ СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВО МОНГОЛИИ И СИБИРСКИХ РЕГИОНОВ

The study is devoted to identifying the sectoral and geographical structures of foreign trade cooperation between Mongolia and Russia in general and Siberian regions in particular. The paper shows the fundamental role of exports of the mining sector products for the modern economy of Mongolia. The share and place of Russia in the structure of commodity deliveries of Mongolia are indicated. These indicators are also provided in relation to China. The history of foreign economic relations between Russia and Mongolia in recent decades is traced, emerging difficulties have been identified. The role of Siberia in the structure of Russian-Mongolian foreign trade cooperation and the dynamics of its share in recent years are shown. The share and value indicators of trade turnover and the main commodity groups of exports and imports of Mongolia and each Siberian region have been calculated. More detailed attention is given to the regions being leaders in the structure of the Siberian-Mongolian cooperation in terms of both exports and imports. The ways of commodity communication between Mongolia and Siberia are explained. The problem areas of the foreign trade cooperation have been identified: disproportions in the structure of the Siberian-Mongolian trade turnover; one-sidedness of the commodity nomenclature of deliveries from Mongolia; instable prospects for joint trade turnover. The issues of the Mongolian economy’s vulnerability in the context of the country’s current foreign economic model are outlined. Taking into account the geopolitical situation that has changed in 2022, the paper proposes several promising ways of interaction between Mongolia and Russia in general and Siberian regions in particular. Particular attention is on the supply of food products, the expansion of Mongolia’s railway network, the need to increase the processing depth for exported raw materials, the unification of the energy systems of Siberia and Mongolia, the project of the Power of Siberia-2 (Soyuz Vostok) gas pipeline, the creation of an international transport corridor, as well as issues of geological exploration in the territory of Mongolia.

Исследование зарубежного опыта охраны всемирного наследия (на примере Национального парка «Эверглейдс»)

The article makes up for the lack of scientific attention to the practice of fulfilling international obligations for the protection of World Heritage sites abroad, an in–depth analysis of which is carried out, first of all, in the framework of considering ways to overcome the threatening state of the Baikal ecosystem, the implementation of the plans of the Mongolian government to erect a cascade of hydraulic structures on the main tributary of Lake Baikal – the transboundary Selenga River within the territory of Mongolia. Everglades National Park was chosen as the object of research. The choice of this specially protected natural area is due, among other things, to the fact that this object has twice been included in the List of World Heritage in Danger, and is in it at the time of the creation of this article, while being included in the Montreux Record. The subject of the study is the practice of legal protection of the specified world Heritage site by the mechanisms of the Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Based on the study of foreign scientific literature, as well as the original texts of legal documents, the main problems threatening the ecosystem of the Everglades National Park, as well as the importance of the activities of the World Heritage Committee in its preservation, are considered. Separately, the influence of internal political processes in the United States on the exclusion and re-inclusion of an object located on the territory of the state in the List of World Heritage under Threat is noted. According to the results of the study, effective economic and legal mechanisms for the protection of unique natural objects are identified, which can potentially be used in the Russian Federation to solve the problems of protecting the ecosystem of Lake Baikal (purchase of land plots by the state; inclusion of objects in the List of World Heritage under threat, etc.).

Religious processes on the territory of Mongolia (Based on the results of sociological research)

The article presents the results of a sociological study conducted by the Russian-Mongolian project in 2020 on the territory of Mongolia. In the course of the study, an attempt was made to assess the religious situation on the territory of Mongolia and to identify the degree of involvement of the country's residents in religious life, as well as their perception of state confessional policy. The sample of the study is 362 people. At the same time, the number of respondents included a significant number of respondents who came to Ulan-Bator to study or work from different parts of the country. However, 46% of respondents visit places of worship very rarely, and 22% do not observe any religious rites at all. This fact indicates a rather weak involvement of respondents in religious life, including the Buddhist sangha. Research has shown that Buddhism is the predominant denomination in Mongolia, which is considered as part of the national culture of the Mongolian people. The State is taking measures to support the Buddhist institute as an element of national identity. These measures lead to the popularization of Buddhism among the population of Mongolia. According to respondents, an important role in building interfaith dialogue should be played by the state, whose task is to control the activities of religious organizations. It is established that stereotypes associated with religious traditions prevail in Mongolian society. Thus, the majority of respondents associate Islam with manifestations of extremism. At the same time, it should be noted that Mongolia is a country with a fairly low level of extremist worldview. The assessment of the development of the interfaith situation in Mongolia requires further observation.
 Монгол Улсын нутаг дэвсгэр дээрх шашны үйл явц (социологийн судалгааны үр дүнгээр)
 Энэхүү өгүүлэлд Орос-Монголын хамтарсан төслөөс 2020-2021 онд Монгол Улсын нутаг дэвсгэрт хийсэн социологийн судалгааны үр дүнг танилцуулж байна. Судалгааны явцад Монгол Улсын нутаг дэвсгэр дэх шашны нөхцөл байдалд үнэлэлт дүгнэлт өгөх, тус улсын иргэд шашны үйл ажиллагаанд хэрхэн оролцож байгаа болон төрөөс явуулж буй шашны бодлого ямар байгааг тодорхойлох оролдлого хийсэн. Судалгаанд 362 хүн хамрагдав. Үүний зэрэгцээ судалгаанд Монгол Улсын өнцөг булан бүрээс Улаанбаатар хотод суралцах, ажиллахаар ирсэн хүмүүсийг түүвэрлэн багтаасан болно. Буддын шашин бол Монголын ард түмний үндэсний соёлын нэг хэсэг, монголчуудын шүтдэг зонхилох шашин гэдгийг судлаачид тогтоодог. Буддын шашны сүм хийдийг үндэсний өвөрмөц соёлын нэг хэсэг болгон дэмжих арга хэмжээг төрөөс авч хэрэгжүүлдэг. Эдгээр арга хэмжээ нь Монгол дахь Буддын шашны зонхилох байр суурийг хадгалахад чиглэж байгаа юм.
 Судалгаанд оролцогчдын үзэж байгаагаар шашин хоорондын харилцан ойлголцлыг бий болгох үүднээс шашны байгууллагуудын үйл ажиллагаанд хяналт тавих нь төрийн чухал үүрэг байх ёстой. Монголын нийгэмд шашны уламжлалтай холбоотой хэвшмэл ойлголт давамгайлж байгаа нь тодорхой байна. Тиймээс судалгаанд оролцогчдын дийлэнх нь шашны туйлшралын илрэлийг гол төлөв Исламын шашинтай холбож үзжээ. Нөгөө талаар, Монгол Улсад ертөнцийг үзэх хэт туйлширсан өрөөсгөл үзэл харьцангуй бага гэдгийг тэмдэглэн хэлэх хэрэгтэй. Гэхдээ Монгол дахь шашин хоорондын харилцааны нөхцөл байдлын өрнөлийг үнэлэхэд цаашид ажиглалт судалгаа хийх шаардлагатай байгаа юм.
 Tүлхүүр үгс: соёлын амьдрал, буддын шашин, шашны уламжлал, шашны туйлшрал, үндэсний соёл

New findings in the flora of Mongolia. Part 2

New data on the distribution of 40 species from the families Asteraceae, Cystopteridaceae, Dryopteridaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae, and Woodsiaceae in Mongolia are presented in the article. For the first time, Centaurea cyanus, Cystopteris almaatensis, Potentilla × habievii, Potentilla salsa, and Potentilla smirnovii are indicated for the flora of the country. 19 species previously known in the flora of Mongolia are new for its separate botanical and geographical regions. Of these, 7 taxa were found for the first time in the Khuvsgul, 5 – in the Khovd, 4 – in the Gobi Altai and 3 – in the Mongolian Altai regions, 2 each – in the Khangai, Khentei, and Dzungarian Gobi, 1 – in the Middle Khalkha. New locations were registered for 19 rare and endemic species of the study region. There are narrow local national endemics: Potentilla coriacea, P. inopinata, P. laevipes, and P. schmakovii, among them. The findings are divided into three groups in the article. Comments about the range, relationships and main morphological differences are given for each species. Photographic materials of Potentilla salsa made in nature on the territory of Mongolia are demonstrated for the first time.

Религиозные процессы на территории Монголии (по результатам социологического исследования)

The article presents the results of a sociological study conducted by the Russian-Mongolian project in 2020 on the territory of Mongolia. In the course of the study, an attempt was made to assess the religious situation on the territory of Mongolia and to identify the degree of involvement of the country's residents in religious life, as well as their perception of state confessional policy. The sample of the study is 362 people. At the same time, the number of respondents included a significant number of respondents who came to study or work from different parts of the country. 73% of respondents believe that a person needs to be a believer. However, 46% of respondents visit places of worship very rarely, and 22% do not observe any religious rites at all. This fact indicates a rather weak involvement of respondents in religious life, including the Buddhist sangha. Research has shown that Buddhism is the predominant denomination in Mongolia, which is considered as part of the national culture of the Mongolian people. The State is taking measures to support the Buddhist institute as an element of national identity. These measures lead to the popularization of Buddhism among the population of Mongolia. According to respondents, an important role in building interfaith dialogue should be played by the state, whose task is to control the activities of religious organizations. It is established that stereotypes associated with religious traditions prevail in Mongolian society. Thus, the majority of respondents associate Islam with manifestations of extremism. At the same time, it should be noted that Mongolia is a country with a fairly low level of extremist worldview. The assessment of the development of the interfaith situation in Mongolia requires further observation. A fairly large percentage of respondents noted that the interfaith situation in Mongolia cannot be considered absolutely stable. The strengthening of the Buddhist Sangha in the political and cultural life of the country requires an assessment of its role in building interfaith relations in the region.

On the crossing: russian mongolian archaeologist Vitaly Volkov (rememberence-cum-article)

The research activity of Vitaly Volkov (1933–2000) was unusual in the sense that all of it took place outside the USSR, in Mongolia. His contributions to the Mongolian archaeology were also unique: a typology of the steles with stylized images of deer (most of them are located on the territory of Mongolia and more than 400 were discovered and described by Volkov); the excavations of the Scythian burial ground of the 5th – 3rd centuries BC near to Ulangom; the discovery of the first Aeneolithic burial sites in Mongolia; the primary fixation and interpretation of petroglyphs in the canyon of the river Chuluut dating back to the third – the end of the second millennium BC, with many previously unseen rock carvings. Volkov’s life experience is no less valuable than his scientific legacy. From the age of eight, he was brought up in the family of his stepfather Bazaryn Shirendyb, an outstanding Mongolian historian and public figure, the first president of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and a man of remarkable personal qualities. Such a culturally syncretic school of personal formation taught Volkov not to measure the social environment of another culture with the usual standards, but to live in it. He was a rare type of person who, not caring about status distance, at the same time arouses deep respect. And knowing Mongolia as none of the foreigners who visited it, he never looked at Mongolian culture and the people who shared it from the position of an “elder brother”.

Artemisia of Inner Asia: species diversity, essential oils’ composition and practical use

Genus Artemisia is one of the large multispecies genera of the Asteraceae family in the Siberian flora. In the arid and subarid zones of the Holarctic, wormwoods are often the dominant plant community. On the territory of Buryatia there are 47 species of Artemisia, on the territory of Mongolia – 102, and on the Qinghai territory – 54. The genus Artemisia L., growing in Buryatia, Mongolia and Qinghai belongs to three subgenera, of which the subgenus Artemisia is the most widely widespread. The subgenus Seriphidium is more prevalent in Mongolia (16 species), rather than in Buryatia or Qinghai (2 species in each territory). The territories of Buryatia, Mongolia and Qinghai have 13 common species of Artemisia. Among the plants belonging to the genus Artemisia, 40 species grow in both Buryatia and Mongolia at the same time, 22 – in Mongolia and Qinghai, 14 – in Buryatia and Qinghai. The component composition of essential oils is formed as a result of the influence of abiotic and biotic factors of the environment on the plant during its growth. It ensures the best adaptation of the plant to the conditions of particular location. Many species of wormwoods have an important practical value, with a potential to be used in medicine, functional nutrition, food industry, and also as fodder, technical and decorative plants.

Vaccination of cattle in the system of antiepizootic measures in Buryatia

On the territory of the Republic of Buryatia, six nosological forms of infectious diseases have epizootic significance among cattle. The most widespread are leptospirosis, rabies, and isolated cases of pasteurellosis. Natural foci of rabies were formed, confined to the environmental conditions of the neighboring territories of Mongolia and the TRANS-Baikal territory. Epizootic process tends to polyhostal manifestation with the threat of expanding the focus and complicating the epidemic situation in the entire region of Siberia and the Far East. In 2018 169 heads of cattle were identified with a positive reaction to leptospirosis in 13 administrative districts. Preventive immunization of animals with the control of immunity tension in areas with a high risk of introduction of infectious diseases is the basis for maintaining epizootic well-being throughout the region.

Taxonomic revision of the family Geraniaceae in the flora of Mongolia

The species composition of the Geraniaceae family in the flora of Mongolia is revised as a result of a critical study of collections of the Herbarium of V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute RAS (LE), the D. P. Syreischikov Herbarium of Biological Faculty of Moscow State University (MW), the N. V. Tzitzin of the Main Botanical Garden (MHA), of the M. G. Popov Herbarium of Central Siberian Botanical Garden (NSK), of the I. M. Krasnoborov Herbarium of Central Siberian Botanical Garden (NS), Herbarium of the Tomsk State University (TK), Herbarium of the South Siberian Botanical Garden (ALTB), Herbarium of the Institute of General and Experimental Biology of the Academy of Sciences of Mongolia (UBA), of the Martin-Luther University Herbarium (HAL), and own gatherings. The species Geranium pamiricum Ikonn. is identified for the first time in the flora of Mongolia. The areas of some species are clarified; maps of distribution over the territory of Mongolia are given.

Estimating spatial distribution of aridity and moisture indices of Mongolia using remotely sensed time series data

The aim of this study is to estimate the spatial distribution of aridity and moisture indices using remotely sensed time-series data. For the analysis, we have chosen two simple climatic indices. One of two indices was the De Martonne aridity index, and the other one was the Mezentsev moisture index. The study area covers the total territory of Mongolia (~1.566 × 106 km2). Both indices could be estimated from meteorological station-based air temperature and precipitation. However, meteorological station-based recorded precipitation and temperature data with long coverage are only available from a limited number of stations with insufficient spatial coverage. In other words, these datasets suffer from uneven geographic coverage, with many areas of the Earth poorly represented. In this study, therefore, we have used satellite-derived temperature and precipitation data. Monthly mean air temperature has been estimated from MODIS LSTd, LSTn, and elevation using RF regression. Precipitation data has been extracted from Climate Hazards Group Infra-Red Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) datasets. CHIRPS is gauge-satellite combined precipitation data. Based on De Martonne and Mezensev formulas, and satellite-derived meteorological data, spatial distribution maps of aridity and moisture indices in Mongolia were generated. The study result showed that aridity was observed in all areas of southern Mongolia, and some areas in the west, and grassland areas in the east, which is largely included in the dry steppe, desert-steppe, and gobi desert zones. Moisture was observed in the forest and forest-steppe areas in north, central, northeastern, and eastern Mongolia. A comparison of the aridity index and moisture index shows the following: of the total territory, aridity is 31.9:31.4 percent, humidity 14.7:13.4 percent respectively. Dry steppe, desert steppe, and Gobi desert zones are extremely sensitive to water resource variability and availability.

Отражение внутрисистемного конфликта в Монголии

The article deals with the issue of Mongolia's foreign policy during the Cold War. This period is divided into two parts. The first period, 1945-1960s, is a period of conflict between two systems: socialism and capitalism. In this first period of the Cold War Mongolia managed to establish diplomatic relations with socialist countries of Eastern Europe, as the “system allowed”. The second period, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, is the period of the conflict of the socialist system, the period of the Soviet-Chinese confrontation. During this period Mongolia's foreign policy changed dramatically and focused on the Soviet Union. This was due to the Soviet investment «boom» that began in 1960s and the entry of Soviet troops on the territory of Mongolia in 1967. The Soviet military intervention into Mongolia was one of the main reasons for cooling the Soviet-Chinese relations. And military withdrawal contributed to the improvement of Soviet-Chinese relations until the mid-1980s and one of the conditions for improving relations with their neighbors. The internal systemic conflict had a serious impact on Mongolia's foreign policy over those years.

Петроглифы раннего Средневековья на территории Монголии: основные этапы и результаты исследований

the territory of Mongolia. The process of accumulation and diverse interpretation of information about rock paintings, as well as images on “memorial” objects dating back to the second half of the 1st millennium AD is characterized. The analysis of the main results of the study of the petroglyphs of the early medieval nomads of the region allowed the authors to identify several key stages in the history of their study. The first stage, within which the initial formation of the source base took place, is associated with the discovery and fixation at the end of the 19th century of stylized images of goats, carried out as a rule in the study of epigraphic sites. The beginning of the second stage coincides with the large-scale archaeological research that took place in Mongolia in the middle of the 20th century. The third stage, which began in the mid-1970s, marked the expansion of scientists’ ideas about the rock art of the population of Mongolia in the second half of the 1st millennium AD, as well as the identification of various pictorial layers in it. Within the framework of the modern period (since the mid-1990s), approaches to the study of early medieval petroglyphs are being improved, new sites are being discovered, as well as a more detailed study of already known complexes. The article contains images recorded during the field research of the authors as part of the Buyant Russian-Mongolian archaeological expedition. Keywords: Mongolia, petroglyphs, early Middle Ages, history of research, periodization Acknowledgements: The research was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the Ministry of Culture, Education, Science and Sports of Mongolia in the framework of the scientific project No. 19–59–44013 “Historical, Cultural and Ethnogenetic Processes in Mongolia during the Great Migration and the Early Middle Ages: an Interdisciplinary Analysis of Archaeological and Written Sources”.

Возникновение микролитического производства в Монголии: исследовательская терминология и хроностратиграфическая позиция индустрий в верхнем палеолите восточной и южной части Азии

Territory of Mongolia is situated in the center of Asia, a crossroad of the potential migration routes, that connect different Eurasian macroregions. Here an example of earliest appearance and longterm existence of small blade and microblade production has been found. Beyond that, the industries, that appeared within limited area of the Middle Selenga Basin in the late MIS3 — early MIS2, contained the earliest for Northern and Central Asia geometric and non-geometric microliths. They have been found in the sediments of Kharganyn Gol 5 and Tolbor-4, — 16 and –21. They end up in LGM — post- LGM which cause depopulation in the region and following changes in the human groups, occupying this territory. An understanding of the character, causes and specifics of such early appearance of the microblade and bladelet production, and especially geometric microliths, impose the arrangement and definition of the terminology, associated with microlithic assemblages in Asia. This is due to the fact that in the archaeological definitions of both processes and the desired forms of artifacts associated with the production and use of microliths, there are significant discrepancies that complicate the understanding of the described phenomena. The article provides an overview of the research terminology of microlithization processes, and also determines the position of the microlithic complexes of Mongolia in the Upper Paleolithic system of the eastern part of Asia. Keywords: Mongolia, East Asia, Upper Paleolithic, lithic industries, microlithic technology

ИННОВАЦИОННОЕ РАЗВИТИЕ ТЕПЛОЭНЕРГЕТИКИ РЕГИОНА: ЭКОЛОГО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИЙ АСПЕКТ

The article deals with topical issues of innovative modernization of the electric power complex of the Baikal region. The region includes the territories of the Irkutsk Region, Buryatia and a significant part of the territory of Mongolia within the boundaries of the lake catchment system. Baikal. It is noted that the economic landscape of the Baikal region is formed largely due to the presence of the Angara cascade of hydroelectric power plants and is known as one of the largest producers of electricity. At the same time, the further development of hydrogenation is limited by the level of technological development and the need to protect the biodiversity of the territory. It is noted that at present the ecosystem of the Angara River is significantly disturbed, in connection with which the development of alternative types of electric generation, such as coal-fired power and the use of renewable energy sources, is considered expedient. The high resource potential of the territory, namely the presence of significant coal reserves, contribute to the development of thermal energy, but since this is associated with high environmental risks, the development of environmentally safe and economically feasible coal energy technologies comes to the fore. The paper examines the prospects and provides a brief ecological and economic assessment of innovations in the heat power industry of the region, through the use of coal-water fuel and generator gas - a product of coal gasification. The brief comparative analysis of traditional thermal power engineering and thermal power engineering based on innovative energy carriers carried out in the work demonstrates a sufficiently high efficiency of the considered energy technologies. The expediency of using these technologies is explained by the higher efficiency of the upgraded equipment and a much more sparing mode of impact on the unique ecosystem of the Baikal region, which confirms their high ecological and economic significance.

The area of the Nart in the toponymy of Mongolian

Despite the fact that the study of Alanian history in Mongolia and China has been going on for a century and a half, it has not been systematic until recently. Moreover, researchers traditionally focus on the Yuan period of the Alans’ presence in this territory. The longer period after the fall of the Yuan Empire in 1368 and up to the twentieth century remains poorly understood. So far, no direct traces of the Alans’ presence in Mongolia, who assimilated after the 17th century, have been found. This article is devoted to a small story related to the first identified traces of the cultural presence of the medieval Alans on the territory of Mongolia, which was the Northern part of the Yuan Empire. We are talking about the toponym Nart, identified on the ground thanks to the consultations of Mongolian researchers, in the area of recorded historical settlement of the Alans-Asas or Asuts, as they were called by the Mongols. The Nart area is located on the territory of the Gov-Sumbar aimag, in a semi-desert area dotted with natural rock outcrops that resemble cyclopean buildings made of huge and carefully fitted stone slabs, as if they were built by heroes. The name Nart does not have any semantic meaning in the Mongolian language, but it is lexically well connected with the heroes of the Scythian-Alanian epic, the bearers of which lived in this area in the late middle ages. This conclusion confirms the Iranian theory of the origin of the term nart, which raises it to the Iranian basis nara -, ‘male, man’, meaning’ warrior, hero, strongman, hero’ and contradicts the long-disputed Mongolian theory of the origin of the word nart from the Mongolian nara, ‘sun’, nar-tæ – ‘children of the sun’. The considered plot shows the prospects for further research that will reveal other traces of the Alans ‘ stay in Mongolia and China.

Mongolia in Rouran time: main aspects of the interpretation of archaeological materials

The paper concerns the materials of Rouran time obtained during excavations in the territory of Mongolia. The authors present a review of the history of research and interpretation of the sites of the second half of the 4th – the first half of the 6th centuries located in different parts of the country. The characteristic of the accompanying inventory from the complexes of the Rouran time is concerned and the dating for each object is proposed. The authors establish that wide analogies to finds from the burials of Mongolia are found in the sites of the Altai-Sayan region and Transbaikalia, as well as in the Syanbi and Kogure complexes of East Asia. In addition, western connections are clearly distinguished, apparently demonstrating the processes of the Great Migration period. The funeral rite recorded during the study of objects of the Rouran time is characterized by a high degree of variability of indicators. In general, the available materials reflect the existence of a heterogeneous society, which included various groups of the population, for a short time united in the Rouran kaganate.

Assessing the Anthropogenically Caused Pollution of Water Bodies Within the Selenga River Basin on the Territory of Mongolia and Russia

Presented are the results from studying the current state, modeling and forecasting of the transboundary transport of pollutants with the flow of the rivers within the Selenga river basin. The method for calculating the pollution coefficient was used to assess the degree of pollution of the Selenga river basin on the territories of Mongolia and the Republic of Buryatia (RF) on the linear sections of the river and its tributaries within the boundaries of the adjacent river sections according to data of state monitoring observation in both countries. Results from assessing the impact of economic entities located within the transboundary Selenga river basin on the streams according to the α-indicator of the pollution coefficient and subsequent ranking by four levels of pollution indicate that the catchment and Lake Baikal itself continue to be polluted by insufficiently treated wastewater from industrial enterprises and housing and communal services. Calculations showed that the aquatic ecosystems of the Kyakhtinka (Khiagt), Modonkul’ Selenga rivers in the border zone along the border of Russia and Mongolia in the area of Naushki – Sukhbaatar and Kyakhta ‒ Altanbulag, and in the area of the settlement of Novoselenginsk are most disturbed. On the territory of the Russian part of the basin, the Selenga river downstream, the degree of water pollution is increasing in the areas of industrial centers, such as Gusinoozersk and Ulan-Ude. The average indicator of the pollution coefficient as calculate for the Russian part of the Selenga river basin was higher than that for the Mongolian part, which suggests the conclusion that the degree of pollution by the pollutants under consideration is higher on the Mongolian territory than on the Russian territory.

Urginskoe otdelenie Russko-Kitajskogo banka (1900—1910 gg.): nedlinnaya istoriya

The publication is devoted to the history of the Urginsky branch of the Russo-Chinese Bank, which operated on the territory of Mongolia in 1900-1910. Particular attention is paid to the cooperation of the Urginsky branch with the Verkhneudinsky and Kyakhtinsky branches of the Russo-Chinese Bank, which consisted not only in the assistance and exchange of banking information, but also in the organization of joint marketing research of the Mongolian market for the sale of Russian goods. Reasons have been identified that did not allow the Urga branch to fully realize its full potential in promoting Russian economic influence in Mongolia and leading to the cessation of its activity.