2016 Issue №3

The launch of the ‘Historical Geography of Russia’ project in Russia’s larger historical and geographical regions necessitated the development of new research methods and the evaluation of traditional ones. The article considers the use of the time slicing method in the historical geography of Russia’s North-West. The temporal scope of the study is the early 18th — late 19th century. The article describes changes in the selected ethnic groups in North-West Russia (Ozernaya oblast’) and in some other provinces.

The article describes various methodological approaches to studying the centres of ethnocultural regions. The author introduces the notion of sociocultural potential of a city, offers a methodology for its assessment and analyses the results of the assessment of Russia’s ethnocultural regions.

The article examines the emergence and development of Crimea (including Sevastopol) as Russia’s fourth exclave. Using the typology of the world’s enclave areas as objects of political geography, the author identifies distinctive characteristics of the Kaliningrad region and Crimea (the Crimean federal district) and compares them to other national and international enclaves. Another focus is the evolution of both territories from the national exclaves within the USSR into external ones. The author analyses general characteristics of the Kaliningrad region and Crimea from the perspective of their enclave/ exclave status. On this basis, Crimea is classified as a quasi-enclave. Special attention is given to the geographic and socio-economic situations in the two exclaves and particularities of their administration from the mainland. The article describes cooperation between the two territories in production, research, and defense. The author analyses opportunities for Crimea to draw on the experience of the Kaliningrad region gained in the post-Soviet period. It is concluded that exclavity requires a coordinated federal and regional policy aimed at sustainable and secure development of both territories.

The level of economic activities in the coastal zone of the Sambia Peninsula once again necessitates a comprehensive study of its coastal zone transformation. This problem, alongside those of relief formation in the coastal and nearshore zones, has been addressed by several generations of German, Soviet, and Russian researchers. This article provides a historical analysis of relevant research works from the early 19th century to the present. A unique observation database has been created over 150 years. This data can contribute to the development of knowledge on the trends and intensity of coastal processes and their regional characteristics in the South-East Baltic.

The Kaliningrad region is a small territory of Russia in the centre of Europe. It differs from other Russian regions in natural conditions and reclamation history. The recent socioeconomic development has been associated with anthropogenic pressure on natural and cultural landscapes created during seven hundred years. It has a negative effect on the environment. The author considers several nature management practices and suggests using the landscape approach for the optimization of nature management of in the region. Landscape planning makes it possible to introduce key achievements of the landscape science into the existing economic practices and environmental policies in the region.