Current issue

Many countries view education exports as a vital sector of the economy. Russia has also acknowledged the importance of exporting education, consistently implementing measures to promote Russian education in the international market. Despite the recent surge in interest in Russian education amongst international students, there is a risk that this trend could change dramatically due to the global crisis and the current geopolitical situation. This contribution considers BRICS countries — Brazil, India, China and South Africa — as key markets for Russian education exports.

This study aims to analyse the capacity of BRICS countries to import Russian educa­tional services. Statistical data is utilised to conduct a time-series analysis of demographic factors, population structure and economic growth in BRICS countries. Russian education exports to BRICS countries are quantified using measures such as the enrolment of BRICS nationals at IKBFU and employing the trend extrapolation method. The findings suggest that these countries possess significant human and economic resources, offering excellent oppor­tunities for the export of Russian education.

This article considers the socio-cultural and social activities of rural libraries from the perspective of social geography and geography of culture. Globalisation, erosion of local cul­tural values and blurred spatial boundaries between socio-cultural communities render re­search endeavours in the fields of social geography and cultural geography invaluable tools in selecting promising areas for regional policies.

This study aims to track how the performance of municipal libraries of the Kaliningrad region changed between 2016 and 2022 and analyse the interim results of the Culture flag­ship national project — and effort to aid library modernisation. Albeit often deficient in re­sources, rural libraries serve as local centres for socio-cultural activity. Thus, they face the urgent need to adapt to the rapidly changing environment. Having failed, these establish­ments would be unable to unlock local residents’ potential, meet their informational needs, aid them on the path of intellectual and spiritual development or facilitate the socialisation of younger and senior generations. It is concluded that there is a range of regional obstacles to aspirations to embrace the innovative model of a modern rural library.

Problems of energy security remain relevant for Russian regions in the current condi­tions. On the one hand, there is a pressing need to protect the economy and the population from energy-related threats at a regional and national level. On the other hand, the tense post-2022 international situation poses new industrial development challenges for regions, prompting some to reorganise domestic and export energy supply. Energy security issues encountered by Russian regions exhibit spatial variation depending on economic specialisa­tion and geographical location. This article examines several definitions of energy security employed in Russian and international practice. The conceptual and terminological features of the category ‘energy security’ are explored, with an emphasis on Russian regions. A socio-geographical approach is adopted to this end. Spatial features of energy security are identified based on a typology of relevant factors — conceptual objectives and avenues to act on. The case of the Kaliningrad region, an exclave highly dependent on external energy supplies, is examined to provide insight into possible scenarios for ensuring the territory’s energy securi­ty and the conditions for each course of events to unfold. The findings of the study suggest potential pathways for enhancing the exclave’s energy security, each requiring momentous decisions and careful attention to detail.

This article utilises a systematic approach for a comprehensive examination of the Baltic Sea region as a geopolitical space and an analysis of geopolitical events (event-analysis) aimed to assess the capabilities of the US and NATO to impose a naval blockade on Russia in the Baltic Sea. This study is made relevant by the growing confrontation between the collective West and Russia, and the provocative anti-Russian rhetoric adopted by official representa­tives of NATO states. Finland’s accession to NATO, Sweden’s ‘de facto’ participation in the Alliance and Russia’s geostrategic position in the Baltic region have created a situation where the sea may turn into a literal trap for the latter country. There is a threat of a maritime and trade blockade of Russia amid US and EU sanctions policy against Russian oil and calls by some Western leaders for limiting Russia’s access to the Baltic Sea to protect their countries’ maritime communications from ‘Russian aggression’. The findings of this study and an anal­ysis of the geopolitical and military-strategic situation in the Baltic Sea region suggest that this threat may become a reality. Its significance is also evidenced by steps taken by US and NATO towards escalation in relations with Russia, attempts to damage the country’s econo­my and the anti-Russian hysteria of the Baltic States.

This article presents the results of a study underpinning the Greening Strategy 2030 for the city of Perm. The research employed SWOT analysis — a technique that emerged within economics. In practice, SWOT analysis can be applied to objects of different scales outside profit-driven contexts to achieve social and socioeconomic purposes. In a broad understand­ing, SWOT analysis focuses on socioeconomic objects, an instance of which is urban green infrastructure.

This study identifies and characterises Perm’s green infrastructure elements: conserva­tion areas, urban forests, public and limited access amenities and special-purpose objects. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Perm’s current landscaping system are described, alongside potential development scenarios for the city’s green spaces up to 2030. A development strategy is outlined to achieve significant progress in landscaping and biodiver­sity conservation. Its other goals involve enhancing the urban environment by converting spontaneously growing vegetation into various landscaped areas, ranging from conservation zones to public amenities, and actively managing these areas. The study also defines the val­ues, vision and mission of green infrastructure, along with its purpose and long- and medi­um-term development plans.

Analysis of climate continentality is a powerful tool for studying and forecasting weath­er. Considering the continentality index enables determining current climate characteristics and predicting potential changes. This study aims to assess climate change in Russia’s North-East by analysing the continentality index as a complex integral indicator of these changes applicable to vast territories.

Although there are many methods for assessing climate continentality, there is no uni­versal methodology. It is proposed in this contribution to employ two of the existing tech­niques. The first focuses on the area’s annual temperature amplitude and geographic latitude. The second involves a calculation of the index based on average January and July tempera­tures, the sum of seasonal precipitation and the area’s latitude. An analysis of the index val­ues of the base and calculation periods leads one to conclude that these values do not change significantly towards either weaker or stronger continentality across the study area.

In recent years, significant progress has been achieved in AMP research, revealing the potential of these compounds as alternatives to traditional antibiotics. Due to the diverse mechanisms of action and a wide range of antibacterial activity, AMP provides new opportu­nities for preventing and treating multidrug-resistant infections by creating foods with anti­microbial properties, new antimicrobial biologically active additives and medicines.

This study aimed to create, characterise and classify a new AMP. The DRAMP proteo­mic database was used to design the AMP, and the Peptide Ranker was utilised to predict biological activity (http://distilldeep.ucd.ie/PeptideRanker). The peptide was identified with the help of the EROP-Moscow database (http://erop.inbi.ras.ru/index.html), and its physio-chemical properties were studied using the APD, DRAMP and PepCalc databases (http://pepcalc.com). The research resulted in the design of a new AMP consisting of 11 ami­no acid residues with the following percentages: Val, Ala, Trp, Gly, Pro, Tyr, Glu, His, Lys by 9 % and Arg by 18 %. The total hydrophobic ratio in the peptide, determined by APD, is 27 %; the total net charge is +2.25. Its molecular formula is C64H96N21O15S0, with protein binding potential (Boman index) at 3.44 kcal/mol. The peptide can form an alpha helix. The resulting peptide can be classified as a synthesised cationic hydrophobic alpha-helical antimi­crobial polypeptide.

Subarctic Russian rivers tend to have swampy watersheds with a high content of hydro­gen ions and humic substances. These conditions are favourable for the formation of bioavail­able mercury. Thus, even background mercury concentrations can pose a danger to aquatic organisms. The Northern Dvina River attracts particular attention regarding mercury pollu­tion due to the presence of pulp and paper mills in the area. These mills have historically uti­lised mercury in their production processes.

This study aims to analyse the mercury content in commercially important fish species living in the mouth of the Northern Dvina River. The content and distribution of mercury in tissue samples of various fish species were determined to provide insight into components of the mercury cycle in the study area. Lower mercury levels in pristine areas of the Russian subarctic showed the role of aquatic organisms as indicators of the biogeochemical cycle of mercury migration in northern freshwater areas. This study provides new scientific data on the levels of mercury found in fish from the Northern Dvina, particularly those in its estuary zone affected by the pulp and paper industry. The content and distribution of mercury were characterised using the most common fish species as an example. The difference was shown between mercury accumulation in different conditions and areas, with an analysis of relevant factors carried out.