Non-conflicting functioning of natural and natural-technogenic systems inRussiarequires the strategic planning of nature management, which should be based on both the results of complex assessment of natural risks (including geomorphologic ones) and the evaluation of territorial sustainability for different types of economic activity. The type and intensity of landform morphology transformation within a particular area determine the degree of stability of the socio-geomorphologic systems, and, as a result, the degree of geomorphologic safety of the territory. A complex index is suggested for the assessment of geomorphologic safety, which aggregates multiple indicators of landform morphology and relief formation features with due account of their importance for different types of nature management. The proposed algorithm of complex evaluation of relief for the nature management purposes allows a qualitative assessment of the prospects of development and the ecological-economic efficiency of different types of nature management for a particular territory in terms of real and potential geomorphologic threats. Application of the integral index makes it possible to indicate territories which require monitoring and control of the functioning of nature-economic systems. The results of the integral assessment of the geomorphologic safety ofRussiacould be used as a basis for the elaboration of strategic decisions at the federal level, rating the regions according to the favorability of the investment environment, etc.

The problems of formation and transformation of river water quality are discussed in terms of the adverse influence of their chemical composition on possible and efficient water use, health of the population and ecological state of hydrobiocenoses. It is shown that the study of ecological well-being of water bodies and determining the conditions of safe and efficient water management require various approaches to water quality assessment (geochemical, biological, sanitary-hygienic, water economic etc). Each of them provides the assessment of the impact of relevant factors on the toxicity of surface water and their suitability for water usage. The modern doctrines of studying water quality are characterized in brief and a role of hydrological factors in deterioration (or improvement) the hydrochemical conditions of water objects is described. The role of river runoff and its components (discharge of water, sediments, chemicals, living matter and heat) and the energy of water streams in the transformation of the chemical composition of surface water is appraised. Modern methods of water quality parameterization with due account of the variability of hydrological characteristics are analyzed to determine the changing level of safety for the population, water use and hydrobiocenoses.

Holography means 1) a technique of obtaining a three-dimensional image of the object, and 2) a «best possible» visualization technique in the far future. The greatest expectations are related to holography as an imaging technique. The idea of holography seems to be self-evident – a reasonable criterion of holographic visualization is an interactive seamless multi-angle representation of the scene. However the multi-angle regime is already implemented in 3D-visualization systems. And the Google Earth geoservice (started in 2005) supplements the multi-angle representation with the multi-scale one, which could not be implemented using the traditional analogous holograms. Thus the Google Earth geoservice concept is a specific regime of visualization having very high potential of self-development. The paper compares the properties of classic and «super» holograms. Factors contributing to the evolution of scientific visualization in cartography are analyzed. The prospects of the interdisciplinary research in this area, including the application of semiotic tools, are discussed.

The paper presents a new perspective of the settlement system and a corresponding new approach to the identification of rural settlement systems. The approach is based on the idea of the centrality as a most important settlement feature. The concept of settlement system centers and techniques of their identification are introduced. Using the materials of the Tver oblast, several classes of the centers were identified according to the location of the local authorities and social infrastructure. Variants of center subordination and joining of the rural settlement systems were considered. It is concluded that the hierarchy of centers and the settlement systems appear to be fuzzy. It was also found out that the hierarchy of settlement system centers tends to become less complicated

Monitoring of suspended matter is an important task for water quality evaluation. Traditional methods are not always effective for solving the problems at the global level. The development of aerospace techniques widens the application of space images for the assessment of suspended matter concentrations. The paper deals with the problem of how the Landsat 7 multi-spectral imagery could be used for the monitoring of suspended particles in the surface water of the Tri An water reservoir (Vietnam). The results of the study could be used for the mapping of the distribution of suspended matter and the evaluation of water quality.

Tendencies of emigration fromRussiato the non-CIS countries at the end of the 20th – the beginning of the 21st century are considered.Germany,Israeland theUSAbecame the main countries of emigration. Regularities and the scope of emigration phases for the 30-year period are revealed. General factors of leaving the country (historical, institutional and political, economic) are considered; the factors defining the regional geography of emigration to the non-CIS countries are analyzed. Processes of emigration to the non-CIS countries are considered within the concept of territorial migratory systems which assumes the cyclic nature of the international migration process; the migratory process involves certain social and territorial communities, thus forming the geography of external migration. The data of the Federal State Statistics Service from the official web-site of the department, the data of migratory statistics published by the Rosstat in demographic year-books, as well as the data of 2002 and 2010 All-Russian population censuses were used for calculations and mapping. Regional features of emigration fromRussiaare analyzed for the period of 1993-2012, mainly due to the availability of statistical data. Particular attention is given to the difficulties in accounting the international migrants inRussiaand to the comparison of the data from various countries about the numbers of the international migrants.

During the period of socio-economic transformation labor mobility is a significant factor, which smoothes over negative effects in the economy. The period of 1990s – 2000s was accompanied by economic decline and unemployment growth in Russian regions: a lot of enterprises and even whole branches cut the staff or were liquidated. Economic downfall and poor prospects of employment forced people to take on the adaptive behavior. There were two main type of such behavior: relocation to another territory or reorientation to external labor market from the same place of residence. Traditional types of «outside» labor mobility, such as seasonal work and commuting, became wide-spread. A lot of factors influence the possibility of this type of adaptation: spatial disposition of settlements, remoteness from the main labor market centers and the level of average wages, professional skill level, path dependency etc. According to these factors the regions of the European part ofRussiawith relatively highdensity of big cities got an advantage.Moscow,Saint Petersburgand surrounding regions became the main acceptors of labor migrants. They absorbed some excessive labor force, thus helping to alleviate the crisis in local labor markets. Intraregional differentiation of labor mobility was analyzed using the data of 2010 Russian census. The impact of the essential factors of labor mobility (such as population type and position relative to the regional center) on the migration intensity is determined forRussiaas a whole and its particular regions. A typology of regions based on the examined factors of labor mobility is suggested. Regions without significant correlation with these factors are clustered in a special group, which requires further investigation.

The role of gardening, dacha and cottage settlements of urban dwellers which lack the official settlement status in the deformation of the rural system in suburban and remote areas of the regions of the Non-Chernozem part ofRussiais discussed. In the absence of reliable statistics (or problems with getting it for municipal level) the use of space imagery and the analysis of maps showing the location of recreational settlements becomes an important instrument of research. Basing on the comparison of official statistical data and the results of space imagery interpretation (number of non-registered settlements outside the settlement areas and the number of land parcels within them) the ratio and territorial distribution of possible seasonal urban population outside the official settlements were assessed in relation to the local rural population. It is shown that a parallel settlement network with the pulsing population is formed beyond the borders of settlements and it is not recorded by statistics. In theMoscowandLeningradoblasts, and in the regions with pronounced rural depopulation these unofficial settlements sometimes exceed surrounding villages in population numbers. This considerably deforms the existing system of rural settlement, both within the agglomerations, and far beyond their borders, thus requiring new approaches to its analysis.

Adaptation strategies of rural dwellers behavior on the labor market in the regions of the Central Chernozem area are analyzed for 15 rural settlements of theTambovandKurskoblasts. Research is based on the microdata of the 2010 All-Russian population census, quantitative data collected in regional and settlement administrations, 56 expert interviews with representatives of local authorities, business andChernozem region is due to the reduction of employment in the agricultural sector because of the intensification of production and the growth of territorial mobility of the population. The main result of transformation is the formation of steadily diversifying labor markets with a small share of real production sector. The budgetary sector and services becomes the main sphere of official employment. The prevailing strategy of rural dwellers adaptation to the changes of labor market is the informal employment and commuting. Just few people are engaged in and get income from their private plot activities. Growth of labor and territorial mobility decreases the role of seasonal work in favor of the expansion of commuting. Other strategies include the widespread dependency or working another job to supplement the income. Introduction of numerous adaptation strategies results in the change of the rural conduct of life, i.e. withdrawal from maintaining the traditional subsidiary farming.

Specific features of recent ice jams on the rivers of theSevernayaDvinaRiver basinare analyzed in relation to expected climate change and anthropogenic pressure. Different phases of the ice regime and its dangerous manifestations within theSevernayaDvinaRiver basinwere studied on the basis of monitoring data from 15 hydrological stations since the beginning of observations until 2015. Application of neural networks to predict maximum ice jam water level is considered. The best results for predicting the maximum ice jam water levels were obtained using the data about water levels during freezing and the duration of the autumn ice run, as well as the information on the sums of below-zero air temperature for the cold period. To predict the ice jam component of maximum water level it is necessary to consider data on ice thickness, and water flow before the break-up. Use of data on autumn conditions as predictors will allow making a long-term forecasts of the maximum ice-jam water levels, while the use of information for the period prior to break-up will define the ice-jam component of maximum water level more exactly. Positive experience of application of neural networks will help to develop the most effective recommendations to reduce negative water impacts on population and economy.

The paper presents new results of paleo-landscapes studies in the south-eastern part of the Meschera Lowlands. The reconstruction of changes in the landscape structure of the South-Eastern Meschera in the Middle and Late Holocene was realized on the basis of pollen and plant macrofossil analysis and radiocarbon dating of peat deposits of a key site, located in the Klepikovsky district of theRyazanregion. The obtained palaeogeographical data and results of detailed mapping of the present-day landscapes, as well as the relationships between specific feature of relief, sediments, soils and vegetation cover allow compiling schematic paleo-landscape maps for the most important time periods of the Holocene, representing local geosystems. The obtained data show, that the dominant moraine fluvio-glacial undulating plains with relatively narrow sand layer over till deposits were the most sensitive to climatic changes. The complete sequences of vegetation changes during the Holocene are typical to these geosystems, i.e. birch-pine forests (the Early Holocene), broadleaf and mixed broadleaf-pine forests (the Middle Holocene) and spruce-pine forests (the Late Holocene). At the same time, the local geosystems with thick fluvio-glacial sand deposits escaped the significant changes despite temperature and precipitation variations during the last 8000 years.

A political model and territorial structure of the electoral behavior inJapanand theUSAare compared. Specific features of electoral systems, the importance of personality in politics, the role of parties, including their internal structure and political platforms characteristics, as well as the political support localization and territorial representation are considered for both countries. The impact of existing political institutions of two countries on the spatial organization of political support is described. General trends of the spatial structure of electoral behavior inJapanand theUSare revealed. Key patterns of the electoral landscape, including specific features of the formation of stable political support areas are described and possible directions of further development of political support territorial organization in both countries are suggested.