The frequency of natural hazards, such as heat waves, epidemics, floods, hurricanes etc. tends to increase both in Russia and abroad. Under the climate change, population aging and accelerating mobility, increased urban density and environment degradation the residents of large cities are becoming more vulnerable to the consequences of such events. According to experts, more than 11 thousand people became victims of 2010 extreme summer temperatures in Moscow. The effects of the coronavirus epidemic are yet to be assessed, and it is important to study the socio-economic differences of Moscow districts in the context of crisis and expanding pandemic, considering the negative consequences for health and life of residents.

The authors propose a natural hazard vulnerability index for Moscow districts. The index accounts for the proportion of the most susceptible part of the population, as well as the possibility of adaptation of residents. Such social strata as pensioners, disabled persons, residents of poorer areas and migrants are the most vulnerable, i.e. incapable of self-protection or leaving a disaster area because of physical or financial restrictions. It was found that since 2010 the vulnerability of population has increased in 104 of 125 Moscow districts, as a result of increasing numbers of elderly and disabled people, and decreasing incomes in the depressed areas. Priority territories for implementing the policy of adaptation to hazardous events are in Zelenograd (Matushkino, Savelki, Staroe Kryukovo, Kryukovo, Silino), in the southeast (Nekrasovka, Veshnyaki) and the northeast (Northern Izmailovo, Metrogorodok, Golyanovo) parts of the capital. The adaptability in central districts, subjected to gentrification, is increasing due to the growing proportion of wealthy citizens.

As a result of the 2020 crisis, associated with the pandemic and the fall in oil prices, a decrease in household incomes could further aggravate the vulnerability of residents of the majority of Moscow districts; the most negative consequences are expected in more vulnerable areas. The results allow more precise application of natural hazards monitoring, warning and adaptation tools. For example, the above-mentioned vulnerable areas are in need of providing the timely ambulance access and raising awareness of the elderly locals and migrants.

Higher concentrations of arsenic are dangerous because they are able to cause acute and chronic toxic effects on organisms, and therefore it must be considered as an important pollutant. The aim of this work is to monitor the distribution of arsenic in seawater, bottom sediments and soft tissues of mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis in the coastal areas of the Crimean Peninsula in the Black and Azov seas. The sampling of seawater, bottom sediments, and mollusks was carried out during 2016-2018 expeditions of the R/V Professor Vodyanitsky. The concentration of arsenic in mineralized solutions was determined by inversion voltammetry using the AVA-3 analyzer. Coastal areas of the Crimean Peninsula could be arranged in the following order in terms of descending mean concentrations of arsenic in seawater: Yalta Gulf>Sevastopol area>Cape Tarhankut, Gulf of Kalamita, Laspi Bay>coastal areas of Alushta and Karadag Nature Reserve, Feodosia Gulf, the Kerch Strait, the Sea of Azov, north-western coast of the Caucasus>Karkinit Bay. In the coastal waters of Sevastopol and in the Yalta Gulf, the concentrations of arsenic exceed its maximum permissible concentration (MPC) by 2,0-3,5 times. The highest content of arsenic in bottom sediments is observed near the southern coast of Crimea from the Laspi Bay to the Karadag Nature Reserve, exceeding the permissible levels by 2-4 times. The lowest concentration of arsenic is recorded in mussels from the coastal areas of Sevastopol and the Gulf of Kalamita, and the highest one is in those collected in the Karkinita Bay and near Cape Tarhankut. It was almost an order of magnitude lower in mollusks than the maximum permissible concentration established for food products. With respect to this value, mussels grown in the Crimean coastal waters could be considered suitable for food use. The wide variability of arsenic concentration in the environment does not lead to significant accumulation of this toxicant in soft tissues of the mussels.

The article provides a detailed overview of methods applied for compiling complex city indexes of socio-economic development (both international and Russian). Specific methodological features of indexes computation and selection of indicators and categories (subindexes) are analyzed basing on 12 international and 8 Russian city indexes. All of them are divided into three types: 1) sustainable development indexes, 2) indexes assessing the position of cities in the global systems, and 3) quality of life indexes. It is determined that in most cases 20-30 indicators are used both in Russia and abroad to compile a comprehensive index of socio-economic development of cities; these are usually aggregated into 5-6 groups (subindexes). The linear scaling method is most often applied to normalize index indicators, and the final integral score is formed as an arithmetic mean or weighted average and is presented in a point scale (from 0 to 1, 10 or 100).

The analysis shows that at present there are no generally accepted methods for compiling indexes of socio-economic development of cities, either in the world or in Russia. There are noticeable methodological discrepancies in the selection of areas of socio-economic development of a city that are included in the comprehensive assessment, as well as indicators for their evaluation. However, there are a limited number of aspects of urban development, e. g. economic development, human capital etc., for which indicators and assessment approaches have become common in the international practice, while not a single indicator could be considered established in Russian practice.

Russian practice of compiling urban indexes falls significantly behind the world one. The authors identified principal limitations of compiling Russian indexes of socio-economic development of the cities, the most important of them being: 1) the absence of most commonly used indicators for assessing the development for cities having the «urban settlements» municipal status (in Russian «gorodskoeposelenie» -the lowest level of municipalities hierarchy); 2) poor development of methods for assessing a number of important components of the socio-economic development of cities (transport, social infrastructure, environmental situation, human capital). The existing barriers limit possible compilation of complex indexes of socio-economic development of Russian cities to only a small sample of cities, and also cause the low representation of Russian cities in international indexes, thus making it impossible to compare the cities of this country with other cities in the world.

Liveability of cities and urban space quality are receiving the increasing attention in contemporary world. Urban liveability is an objective condition and subjective perception of physical and mental health, safety and convenience of the current state of a city by its residents. AHP method, widely used for scientific investigations, was applied to assess the liveability of a study area including several Moscow districts, of New Moscow as well. The results of opinion polls and sociological surveys were used to improve pair-wise comparison method. Six groups of environmental and social factors were ranked on the basis of calculated weights. In general, social factors, accounting for 65,5% (transport accessibility 39,1% and accessibility of infrastructure facilities 26,4% of the total) are more essential than ecological ones which account for 34,5% (environmental contamination 8,9%, green areas accessibility and quality 11,5%, noise pollution 11,7%, adverse geomorphologic processes 2,4%). The results of the assessment may be used in urban planning. The spatial features of liveability were analyzed using GIS software. Liveability of every residential building within the area under study was evaluated basing on the factors’ weights. Assessment schemes of case study area were designed for each factor. New Moscow and Moscow within its old boundaries (before 01.07.2012) are considerably different: the newly-annexed territories are less comfortable because of poorer accessibility of transport and infrastructure facilities, higher noise pollution and environment contamination. It has been revealed, that multistoried buildings of Solntsevo and Novo-Peredelkino are the most liveable, while low buildings in the neighborhood of Vnukovo district and Vnukovo village are the least liveable.

The article analyzes the concept of recreational-geomorphologic information and methodological approaches to its formation in Russian and foreign recreational-geomorphologic literature. The ideas about the importance of geomorphologic structure and dynamics of terrain for recreational activities are widely developed, first of all in West-European touristic practice (Italy, France, Switzerland, Slovakia, Romania, Portugal) and, for example, in Brazil. Since the end of the 1990s they began to develop in Russia.

The present-day Russian geomorphology considers recreational geomorphology as an applied science in the context of applying geomorphologic theory for information support of a tourist product implementation. So far, this area is not well-developed, since not every Park or protected area in Russia is ready to cooperate with geomorphologists. On the one hand, it is because of the difficulties in understanding information about the terrain, its influence on the construction of recreational facilities and performing tourist activities; on the other hand, it is limited by the possibility of financing and targeted spending of funds.

There is a need for scientific assessment and presentation of information about the terrain to the consumer. For example, to a tourist in a national Park through information stands at the points of view with maps and illustrations, describing the history of the territory and the dangerous processes that may occur on the tourist trail. Or to a recreation organizer to assist in selection of representative objects for site seeing, designation of routes, designing stands and booklets, and provisioning of websites.

The concentration of suspended solids (or water turbidity) in a reservoir determines the transparency of water and, as a consequence, the penetration of light, the intensity of heating, as well as sorption processes and photosynthesis intensity. All this determines the importance of the study of spatial-temporal regularities of turbidity distribution during the different phases of water regime, as well as under the adverse meteorological phenomena. While it is important to monitor water turbidity and reservoir bottom reshaping, field observations in large reservoirs are often extremely difficult and expensive. In this case, numerical modeling of hydrodynamic processes in a reservoir, that describes two-phase mass transfer over the water area, may be relevant.

The object of the study is the Kujbyshev reservoir, the largest one in the Volga cascade. The mathematical modeling is based on the 3D hydrodynamic model «Wave» developed by A.V Rakhuba and integrated analytical formulas for the flow rate of sediment and the transport capacity of the flow suggested by M. V Shmakova.

It is obvious that the distribution of suspended matter in a reservoir is determined by its morphometry, the location of tributaries and runoff, the intensity of solid matter inflow with tributaries, and the meteorological conditions. Specific configuration of the Kujbyshev Reservoir and its longitudinal extension cause the uneven distribution of water turbidity and specific sediment discharge in the water area. The values of suspended matter concentration in the northern and southern parts of the reservoir vary by three or more times, and the specific sediment discharge under strong winds - by an order of magnitude.

The map of distribution of maximum water turbidity in the Kujbyshev reservoir presented in the paper is compiled under the hypothetical initiation of bottom soil agitation processes over the water area. The result is particularly valuable for the low-water period, which is characterized by the lowest depth of the reservoir, and therefore the highest values of turbidity. The resulting map of the maximum turbidity distribution makes it possible to assess water areas with the most unfavorable hydrodynamic conditions, which can become the basis for further recommendations on the activities related to dredging.

The authors estimated gross value added (GVA) for all municipalities in the Russian Federation, as well as their contribution to the economic growth at the national level, using the methodology for calculating GVA at the municipal level. The results are analyzed by type of municipalities according to their economic specialization and position in the settlement pattern. Municipalities with significant positive contribution to the economic growth in 2010-2016 were identified as well as the territories with negative economic trends that are responsible for deceleration at the national level. Spatially contiguous clusters of municipalities that contributed more than 1% to the country’s economic growth for the period under study were considered centers of economic growth. Large metropolitan areas, agro-industrial municipalities located near the national settlement system centers and in the favorable climate zones and mining-oriented territories where new deposits of raw materials are being actively developed are among the centers. A negative contribution to the economic growth is typical of depressed mono-functional industrial territories as well as the areas where economic activities are predominantly those of public sector. The use of statistics at the municipal level allowed a detailed analysis of the economic space, in which smaller economically homogeneous territories replace regions as operational units. Obtained GVA values made it possible to assess spatial development trends at the sub-regional level in the 2010s, to account for specific features of territories and their potential while elaborating and implementing the territorial policy measures at the federal and regional levels, as well as to increase its evidentiality by using the available statistical data of municipal level.

The article provides a comparative assessment of the level of urbanization within the Arctic territories of the world according to common criteria. All settlements of the Arctic with population exceeding 5,000 people are analyzed, regardless of their status. The border of the Arctic coincides with the southernmost of three options most often used in the international studies on the socio-economic geography of the Arctic. According to the results of the assessment, the level of urbanization in many regions of foreign Arctic is lower than the estimates given in relevant scientific literature. Specific features of the development of Arctic cities are considered, the main types of cities in the Russian and foreign Arctic are identified. While choosing the typology criteria, the following factors were taken into account: the influence of remoteness from other urban centers on the economic development (the importance of this factor is high in the Arctic due to the rare urban network); factors of socio-economic development in the «knowledge economy» era; transport and geographical location etc. As a result, three main criteria were chosen, i. e. the presence of its own university, administrative status, location within the agglomeration of a larger city. Four types of Arctic cities were identified: 1. Key multifunctional (university) cities. 2 Peripheral administration centers. 3. Suburban cities of different specializations. 4. Remote industrial centers. The criterion of coastal position was used to distinguish subtypes. As a rule, cities of the first type have the status of a national or regional administrative capital (with some exceptions), and are university cities. Almost half of the urban population of the Arctic lives in such cities (Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Anchorage, Tromso, Reykjavik, etc.). The second type includes regional capitals without their own university (Salekhard, Yellowknife, etc.). The cities of the third type are mainly concentrated around the cities of the first type (Murmashi, Wasilla, etc.). Finally, the fourth type of cities embraces remote cities that do not have either capital status or an independent university. This group includes mainly cities located near the mineral deposits (Novy Urengoy, Labrador City, etc.). The specific feature of the Russian Arctic is a higher proportion of inland (non-port) suburban cities (most rapidly losing population) and remote industrial centers (conditionally «cities near deposits»). The foreign Arctic has a high proportion of the cities of the first type (capital university cities).

Changes of the surface air temperature (SAT) over the White Sea are investigated. The inter-annual changes of mean SAT anomalies in the White Sea region for 1980-2010, calculated from various reanalyses, appeared to be in good agreement with each other. Furthermore, two reanalyses turned out to be the closest to the rest of data sources, i.e. high-resolution MERRA-2 for the period of satellite observations and NCEP/NCAR having lower resolution, but a longer period. Therefore, MERRA-2 was applied for the detailed analysis of SAT changes in various regions of the White Sea, and data from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis - for the study of longer-term SAT changes in the entire White Sea region. In addition, the results were compared with the data on the surface water layer and surface air temperatures from the coastal and island hydrometeorological stations of the White Sea. Changes in the SAT anomalies were calculated for particular regions of the White Sea. Their analysis showed insignificant differences of the changes in SAT anomalies between the individual regions and the White Sea region as a whole. Therefore, the mean SAT anomalies were studied throughout the White Sea during further analysis of inter-annual fluctuations.

The analysis of monthly average SAT over the White Sea showed its significant growth over the past decades. Against the background of this growth, we revealed inter-annual SAT variability with periods close to the periods of El Nino - the Southern Oscillation (2-7 years) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (7-10 years). The influence of these fluctuations on the inter-annual variability of the White Sea SAT is shown and the periods of their synchronization and desynchronization are found. From the mid-1960s to the early 1970s and from the second half of the 1980s to the mid-2010s, during the El Nino events, negative SAT anomalies were usually observed over the White Sea, changing to the positive anomalies during the La Nina events. Between the late 1960s and mid-1990s the North Atlantic Oscillation had a positive effect on the anomalies in the surface air temperature of the White Sea, in the second half of the 1990s this influence changed sign, but since the beginning of the 2000s became positive again. We suggest a hypothesis on the role of Global Atmospheric Oscillation as a synchronizing link between the tropics of the Pacific Ocean, the North Atlantic and the White Sea region.

Investigations on the Shirokostan Peninsula (the Laptev Sea coast) were carried out to solve the problem of genesis and paleogeographic conditions of the formation of Quaternary sediments in the NorthEast of Russia. Heteroghronous sediments were discovered in the reference section of the Etrykansky Yar. The relief is formed on the Middle Pleistocene sediments of the Kuchchuguj formation, on either side of which there are the Upper Pleistocene deposits of the Oyogos formation lying on the lower hypsometric level. The sediments of these formations differ in the amount of ice, the proportions of the polygonal wedge ice (PWI), that produces different in size and shape bajdzherahs after thawing. This could be a distinction when compiling a geomorphologic map of both the territory under study and all areas of ice complex occurrence. The sediments of the Oyogos formation inherited the granulometric and mineralogical composition of the Kuchchuguj deposits, indicating not far off re-deposition of the latter.

The alas complex is represented by formations of three ages (Kazancevsky, Karginsky and the Holocene), which are characterized by a similar structure. For the first time it became possible to trace the facial changes, cryogenic and post-cryogenic formations in Kazancevsky sediments, from the ice-covered areas with ice veins to totally melted ice complex with a system of pseudomorphoses. The freezing of all types of sediments was both syngenetic and epigenetic. Moreover, the alas deposits of the Kazancevsky age could freeze both from above and bottom-up if they were covered by sediments of the Oyogos formation. The age of the sediments is proved by their position, as well as by spore-pollen and macrofaunistic analyses. The absolute age of the sediments is determined by the dating of neighboring areas (the Oyogos Yar, Big Lyahovsky Island etc.) and coordinated with the data on other coastal lowlands of the Northeast Russia.

The results of spore-pollen analysis show well-defined climate changes during the Quaternary period. This is also confirmed by the occurrence of cryogenic and post-cryogenic formations in different genetic types of sediments.

For the first time in the geographical literature an attempt is made to consider the results of the 1960s-1970s policy of reconstruction of the rural settlement pattern. This policy included the classification of rural settlements into «viable» and «non-viable» and relocation of the residents of small villages in the larger ones. The paper presents data on the plans and results of the relocation of residents from «non- viable» villages to central settlements of collective farms and state farms in the Kalinin (now - Tver) region.

The official list of «viable» rural settlements for the Kalinin region approved in 1977 is analyzed. The structure of the array, the distribution of «viable» settlements across the region and 1976 to 2010 population dynamics of each settlement are considered. The alogism in identifying «viable» rural settlements was shown: many small settlements were named «viable», while many large ones were not included in the list. The majority of large «viable» settlements are concentrated in the central, most developed part of the region, i.e. the Tver Triangle the vertexes being the cities of Rzhev, Vyshny Volochyok and Kimry. The analysis of the population dynamics in viable settlements allowed suggesting six types of population changes from 1976 to 2010: from significant growth to the loss of residential population. All in all negative dynamics prevailed, i.e. more than half of viable settlements reduced their population. As long as the large collective farms existed, most of such villages developed successfully and gradually increased their population. Currently, they account for a significant part of the centers for rural development. But also the majority of settlements, once classified as «non-viable», have survived.

The conclusion is drawn about the failure of resettlement policy and transformation of the rural settlement pattern. It is shown that the mistaken understanding of the policy results is widespread in the Russian society and the scientific community. The paper is intended to recall the inefficiency of strong- willed decisions aimed at the radical changes in settlement patterns.

The population numbers in municipalities of Moscow and the Moscow region were compared according to the Rosstat data and the information about localization of subscribers provided by mobile operators. The possibility of using mobile operators’ data to check the results of current population accounting is established. The statistical overstatement of the population of Old Moscow was revealed along with considerable underreporting of the number of people living in the Moscow region and in New Moscow. This is due to errors in the current population accounting, availability of two houses for many Muscovites and a number of other factors.