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The article presents the results of studies carried out in the south-eastern part of the Bolgar fortified settlement in 2013. The Golden Horde objects belonging to different periods have been identified here. Since early coins make up more than 10% of the numismatic collection, this suggests that the site began to be developed already in the 2nd half of the 13th century. The pits in the southwest corner of the excavation can be attributed to this time. Unique are the finds of two dinars of the 12th century and the middle of the 13th century, belonging to the initial stage of the development of the area. А wooden house (structure No. 2) with a kang was built on the site within the period from the 2nd half of the 13th century to the 1230ies. Probably, the construction of three pits with large poles is related to the time of the wooden house, as well as, perhaps, a stockade. The building was destroyed by a fire. The next construction period is associated with a stone building (structure No. 1), soon erected on the place of the burned house. According to the coins found here, the stone building with a kang was built here no earlier than in the 1340s and functioned until the 1360s. The horizon of the building of a stone house is marked by layers of construction debris that filled the most of the pits on the excavation. The stone masonry of the building was almost completely taken and used as building materials, most likely already at the beginning of the 20th century, but the well-preserved contours of the foundation trenches, densely filled with lime and stone fragments, allow us to restore the layout of the building. The portal of the building, located on the north side, was decorated with two pylons, that were the base of the arched entrance, and a square construction, probably a turret, sided with the western one. The uniqueness of the building consists in an amazing combination of features of private residential and public architecture. After the 1360s, the site became desolate, and this wasteland was used as a cemetery: near the remains of a stone building the burials with fragments of its architectural details in the filling were found. The studied estate was related geographically with the quarter of the "Mongolian administration" at the Small Minaret, where dwellings with kangs were concentrated.

We present a rare insight into the biodiversity of a remote, mountainous area of central Asia and outline challenges to conserve the critically endangered keystone argali (Ovis ammon ammon L.), the largest subspecies of mountain sheep. Existing conservation is set in the context of competition with livestock grazing and disturbance by local pastoralists. We suggest how this pressure would increase as pastures become degraded by a future more arid climate. Focusing on the transboundary population, migrating between the Russian and Mongolian Altai over the Sailugem Ridge, we track historical population numbers. Due to increased protection, the argali's local population is currently growing. However, most argali populations live outside the protected areas where they are forced to compete for forage with livestock. Due to ever-increasing anthropogenic pressures, argali has almost reached the region's environmental capacity, so the number of local populations is decreasing. Consequently, even the current situation requires more areas of protection, and climate change will accelerate pasture degradation, thereby further increasing competition with livestock. We present various ways to predict the impacts of changes in climate, e.g., the "7 M's approach" and grazing pressure and then recommend additional conservation measures acceptable for the indigenous population of traditional pastoralists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contains the results of archaeological studies conducted in 2016 on the Southern outskirts of Bolgar fortified settlement. The excavation was made on a hill at the estimated location of site No. 71 marked on a plan by N.F. Kalinin (compiled in the 1930–40s). The investigated site corresponds to the far periphery of the fortified settlement: the cultural at the site contains a scarce number of findings and has been completely disrupted as a result of ploughing. The excavation features pillar and household pits associated with a ground structure. The structure was erected from wood and clay (earth bricks). The major portion of the building was presumably located outside of the excavation to the West. Perhaps, site No. 71 was plotted on the plan by N.F. Kalinin due to the high concentration of burnt earth bricks in the ploughland. The authors admit the possibility of other territorial locations of site No. 71. According to the discovered coins, the authors are convinced that the site was reclaimed within a very short period of time in the 1330–40s.

The author analyzes a medieval cartographic source – an anonymous so called Genoese World Map of 1457, which has been discussed many times, including in relevant monographs. Unfortunately, most publications contain low resolution and thus unreadable images of this map, or just drawings instead of photos. One can even fi nd some wrong dating or erroneous attribution of this map to Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli. The cartographer strived to produce a combination of data from all available sources: ancient accounts (Claudius Ptolemy, mainly), medieval ecclesiastic mappae mundi, travel accounts from Marco Polo to Nicolo Conti, and navigational portolano-charts. Sources for presentation of the Volga and Caspian Sea basin on this map are not explicitly identifi ed, because there is no explicit protograph known, and the presentation itself is seen as an independent source. The author dates information about this terrain from the rise of the Golden Horde under Uzbeg Khan (1313 – 1341) and Jani Beg (1342 – 1357) to the rise of Tamerlane (ca 1370). Two towns are shown in the Lower Volga region: Sarai (Sala) and “the other Sarai” (Saraalis). Their correlation with the Selitrennoye and Tsarevskoye hillforts is not so obvious as on the maps derived from Fra Mauro’s protograph, but this correlation is most likely. This map is another source demonstrating that the idea of just one Sarai (this idea emerged in 1990s) is not plausible.

Ceramic forms encountered on the Bolgar city site as singular items only are characterized in the article. One of them is the round-bottomed amphora with analogies characteristic of the Syria-Palestine region. Another vessel that is rare for Bolgar is the pythos referring to the “first Cretan” group. Both vessels are fragmented, but their overall shape can be reconstructed. A detailed description of both vessels, a wide range of analogies and possible вating are provided. Vessels similar to those described are usually included in the Southeastern Crimean group, although it is possible that they should be separated from the group as the products of more remote centers. The analysis of these groups has demonstrated the importance of investigating even expressionless unglazed pottery findings.

The article deals with various types of specially protected territories participating in preservation of biological diversity of boreal coniferous forests of the West Siberian Plain. Data are presented on species diversity of certain territories of Tomsk oblast established in various landscape and geographical conditions and under various conditions including areas within the Great Vasyugan Mire and the outskirts of Tomsk. The article reviews species of dominant plant families of rivers and lakes of the Polto system in the basin of the Tym river; and the condition of certain species of Orchidaceae, Empetraceae, Cupressaceae, Tiliaceae and Lamiaceae in other parts of the Tomsk region. There is also some analysis of species along with description of sites where 6 plant species were discovered (Orchis militaris,Orchis fuchsii,Juniperus communis,Empetrum nigrum,Tilia cordata,Stachys silvatica) that are protected in the area of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to the well-studied West Siberian sector of frozen bogs in the Russian Arctic, the frozen mound bogs (so-called "palsas") on the highlands of Southern Siberia have not yet been studied, but they are suspected to be even more sensitive to ongoing climate change. This article provides the pilot study on palsa mire Kara-Sug in the highland areas of Western Sayan mountain system, Tuva Republic. The study focuses on the current state of palsa mire and surrounding landscapes, providing wide range of ecological characteristics while describing ongoing transformations of natural landscapes under a changing climate. The study used a variety of field and laboratory methods: the integrated landscape-ecological approach, the study of peat deposits, geobotanical analysis, and modern analysis of the chemical composition of water, peat, and soils. The study shows that highland palsa mires are distinguished by their compactness and high variety of cryogenic landforms leading to high floristic and ecosystem diversity compared with lowland palsa mires. This information brings new insights and contributes to a better understanding of extrazonal highland palsa mires, which remain a "white spot" in the global environmental sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]