Assessing state of water protection zones of Volga River within Ilyinka village area (Astrakhan region)

Anthropogenic pollution of water basins may become a serious threat for ecosystems and human health. Pollutants are transferred through food chains or directly when untreated water is used, released to soil through subsoil waters or during floods. The increased anthropogenic load on rivers’ hydrosystems, especially in their del-tas, is becoming rampant these days. The goal of the research is to study the coastal areas and to assess the state of vegetation. To achieve this goal, standard methods of biotesting and bioindication were applied in the territories of two water-protection zones – those of the Volga River and the Nozhovskiy erik (shallow channel in the Volga delta – translator’s note) near the Ilyinka village. The water quality in the Volga River, within the examined range, is stably characterized as “dirty” (4th class). The exceeded level of maximum permissible concentrations for petroleum products, heavy metals (mercury, zinc, molybdenum), sulfides and phenols is observed. The research has not revealed the impact of the quality of water on phytotoxicity of the soil and indices of abundance of the vegetation that grows in this territory. Toxicity of soils is weak in the area of the Nozhovskiy erik, it is very weak in the area of the Volga River: the germination capacity of the test object (watercress) ranges between 67 and 88%, morpho-metric indices of plants do not differ much from those in control groups. Within the summer period the monitoring sites were characterized by the maximum frequency-abundance indices of typical representatives of the local flora, which are camel thorn (Alhagi pseudalhagi) and greater burdock (Arctium lappa). Vegetation in these areas is abundant, its state is assessed as satisfactory.

Is Lotus zhegulensis Klok. (Fabaceae) a separate species endemic of the Middle Volga Region or just a variety of a widespread L. corniculatus L.?

We have studied several samples from Lotus corniculatus s. l. and L. zhegulensis populations with the use of SSR and sequenced nuclear (ITS) and plastid (atpB-rbcL, ndhC-trnV, rpl32-trnL(UAG), trnH-psbA, trnL-trnF) markers. We analysed 9 local populations from the Volga River valley ranging from Ulyanovsk in the north to Volgograd in the south, as well as two local populations from Moscow and Lipetsk Provinces. Analyses of SSR markers using the STRUCRURE program divided the sample into three genetic clusters. Populations from Moscow and Lipetsk Provinces, and three local populations from the ‘locus classicus’ location of L. zhegulensis in Samara Province appeared to be the most genetically differentiated while all the other populations were variously genetically admixed. Low pairwise Fst values indicate low genetic differentiation of Lotus populations and the intraspecific nature of the revealed diversity. The nuclear and plastid DNA sequences analyzed yielded little information. Substitutions and indels revealed were mostly autapomorphies characteristic of separate specimens or small groups of specimens but not of populations. Our study enables to firmly conclude that Lotus populations from the right bank of the Volga River in vicinity of Zhiguli upland described as L. zhegulensis are weakly genetically differentiated from other populations of Lotus corniculatus s. l. and, hence, cannot be regarded as a separate species.

Migration of the Oirats in the first quarter of the 17th century on the eve of returning to Dzungaria

In 1541 the Oirats managed to form the Middle Confederation, which was led by the Khoshuts as the most powerful people. In the second half of the same XVI century the Oirats, suffering from attacks of their neighbors - the Turkic peoples from the west and south and the eastern Mongols from the east, began to move towards southern Siberia. Earlier they used to roam along the Black Irtysh river and north of the lake Zaysan, but now they began to move below the lake Yamysh. Opinions on the migration routes of the Oirats, existing in the literature, need clarification. The author offers his vision based on the archival materials and the Mongolian sources: the Hoyt Oirats, driven out of Kharakhoto by the Tumat Altan Khan, were the first to go towards the Altai Mountains. The next were the Torgut Oirats, who crossed the Altai, and then, together with the Derbets, they moved down the Irtysh river. The Elelets, the future Dzungars, left Western Mongolia for the Yenisei river sources. Already in the second decade of the 17th century the Oirats wandered along Om, Kamyshlov, Tobol and Ishim rivers, that is, they were roaming along the middle reaches of the Irtysh river. In 1623, at lake Yamysh, they defeated the troops of the Hotogoit Altyn Khan Sholoi Ubashi-Khuntaiji, but this victory did not exclude an internal struggle in the ruling house of the Khoshuts, which resulted in weakening of this people. Further civil strife forced the Torguts to move towards west, and in the early 1630s they reached the Volga river. Migrations over such long distances were possible only if there was an effective management apparatus, while maintaining traditions and identity.

Assessment of the possibility of operating low-pressure hydroelectric facilities in order to improve the conditions of navigation in their lower reaches

The paper provides an assessment of the projected low-pressure hydroelectric facility operation on the Volga River from the point of view of navigation conditions in its lower reach. The operating mode of the low-pressure hydroelectric facility completely depends on the hourly discharges of the Nizhny Novgorod HPP, located upstream. Significant unevenness in time of the supplied discharges from the Nizhny Novgorod HPP, which, repeating itself when discharging flows into the lower reach of the Nizhniy Novgorod low-pressure hydroelectric facility, can lead to negative consequences for shipping in terms of failure to provide transport passes and necessary depths. It is proposed to reduce the unevenness of discharges by introducing diurnal flow regulation into the low-pressure hydroelectric facility operation, aimed at changing the hydrological regime of the river section to improve the conditions and organize uninterrupted and safe navigation in the lower reach. Achievement of the regulation goal associated with minimization of interval deviations of the supplied flow rates from Nizhny Novgorod HPP from the daily average values and the fulfillment of the restrictions on the hydrological regime of the low-pressure hydroelectric facility ponds, is achieved by two control options (three-stage and two-stage). The study used the methods of mathematical statistics and probability theory, optimization of management decisions. The methodology of the mathematical model limitations’ nonfulfillment elimination for solving the problem and optimization of the low-pressure hydroelectric facility daily hydrograph is presented. Using a specific example, the problem of diurnal regulation of discharges is solved and the obtained effect is described.

“We Cannot Pray Without Kumyshka”: Alcohol in Udmurt Ritual Life

We trace the history of the uses of the alcoholic drink known as kumyshka among the Udmurt. Our focus is on kumyshka’s ritual uses both in public and domestic contexts in the second half of the 19th century, the early 20th century as well as the early 21st century. We suggest that kumyshka not only represents a site of resistance to the dominant religious regime, i.e. Russian Orthodoxy, but is also a tool for self-enhancement and identity making for this indigenous people in the Volga River basin in Central Russia. The consumption of kumyshka has been a frequent object of criticism in the accounts of Orthodox clergy, scholars, doctors, travellers and administrators. Most accounts show a moralising stance, which only occasionally reflects the local understandings behind its uses. As anthropologists working in the region, we compare these historical sources with the current practices. We discuss changes in the religious sphere as well as in gender roles related to the uses of kumyshka.

Glazed pottery of the Eastern origin in the South part of the Eastern Europe. The main types and sourses of production

The article focuses on the analysis of glazed ware imported into the southern regions of Russia from the Early Middle Ages to the Golden Horde period. The author studied most common types of glazed ware and their sources. In order to compare, the paper considers the groups of ware brought to the Pontic and the Volga River regions. From the 7th century in the northern Pontic region, vessels produced in Constantinople appeared. Various groups of Byzantine pottery were recorded there till the beginning of the Golden Horde period. In the Caspian region, glazed ware appeared not earlier than the middle-late 9th – early 10th century coming there from Central Asia and the Middle East. In the 11th century, there were no significant changes in the sources and number of imported products in the Pontic, while the Volga River region falls under the influence of the North-Eastern Caucasus, Transcaucasia and the Middle East (mainly Iran). In the second half – end of the 12th century, the Volga region was becoming one of the key areas points in the trade of kashi ware of Middle Eastern origin. In the 14th century, Byzantine ware first appeared there. The same period was marked with the rise in local pottery production in the Pontic and Azov littoral which contributed to the spread of these products throughout Eastern Europe.

New research of elemental composition of East European medieval pottery

The paper presents the results of studying the composition of pottery by neutron activation analysis (involving X-ray fluorescence analysis). The study was based on samples of pottery made from highly ferrous (red-burning) clays originating from archaeological sites investigated in the territory of medieval Rus (Moscow and Ryazan Land) and the Volga River region (the Bolgar and Selitrennoye fortified settlements). They were compared with pottery samples from Byzantium and other regions (the Caucasus, Central Asia). A set of trace elements was identified whose content differs significantly in the pottery of different regions of Eastern Europe and differs also from the pottery of neighbouring countries. Cluster analysis confirmed the presence of noticeable differences in the trace element composition of clay masses from which medieval pottery were made. The results obtained allow the authors to admit the possibility of determining the origin of pottery by its trace element composition, at least at the level of large territories. Within these territories, differences in the composition of pottery have not yet been revealed.

Zwischen Fiktion und historischer Realität: Gusel Jachinas Roman Wolgakinder

Gusel Jachina is a Russian writer. Her grandfather, a former German teacher in one of the villages along the Volga River, founded by German colonists, inspired her second novel “Wolgakinder” (Children of the Volga). She presents over 20 years of eventful history as it is seen by Jakob Bach, a German teacher in the village Gnadental on the banks of the Volga. It is an opulent novel of 600 pages, written in a rather baroque style, trying to not only present historic events from the beginning of the Soviet era but to recreate the atmosphere of those years full of Ups and Downs not only for the German speaking population.

Migration processes among Tatars of the Tetyushsky krai: directions, causes and results (the second half of the 16th – early 20th centuries)

The presented article sets the tasks to consider the migration conditions and processes among the population of the Tetyushsky Krai, to identify the historical validity of their choice of a particular region for living, to determine the reasons that contribute to the movement of the population. The study of the history of the region in this perspective is being conducted for the first time. In our opinion, this approach to the study of local history is relevant. Ancestral ties in Tatar society have always been strong and representatives of the same family living in different regions maintained close contact and, therefore, kinship ties considerably affected the migration direction. In the course of our research, several directions of migration of the population of the Tetyushsky Territory were identified in different periods of history: after the fall of the Bulgarian state and, subsequently, the Kazan Khanate. The migration of certain clans took place on the territory of the current Spassky district of the Republic of Tatarstan. This movement was quite understandable, since in the memory of the people it was perceived as a movement within their land, their state. It is known that the territory of Volga Bulgaria stretched both in the left and right banks of the Volga River. It should also be noted that natives of the Tetyushsky Region founded some villages in the Almetyevsk and Spassk districts of the Republic of Tatarstan. The lack of arable land contributed to the movement of the population to the Menzelinsk district of the Ufa Province, in search of better conditions for farming. The connection of the inhabitants of the Mountain side with the southern city of Astrakhan is primarily due to its convenient geographical location for trade relations, which has been a favorite occupation of the Tatars since the beginning of centuries. Also, the climatic conditions of the southern region saved many in the hunger years in the Volga region. Those who moved from the Middle Volga region, mostly came from the Mountainous side. The study of the historical ties of the Tatars of different regions, migration processes and their directions provides new materials for researching the history of regions and settlements.