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This article presents an author’s analysis of the factors that affect the growth of entrepreneurship in social work at the regional level, with a focus on the Republic of Karelia, spanning from 2015 to 2023. This period witnessed significant changes in the legal framework governing social services and social entrepreneurship. Our approach to this analysis is dynamic, building upon our prior study published in the journal “Region: Economics and Sociology" in 2019. Consequently, we employed diachronic and factor analysis as our primary methods. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that the barriers identified in 2019 remained unresolved during subsequent periods, potentially exacerbated by emerging factors and circumstances. Our research outcomes provide an understanding of entrepreneurial activities in the social work sector, encompassing state institutions, commercial enterprises, socially-oriented NGOs, and self-employed individuals in the Republic of Karelia today. We have identified both facilitating and inhibiting factors contributing to the development of entrepreneurship in social work. These findings hold relevance for regional authorities actively engaged in shaping and executing social policies. They can serve as a foundation for engaging with the public to disseminate knowledge about entrepreneurship within the social sphere. Furthermore, our research methodology can be readily applied to other regions of the Russian Federation, particularly in the North and the Arctic, characterized by vast distances between settlements and low population density.

This article analyzes two large-scale railway projects, namely, Barentskomur and Severosib, both of which have been under discussion for nearly a century regarding their feasibility. The uncertainty surrounding the outcomes and costs of these north-south megaprojects holds significant strategic implications for Russia. Moreover, in the long run, it may exert an ambiguous impact on social performance. While existing methodologies associate uncertainty with varying degrees of risk and in justifying the design suggest a set of measures to mitigate these risks, both probabilistic and improbable, this article introduces an alternative perspective. Here, we examine the factor of uncertainty in terms of opportunities it presents for the future, adopting a constructive approach. To address the emerging challenges, we employ the tools of neo-system analysis as developed by J. Kornai and G. B. Kleiner. Neo-system analysis, in this context, refers to the creation of a multidimensional future using a comprehensive system for evaluating large-scale projects, supplemented by information and expert technologies. We demonstrate how a suite of domestic software products, originating from the Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering within the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Siberian Transport University, expands the capabilities of expert methodologies. These tools are invaluable for providing recommendations to decision-makers who deal with intricate investment decisions under conditions of risk and uncertainty.

Given the increasing disparities in socio-economic development across Russia’s regions, empirical assessments of the public sector’s activities at the regional level catch the attention of researchers. Russia’s federal structure confers equal status to all its constituent entities, implying an expectation of equitable state performance throughout the country. A review of existing studies on the public sector performance shows that they lack a comprehensive assessment using Russian data in a regional context, which has defined the purpose of this research. Our assessment methodology centers on constructing a composite index incorporating 74 indicators of regional socio-economic development, where the public sector plays a pivotal role. We have modified the Public Sector Performance (PSP) assessment methodology by expanding the number of considered indicators and implementing a different standardization approach. Indicator weighting was determined through expert evaluations of the state’s influence on them. The article calculates a composite PSP index for each region and sub-indices for eight categories: Transport Infrastructure; Healthcare; Education, Science and Innovation; Sports and Culture; Social Support; Safety; Ecology; and Economic Development. The Gini coefficient indicates low differentiation in public sector results across Russian regions. However, Moscow and St. Petersburg significantly lead the final rating, with more pronounced gaps in the first three categories. These findings provide valuable insights for authorities, enabling them to identify regional weaknesses, address sector-spatial gaps, draft state program adjustments, and shape a pool of interregional collaborations. The aim is to transfer the most successful management cases, projects, and practices from leading regions in the relevant areas.

The Russian Far East functions as a “contact zone" connecting the national economy with Asia-Pacific nations. Other things being equal, to fully unlock the potential of this region, it is essential to minimize the obstacles hindering its trade and economic engagement with foreign markets. Given the rising external barriers faced by the entire national economy, there is a growing possibility that the Far East of Russia may increasingly redirect trade toward China. This could lead to adverse consequences, as it would create an overreliance on a single foreign market.

Research on energy development in Eastern Russia, in light of the nation’s evolving energy sector technologies, is both multifaceted and intricate. Against the backdrop of new challenges driven by geopolitical dynamics and sanctions on Russia, the Eastern regions play a pivotal role. The global mandate for economic decarbonization, endorsed by the Russian government, necessitates a reevaluation of energy sector growth and its integral energy systems. This study examines regional features of energy systems in Eastern Russia to discern influential factors impacting territorial and production structures, energy consumption, transport infrastructure construction in the eastern part of the country, energy exports to Asia-Pacific nations, and the efficacy of energy distribution to isolated and remote areas. The analysis identifies several categories of regional energy system features in Eastern Russia, including socio-economic, infrastructural, sectoral, fuel and energy balance, and environmental-climatic aspects. These interconnected features must be considered when formulating energy development strategies, especially in the context of transitioning to low-carbon technologies.

This article delves into the challenges of strategic planning and management for the socio-economic development of regions and municipalities in the face of new realities. It also dissects the spatial aspects of regional development. We bring to light various pressing issues, spanning organizational, institutional, socio-economic, financial, and legal domains, that affect strategic planning. One notable finding is that socio-economic development exhibits substantial spatial disparities among regions and municipalities. It becomes evident that current strategic planning, management practices, and institutional mechanisms inadequately consider the unique characteristics of each region and the pivotal role that spatial factors play in driving economic growth. Our work advocates for the adoption of a systematic approach to regional and municipal strategic planning to enhance the efficacy of decision-making processes. It traces the evolution of strategic planning methodologies in tandem with the increasing socio-economic priorities shaping state development. Moreover, the article analyzes strategic planning documents and offers insights into the primary stages of building a contemporary planning and forecasting system in Russia. Drawing from the accumulated experience of planning and forecasting within regional and municipal administrations, we put forth recommendations aimed at improving regional and municipal planning and management, ultimately bolstering its efficiency.

The capsule review of the scientific editor for the thematic issue of the Siberian Journal of Forest Science, 2023, number 6 is presented, dedicated to the studies in forest pyrology.

On the territory of Central Siberia, hundreds of forest fires occur annually, spreading over vast areas. An analysis of the dynamics of forest fires showed that in recent decades the number of fires and the burned area have increased significantly. The average area of one fire has also increased, which indicates the insufficient effectiveness of the organization of forest fire protection. The maximum number of fires occurs in the Nizhneangarskiy taiga region, where pine forests predominate, in which cutting have been actively carried out since the middle of the last century. The largest burned area was registered in the Central Siberian plateau taiga region, where forests are inaccessible and a zone control by only remote-sensing instruments has been allocated. The largest number of fires from thunderstorms was also recorded in this forest region (93.1 %). The main number of large and catastrophic fires operated in the control zone. The meteorological factors influencing the occurrence of forest fires are analyzed and regression models of the dependence of the number of forest fires on temperature and precipitation for different forest regions are obtained. The main causes of fires are the emergence of a large number of fires sources due to the intensive economic development of forest areas and increased thunderstorm activity due to climate change. The use of a regression model of the relationship between the number of forest fires and the average air temperature and the amount of precipitation for the fire season allows to qualitatively estimate the system of protecting forests from forest fires. At the same time, in some forest regions, there is a decrease in the effectiveness of protecting forests from fires, the increase in the number of which is due to climate change.

The dynamics of vegetation fires on the territory of the Arctic zone of Siberia (64-74°N, 60-150°E) was studied under the conditions of observed climatic changes at the turn of the XX - beginning of the XXI centuries. In the study area, four sectors with an interval of 20° were considered on the longitude gradient, so that the longitude boundaries for each sector coincided with the boundaries of the basins of the large rivers Ob, Yenisei (with Khatanga), Lena, Yana, Indigirka, and Kolyma. As the initial data, the V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences fire bank was used, collected from satellite monitoring materials in 1996-2022, as well as materials of reanalysis of meteorological information on the territory of Siberia from open catalogs for more than 100-year observation interval 1900-2022. The paper analyzes the spatio-temporal variation of the main meteorological characteristics, including air temperature, precipitation, lightning activity with details on the longitude gradient. Additionally, the trends of changes in the level of heat and moisture supply and the duration of the fire-hazardous period have been restored. The measure of the relative anomalies of the main meteorological factors in the time interval 2000-2022 in comparison with the average statistical norms of the 100-year period and the relative rate of their change in the modern climate are revealed. Geospatial interpolation was performed by means of geoinformation systems. Qualitatively and quantitatively, the level of connection between the burning of the Siberian Arctic in the period 2002-2022 has been established. depending on the off-season variations of heat and moisture availability.

Weather conditions are one of the important factors, which affects forest fire danger. Taking into consideration different methodical approaches (in particular, to accounting for precipitation) and differences between forestry and natural climatic conditions, also different density the weather stations, the values calculated according by these methods differ significantly in different forest areas. In order to correctly estimate the methods quality and correctly interpret the results which were obtained, it was developed special toolkit allowing to do the necessary preliminary processing and data visualization in the form of an interactive panel. Existing approaches were based on linear Pearson’s correlation coefficient. At the same time this criterion can be applicable in case when the source data are distributed according to normal distribution law. ISDM-Rosleskhoz formed Big Data, which show it is not true. The new approach differs in that the source data are previously transform logarithm method, which increases accuracy of the obtained estimations. The developed toolkit allowed to conduct comparative analysis of the main methods, which are used in Russia. Method of humidity indicator taking into account hygroscopicity (PVG) shows the best results - (30 %), method of humidity indicator 2 (PV-2) is in the second place (26 %), method of humidity indicator 1 (PV-1) is located in the third place (20 %), Nesterov’s method is in the last place (13 %). The number of forest fires doesn’t allow to obtain reliable result in the other area (11 %). The prepared interactive map by the authors in combination with a dynamic graph allows to visualize comparative results to the forest areas level, inside subjects of the Russian Federation thereby simplifying interpretation the obtain results. The total results can be used for improvement forest fire danger scales depending on weather conditions.