TYPES OF URBANIZATION IN THE USSR

A typology of urbanization is developed for the 163 major civil divisions of the USSR on the basis of three factors: (a) an index of the level of urbanization (incorporating the percentage of urban population, the share of cities of 100,000 or more in urban population, an index of urban agglomerations, and a coefficient adjusting for the density of urban population); (b) the structural complexity of urbanization (which is treated as deriving either solely from the urban population percentage in the simplest case; or from the urban population percentage and the share of large cities in a two-element case, or additionally from the presence of urban agglomerations in the three-element case); (c) the dominance of any of the three structural elements. The typology yields 24 combinations of the three factors out of a theoretically possible total of 54 combinations, some combinations being represented only by one or two examples. The typology is conceptualized as a mobile system in which particular major civil divisions may advance to higher levels as urbanization processes continue.     

PREDICTION OF TRANSPORT-ECONOMIC LINKAGES IN THE USSR

Possible changes in production patterns of basic Soviet industries and the resulting interregional linkages and freight flows are projected over the next 25 to 30 years. Interregional energy flows are expected to be limited largely to oil and gas as well as power transmission at extra high voltages. Steam-coal movements will be restricted to the limits of particular economic regions, and coking-coal movements will be reduced as a result of technological changes in the iron and steel industry (electric steels, direct conversion, peat-based metallurgy). In general, the share of semifinished and finished goods is expected to increase and that of raw materials and fuels to decline in interregional hauls. The likely new flow patterns are examined for the Soviet Union's principal transport corridors.     

FACTORS IN THE ECOLOGY OF WILD RICE IN NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN

Une demande croissante d'une économie viable dans la Saskatchewan du Nord a incité les responsables de l'agriculture provinciale à donner un appui plus soutenu aux programmes d'ensemencement de riz sauvage. Une production qui a décuplé depuis 1978 a donné des résultats encourageants. Cette expansion agricole a cependant été menée dans l'absence de données relatives à l'écologie locale. On donnera une vue d'ensemble de l'écologie concernant le riz sauvage, ainsi que les résultats d'une étude faite à La Ronge en Saskatchewan. Les résultats suggèrent que l'acidité de l'eau et la conductivité pourraient former la base d'une évaluation préliminaire d'endroits propices pour la culture dans les terrains recouverts d'une mince couche d'eau.
An increasing demand for a viable economy in northern Saskatchewan has led to a growing commitment from Saskatchewan Agriculture to support wild rice seeding programs. The results have been encouraging, with production increasing tenfold since 1978. However, this agricultural'expansion has been carried out in the absence of local ecological information. An overview of wild rice ecology is presented, together with the results of a study conducted at La Ronge, Saskatchewan. The results suggest that water pH and conductivity could form the basis of a preliminary evaluation of site potential in shallow aquatic environments.     

THE WATER ASPECT OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF AGRICULTURE IN THE USSR

The long-term grain requirements of the growing Soviet population are calculated. On the basis of the relationship between water use and grain yields by natural soil zones of the USSR, the authors show that the amount of water needed per unit of output declines with a growth of productivity, especially in the non-chernozem zone of the Soviet Union. It is therefore concluded that greater water savings might be assured by expanding grain production in zones with an adequate supply of natural moisture rather than by the use of artificial irrigation of arid lands.     

THE PERIODICITY OF DROUGHTS IN THE GRAIN-GROWING AREAS OF THE USSR

On the basis of a chronology of droughts in the grain-growing regions of the USSR, compiled from historical sources and the more recent period of instrumental observations, the author shows that the occurrence of drought may be regarded as a random process characterized as a quasi-stationary Poisson series of events. Most of the grain regions in the USSR follow this regularity. In the case of simultaneous drought throughout the principal grain zone of the USSR, comprising the European part and the Midland region (West Siberia and Kazakhstan), the sequence of events assumes a nonstationary character. Statistical parameters are developed for the time series of drought years and nondrought years, and are compared with extreme values in grain-yield fluctuations. Over the last 140 years, drought occurred in 76 years in at least one of the three major grain regions of the USSR (European part, West Siberia, Kazakhstan) while 64 years had no drought and corresponding normal or higher yields. A catastrophic drought affecting all three grain regions simultaneously is virtually (95%) certain to occur at least once in 20 years.     

URBANIZATION IN THE USSR: PROBLEMS OF SPATIAL DIFFERENTIATION

The process of formation of settlement systems “in the USSR is conceptualized as proceeding at eight levels of a hierarchy corresponding to the system of economic regions, from a national system down to rayon-level systems. An important element in the present process of urbanization is the formation of urban agglomerations. The fact that these urban entities still lack juridical or even statistical status deprives urban and economic planners of a valuable data base for planning purposes so that the agglomerations often evolve in undesirable, uncoordinated ways. Greater attention needs to be given to the study of the internal structure of urban entities, a field neglected by Soviet population geographers. An undesirable tendency in Soviet agglomerations is to aim at continuously built-up territory, thus converting agglomerations into traditional compact cities, instead of making provision for open spaces for use in agriculture and forestry, recreation and communications.     

高寒地区土地资源利用评价的GIS支持研究——以青海海北藏族自治州为例

土地资源是人类生存的基本资料和劳动对象 ,是人地关系系统中一个重要的物质信息载体 ,是评价人类生境的一个重要对象。土地利用是人类在现阶段生产力水平下 ,对区域土地资源的开发程度和利用情况。土地资源的现状评价 ,是反映人地关系协调程度的一个重要手段。本文采用目前广泛使用的GIS先进技术手段 ,对青海省海北藏族自治州土地资源的利用现状进行了评价。表明了GIS技术对该区域土地利用评价起到了缩小工作量 ,提高精确度的作用。并且从土地利用角度对海北州人地关系现状进行了描述。     

GEOGRAPHICAL ASPECTS OF A TERRITORIAL REDISTRIBUTION OF WATER RESOURCES IN THE USSR

A set of principles for a geographical research program relating to the future impact of major interbasin water transfers is outlined. Such a program, evaluating the impact of proposed tranfers both in the European USSR and in the Midland Region of Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, should be based on the following considerations. Noneconomic criteria, such as the environmental impact of water transfers, must be given as much attention as economic and engineering criteria. Experience suggests that any measures designed to protect or ameliorate the environment, for example, inland fisheries, should precede actual water-project construction by at least 15 to 20 years. North-south transfers should be so designed as to benefit both the northern region, from which water is to be withdrawn, and the southern region, where water resources are to be enhanced. The problem of interbasin transfers should be accompanied by a program of intensification of water use, measured by a reduction of water input into the economy per unit of output. Water use can be intensified by such measures as shifting grain production from south to north and building irrigation reservoirs in Central Asian mountains to regulate runoff.     

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL NONFARM PLACES IN THE USSR

According to the 1970 census, the Soviet Union had 37,800 rural nonfarm places with a combined population of 6.1 million, or 5.8 percent of the rural population. The census data are believed to understate the number and population of nonfarm places because they assigned rural places to the nonfarm category purely on the basis of their generic designation. Many multifunctional nonfarm places and rural places that serve as administrative centers and have little relation to agriculture were not categorized as nonfarm in the census. Although many of the smaller nonfarm places are likely to be eliminated over time, others will continue to perform clearly defined functions in industry, construction, transportation, and services. The situation is illustrated with particular reference to Novosibirsk Oblast.     

SOME ASPECTS OF THE SPATIAL ORGANIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE USSR

Studies of the geography of higher education have become increasingly common in the Soviet Union in view of two basic issues: (1) what some consider an excessive concentration of educational and research centers in Moscow and Leningrad, and a sparse distribution of such institutions in some other regions of the USSR; (2) the need for relating the specialization of institutions of higher learning to the basic economic activities of the regions in which they are situated. The author develops a number of measures such as indices of localization of undergraduates, graduate students and holders of academic degrees to assess the significance of higher education in various regions of the Soviet Union.     

RECENT RESULTS OF NEOLITHIC RESEARCH IN MOLDAVIA (USSR)

Summary. The area north of the Black Sea, from the Danube to the Caucasus, was a zone of interaction between farming populations and indigenous Mesolithic groups which acquired pottery and elements of stock-breeding. Recent research in Soviet Moldavia, at the western end of this area, has clarified the nature of contacts between farming groups of Balkan origin and local groups centred on the Dnestr and Bug.     

高寒地区土地资源利用评价的GIS支持研究——以青海海北藏族自治州为例

土地资源是人类生存的基本资料和劳动对象,是人地关系系统中一个重要的物质信息载体,是评价人类生境的一个重要对象。土地利用是人类在现阶段生产力水平下,对区域土地资源的开发程度和利用情况。土地资源的现状评价,是反映人地关系协调程度的一个重要手段。本文采用目前广泛使用的GIS先进技术手段,对青海省海北藏族自治州土地资源的利用现状进行了评价。表明了GIS技术对该区域土地利用评价起到了缩小工作量,提高精确度的作用。并且从土地利用角度对海北州人地关系现状进行了描述。     

ON THE INEQUALITY OF RURAL SERVICES PROVISION IN THE USSR

Results of studies of inter- and intra-regional variation of rural services provision (including retail trade, cultural-educational services, and health care) are compared. Highest levels of per capita services provision were found in the Baltic republics and RSFSR, with lower levels in the southern European USSR, Transcaucasia, and Central Asia. The differences are attributed to rural depopulation (northwestern USSR), rural development priorities in areas of severe natural conditions (Siberia), and high rates of natural population increase (Central Asia). A differential approach in services planning is recommended between areas located near oblast urban centers and those which are more remote (translated by Jay K. Mitchell; PlanEcon, Inc.; Washington, DC 20005).     

TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE OF TOURIST SERVICES IN THE USSR AND TRENDS IN ITS DEVELOPMENT

Differences in the support structure for tourism in various parts of the USSR are analyzed as a consequence of such factors as natural conditions, proximity to major population centers and tourist attractions, route connectivity, and the variable shares of private (e.g., dacha) and rental accommodations. Elements of both dynamism and stability in the current spatial pattern are identified and comparisons of tourism infrastructure for 1976, 1980, and 1986 are used to analyze changes occurring in subregions within four broad macrozones. Tourism infrastructure and interregional tourist travel both are concentrated in the central and southern parts of the European USSR. Translated by H. L. Haslett, Leamington Spa, UK from: Izvestiya Vsesoyuznogo Geograficheskogo Obshchestva, 1990, No. 1, pp. 86-94.