Vol 9, No 1 (2020)

The paper deals with some questions of specially protected natural areas (SPNA) of the local level. Lake Chernoe (Takovets) is located in Lezhnevo municipal District of the Ivanovo Region and it was founded as a SPNA in 1975, in 2001 it became a SPNA of the local level. The area of the lake is 10,8 hectares, the area of the SPNA is 17 hectares. The paper contains data of a complex ecological study: the lake’s parameters, the topography of the banks and soil, the features of its flora, vegetation and fauna. 256 vascular plant species from 5 departments, 6 classes, 62 families and 164 genera were registered by 2019. 13 plant species are rare for the Ivanovo Region flora, among them 3 species (Nuphar pumila , Rubus chamaemorus , Rubus nessensis) are included into the Red Data Book; their populations are briefly characterized. The species composition of mosses is diverse (29 species were noted in total). The fauna is typical of small closed region lakes. The lake is pressed by anthropological factors, its ecosystems are disturbed, it promotes invasive alien plants (there are 28 alien plant species). The lake has a great hydrological, scientific and environment-forming value, it is perspective for ecological tourism planning.

The primary sources of anthropogenic and technogenic impacts on the environment of urban and suburban areas of the Voronezh and Saratov Regions which are part of the Khopyor River Region have been identified. Among the combined urbanized and man-made sources it is necessary to distinguish the activity of pedestrians and road transport. These conditions characterize the local background of the total anthropo-technological load in relation to the settlements of the research area. Its main manifestations include soil compaction, density of the road and path network and clutter. Arithmetic mean values of degradation impacts were analyzed for settlements in the subregion under consideration. A scale of point-based environmental assessment of the state of the environment is developed for differentiated localities in the Khopyor River Region. High anthropogenic and technogenic load is found in Balashov, middle - in Borisoglebsk, Rtishchevo, low - in Povorino and Gribanovsky, an extremely low load - in Romanovka, Arkadak and Novokhopersk. The obtained and analyzed values of anthropogenic and technogenic loads on the environment demonstrate the features of its state and the direction of its degradation, the levels of environmental comfort of urbanized areas for the population. The system of environmental quality management, urban and suburban environmental management in the Khopyor River Region should be reoriented to an ecosystem basis using the environmental assessment criteria and the environmental monitoring results presented and analyzed in this paper.

The paper studies the ontogenetic structure features of coenopopulations of a rare representative Hedysarum gmelinii Ledeb. (Fabaceae) on the periphery of the range (the Middle Volga and the Bashkir pre-Urals) and in its central part (the Altai Mountains). The main demographic indicators are determined - the age index and the aging index. Taking demographic indicators into account, the types of coenopopulations were determined according to the «delta-omega» criterion: in the Bashkir pre-Urals they are mostly young, transitional in the Middle Volga region, and mature in the Altai Mountains. In habitats with great moisture in populations, an increase in the proportion of regenerative individuals was noted. Anthropogenic load (mainly in the form of grazing) has a greater impact on the number and density of individuals, but not on the type of ontogenetic spectrum of coenopopulations. The spatial and ontogenetic structure of coenopopulations of H. gmelinii is characterized by a rather high variety of ontogenetic spectra types (and types of populations, respectively) in the European part of the species range. Differences in the demographic parameters of the populations of the Samara and Orenburg Regions from the populations of the Bashkir pre-Urals and the Altai Mountains were revealed, which is associated with the difference in climatic conditions (primarily the degree of moisture). Features of the organization of H. gmelinii populations indicate their greater instability on the border of the range.

The paper provides an assessment of physical and chemical changes of humus substances in the sludge-colloidal fraction, isolated from the sod-podsolic sandy loamy soil, during its interaction with the diatomite rock of the Inzen deposit in conditions of agro ecosystem of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. The experience was a 3-year (2015-2017) microfield experiment, laid down on one of the fields of «Elitkhoz». The diatomite was added to soil once during the summer season of 2014 in doses of 3, 6 and 12 t/ha, on which winter wheat, barley and peas were subsequently grown (varieties are zoned in the Volga-Viatskiy Region). Each year, upon completion of crop cultivation, a silo-colloidal fraction was isolated from selected soil samples by the Kachinsky gravimetric method and analyzed on an IR-Fourier-spectrometer, determining absorption spectra in frequency range of 4000-400 cm-¹. In soil samples the content of specific organic substance (humus) was also determined by the Thurin method with spectrophotometric termination. The studies revealed that interaction of diatomite with the organic soil matrix resulted in organosilanes RnSiH4-n (930 cm-¹), organosilanes oxygen-free Si-CH3 (1253 cm-¹) and oxygen-containing compounds Si-O-CH3 (1110 cm-¹), as well as siloxane bonds of Si-O-Si (570 cm-¹). The obtained facts directly indicate formation of silicon-containing organo-mineral complexes in sludge-colloidal fraction and participation of silicon in their formation. It is evident that an active diatomite represented by various silicon acids (HnSiOm) was involved in formation of these bonds. The use of diatomite has helped to maintain content of humus substances in soil at the control level, which can also confirm effects of interaction of silicon substances with organic part and, as a result, prevent its degradation. Based on the obtained results and analysis of scientific literature, a mechanism is proposed for possible physical-chemical interaction of active silicon substances with an organic component of the sludge-colloidal fraction of the sod-podsolic soil, which consists in polymerization of silicon on organo-mineral complexes (bonds -Si-O-Si-), as well as in interaction of the hydrolyzed part of humus substances with silicon with subsequent formation of organosilanes, which are subsequently connected with an organic Si-O-CH3 matrix. Due to the fact that organic matter of soils is involved in the formation of ecological stability of soil cover the established effects make it possible to speak about the increase of agro ecological stability of humus substances in sod-podsolic soil due to the use of diatomite rocks.

The paper deals with the study of zooplankton in the lower stream of the Kama river, the largest tributary of the Volga, which has important economic importance for the European part of Russia. The obtained results allowed to establish the summer composition of zooplankton fauna of the studied reservoir, to determine the quantitative characteristics of the communities. 61 taxa belonging to 3 types were identified: Rotifera, Arthropoda (Cladocera, Copepoda groups) and Mollusca (Bivalvia). The average species density in the study area is 10 ± 1 taxa per station. The average biomass in the study area was 0,679 ± 0,434 g/m³, the average number was 49,50 ± 8,01 thousand specimens/m³. The average daily zooplankton production was 0,043 ± 0,020 g/m³. The biocenotic analysis has allowed to allocate five types of communities with the dominance of the major species of rotifers, cladocerans and copepods in the study area. The two-factor analysis showed that the structure of communities is more influenced by the local features of biotopes than the general conditions at the study sites. The wellbeing index indicates that the communities of zooplankters in the lower stream of the Kama river are in a state of near stress. The environmental assessment on the composition and structure of types of indicators is possible to attribute this body of water to moderately polluted water (β-mezosaprobic zone).

The paper examines the coenomorphs scheme of vascular plants species by A.L. Belgard which was introduced for the Volga River Region flora by N.M. Matveev. The coenomorphs scheme assessment has been done for 752 vascular plants species of flora by an expert and statistical approach, which included three variants of classification (by N.M. Matveev and by A.L. Belgard with halophyte and psammophyte groups’ identification and without it) with the use of discriminant analysis and phytoindication scales. It has been proved that it is possible to rate N.M. Matveev’s coenomorphs in phytoindication scales for the forest-steppe and steppe of the Volga River Region. The biotope optimums of coenomorphs are identified for 12 edaphic and climatic factors. It is necessary to specify the halophyte coenomorph as a coenotical group of mesophytic biotopes of basic and alkaline soils with irregular and shallow moisture penetration of root zone and poor carbonate and sulphate salinization and specify the psammophyte coenomorph as a coenotical group of mesoxerophytic biotopes of subacid and poor nitrogen soils. The steppe-ruderal, meadow-ruderal and silvan-ruderal coenomorphs introduced by N.M. Matveev are not specific ecological and coenotical groups, they are not identified as ruderal and their identification as individual coenomorphs don’t appear to have sufficient reasons. But these groups can be used as indicators of such biotopes: steppe on poor carbonate soils (steppe-ruderal group), mesophytic meadow (meadow-ruderal group), and not-shade (half-shade and half-light) sylvatic (silvan-ruderal group).

In this paper the ecological state of recreational areas in Nizhny Novgorod was assessed by the level of soil contamination with heavy metals (HM) and the values of bioindication indicators of the birch (Betula pendula Roth). The objects of the study were 4 recreational areas. The forest park «Shelokovsky Farm» located far from pollution sources was chosen as a control site. The excess of normative indicators (in multiplicities of normative indicators) on gross content of HM was observed in soils only for nickel: in the park «Switzerland» in 1,3 times, in «Raspberry Ridge» - in 2,3 times. The soils with the pollution category «moderately dangerous» were the most polluted by HM according to the total indicator of pollution: in the protected area «Crimson Ridge» and in the park «Oaks». Bioindication indicators of a birch leaf deviated from the conventional norm in a number of studied areas. The quality of the environment, estimated by fluctuating asymmetry of birch leaves in «Shelokovsky Farm» and the park «Oaks», correspond to 2 points (a slight deviation from the norm), in the Park «Switzerland» - to 3 points (the average deviation from the norm), and in «Crimson Ridge» - to 4 points (a significant deviation from the norm). In the two most contaminated sites («Oaks» and «Crimson Ridge»), a decrease of chlorophyll content in birch leaves relative to the control («Shelokovsky Farm») was observed.

The indicators of the sanitary condition of woody plants in the conditions of natural and artificial ecosystems of the Voronezh and Saratov Regions were established and analyzed. In suburban ecosystems of the research area, the state of woody plants is determined at the level of weak damage. In suburban areas of Balashov with the greatest economic and technosphere potential, woody plants reach an average (moderate) degree of damage. In remote relatively preserved ecosystems (control parameters), the state of these organisms corresponds to a weak ecological diagnostic criterion. According to the identified average arithmetic sanitary indicators in the Voronezh Region, the best condition is characterized by woody plants in the ecosystems of Novohopersk and Gribanovsky, in the Saratov Region - in Turki and Samoylovka. There were also significant differences in the arithmetic mean parameters of the sanitary condition of this group plants representatives differentiated by functional zones. The highest damage values are typical for woody plants in the urban ecosystems of industrial zones. The maximum danger to woody plants was observed within these zones in Povorino, Borisoglebsk, and Balashov with high-level average values of damage to these organisms. Significant concern is also caused by the defeat of the analyzed group of organisms in these cities as part of the ecosystems of the settlement zones. The results of the assessment of the sanitary condition of woody plants should be used as a scientific basis for landscaping, environmental protection and reforestation. Measures are proposed to improve the condition of woody plants in various types of ecosystems in the research area. According to the sanitary state of these organisms, it is possible to determine the limits of sustainability of ecological frameworks and differentiate the parameters of environmental comfort for the local population in different territorial categories.

The paper considers the introduction of alien species of Poaceae Barnhart family into plant communities of South-East Europe salted habitats. In the region only two cosmopolitan alien members of this family - Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv. (archaeophyte of South Asian origin, ksenophyte, epecophyte) and Setaria pumila (Poir.) Roem. et Schult. (archaeophyte of East Asian origin, ksenophyte, epecophyte) - are registered on the specified ecotope type, but very limited both synthaxonomically (number of lower units) and geographically (only in the Lower Volga region - the Volga Delta and the south of Volga-Akhtuba flood-plain). Echinochloa crus-galli invades on saline habitats most actively, in some communities it can be both a constant and a rather abundant species but, most likely, is able to influence significantly the formation of only individual coenoses of a number of associations. Both species are registered in communities of associations distributed on soils of a full range of a salinity degree (both weak- and strongly-salted). Compared to associations on strongly salted soils, they slightly strengthen their positions in these ones with weakly salted soils - both species are registered there more often, and Echinochloa crus-galli is even more plentifully.

The paper is dedicated to burial practices of the Stone Age population that inhabited the territory of the North-West Siberia. The source base is represented by 14 complexes. The burial grounds and solitary graves are located on high slopes in the terrace conifer forest areas along the tributaries of the Konda River. The Mesolithic burials date back to the period starting from the 9th-8th millennium BC through the end of the 7th millennium BC, while the Neolithic can be traced starting from the 7th-6th millennium BC to the middle of the 4th millennium BC. The taiga hunters traditionally buried their deceased relatives in the ground. The burials tend to be clustered into linear groupings within the cemetery area. Solitary graves are found on the territory of apparently abandoned settlements near the foundation pits of houses or inside them. Two forms of burial were practiced: inhumation and cremation followed by the burial of burnt remains. Generally, the dead were buried in the extended position, i.e., lying flat with arms and legs straight. The bodies were covered with red ocher, wrapped or swaddled, and put into graves. A special type of Mesolithic burials was «vertical» burials, i.e., the dead were placed into a vertical shaft like pits. The cremated remains were buried in ocher graves. The burned bones were placed in the center of each pit. Solitary burials prevailed. Less common were paired and multi-tire graves. Children were buried in the same way as adults, the age range of the dead varied from 5-7 to 60 years. The deceased were buried together with stone tools, jewelry, fragments of dishes, funeral and memorial food. The burial things were «prepared» following a special ritual - the blades of stone adzes were sharpened, the pottery was broken. There are signs of special respect to the skulls of the dead. The traditional burial practices of the taiga population from the Konda River Basin remained the same throughout the Stone Age.

The paper focuses on two archaeological problems - the correctness of the accounting system for archaeological monuments and the effectiveness of their detection, especially in the areas of upcoming construction work. The urgency of the problems is revealed by the author on the history of the study of the burial mound «Samarsky (Prosvet) I» as well as on the example of the survey site analysis of heterogeneous data in Earth remote sensing (ERS). It was concluded that the burial mound had been examined by at least 8 expeditions within the time period of 1973-2016. During this time, the accumulated errors in the description had led to the situation when this burial mound, having a single name, was recorded twice in two different administrative districts, having 2 difference reference numbers in the system of accounting for objects of the archaeological heritage of the Samara Region. The author created a set of ERS data for the area of the burial mound, which included archival and modern satellite images. Then all the data and the locations of the mounds identified by the previous researchers were brought to a single projection by means of a purpose designed software. From 31 to 180 areas of specific contrast pixilation are allocated according to various ERS data. The locations of all mounds previously identified in the field match them. Consequently, many of these areas may correspond to fully agriculturally plowed mounds, the safety of which is endangered by the close oil pipelines construction sites. This method was used to check the territory of four more burial mounds surveyed within 2015-2017 time period and located on the construction sites. Mounds that hadn’t been identified by researchers earlier and consequently damaged during the construction work were found. The author comes to the conclusion that the field archaeological survey should be preceded by the analysis of heterogeneous remote sensing data (ERS); the most reliable method is the study of the burial mounds by means of excavation of a «wall-to-wall» area covering the inter-mound space. However, this method, being the most expensive, requires adjustments based on the ERS data and other non-invasive methods.

The subject of the research is the military-political, economic, ideological and natural-geographical reasons for the emergence and characteristics of the organization of the Pirate Republic in the Bahamas. The object of the study is the social relations that developed in the process of development of the pirate community as a special social group, its expansion into the Bahamas of the Caribbean in the 17-18 centuries. Particular attention is paid to the relationship of the British Crown with the pirates and the factors that influenced the transformation of this policy. The author examined in detail the political and legal features of the organization and functioning of the public authority system in the Bahamas during the period of pirate domination. The research methodology was composed of historical, structural, systemic and comparative methods, which made it possible to formulate theoretical conclusions relevant to the processes taking place in the world today and ongoing scientific discussions about the fate of Western civilization, the possibility of building multicultural societies, and the adaptation of political and legal institutions to these processes. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that it is the first experience in the study of the causes and essence of the Pirate Republic in the British colonial system in Russian historiography. It is concluded that, not being a state in the strict sense of the word, the Pirate Republic was a unique experience of social and territorial self-organization. The experience of its emergence and existence left a bright mark in the development of not only the colonial system, but also in world history, as a whole, becoming yet another evidence of the viability of one or another local alternative political model, without a support of influential geopolitical forces and factors.

The goal of the paper is to study the idea of «physiological collectivism» and attempts to implement it. This idea was proposed by Alexander Bogdanov (1873-1928), a philosopher, naturalist, and one of the leaders of Bolshevism, who saw it as the highest manifestation of collectivism, on the principles of which the society of the future would be based. In Bogdanov’s opinion, «a peculiar revolutionary meaning» of blood transfusion consists in «support of one organism by vital elements of another …, in direct biophysical cooperation». In the last years of his life Bogdanov concentrated his efforts on the activity of the Institute of Blood Transfusion created by him and on the researches and experiments connected with blood transfusion, which he considered as practical realization of the idea of «physiological collectivism». It is this story that is considered in the paper, but not from a medical point of view, but as one of the manifestations of Bogdanov-collectivist. The author of the paper considers various assumptions as to why in 1926 Bogdanov, who was disgraced and «excommunicated» from Bolshevism, was given the opportunity to create the Institute of Blood Transfusion, and comes to the conclusion that this decision was most likely dictated by the desire to channel Bogdanov’s activity in the sphere as far from political life as possible. The paper also analyzes the circumstances of Bogdanov’s death as a result of the experiment (the 12th exchange transfusion of blood) and concludes that it was not a suicide or a disguised murder, but a tragic accident associated with the lack of development of medical science at the time. This conclusion is based on the results of modern physicians’ research. The author of the paper emphasizes the role and importance of the activity of the Institute established by Bogdanov in the process of building the blood transfusion service in this country.

This paper presents an analysis of the social behavior of peasants in the Vladimir province in March-October 1917 for their conflicts and highlights the main directions of confrontation. The characteristic of the elaboration of the problem by both Soviet and modern historical science is given. The limited use of statistics on the selected region is explained and the methodological basis of the study is determined. The author considers the conflicts of peasants not only from the side of statistics, but also from the standpoint of individual plots that better reveal everyday behavioral practices. The work describes in detail and group the clash of interests of peasants with the surrounding social reality. The conclusion is drawn about the baselessness of the thesis of the Soviet historiography that the main enemies for peasants were landlords, kulaks and the bourgeois’ Provisional Government. The analysis of sources revealed that the peasant commune in March-October 1917, solving its pressing issues of food and land-use, was against all. Its conflicts took place on several directions at once: «city - village», «commune - private owners», «commune - commune» and intra-commune disputes. There were also conflicts with the state, but they were not political.

The paper is devoted to the analysis by the Central Intelligence Agency of the USSR school system. The US was in dire need of information about its new adversary. The situation was aggravated by the closed nature of the Soviet state and the absence of a long continuous tradition of intelligence activities of American intelligence. The president and other government bodies wanted to have comprehensive knowledge of any processes and phenomena in the world. US intelligence should have been able to solve this problem. In this regard, the first stage of the Cold War for the CIA was largely due to an analysis of official and semi-official sources, as well as the development of various strategies. In order to find out about various areas of the life in the USSR, analysts extracted information from Soviet scientific literature, press, radio, legislation and interrogations of former German prisoners. The National Assessment Bureau, led by William Langer and Sherman Kent, compiled reports on Soviet military capabilities, industry, agriculture, the political system, etc. The Soviet school system was considered by American intelligence specialists in the framework of the military and economic potential of the enemy, as well as the strategy of psychological warfare. The paper analyzes the reports concerning the educational system in the USSR in the aspect of school education, its strengths and weaknesses. The results allow us to conclude that the information about the Soviet school system contributed to the formation of the foreign policy and domestic policy of the United States.

The paper considers the reasons for the educational system reform in the late 1950s, which began with the adoption of the law «Strengthening the connection of school with life and further development of the national educational system in the USSR». The main propositions of the secondary school reform included labor polytechnic schools establishments where students were supposed to get profession along with the study of general education subjects. The period of study at a secondary school was supposed to be three years (grades 9, 10, 11). Schools and industrial enterprises where industrial training was to take place were not ready to organize industrial training. Despite the extensive campaign, the perception of the reform in society was controversial. The reform did not achieve its main goal - schools could not carry out pre-professional education of students.

The paper is dedicated to the 110th anniversary of the teacher Dora Naumovna Keyser (07 March 1909-14 May 1972) who worked for General History Department at Kuibyshev State Pedagogical Institute. The author of this paper for the first time considers the biography of D.N. Keyser on the basis of materials from the archive of Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education, the Central State Archive of the Samara Region and the Samara Regional State Archive of Socio-Political History. D.N. Keyser’s scientific activity was examined using bibliographic sources stored in the library of Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education, Samara Regional Universal Scientific Library and the Russian State Library. The author also studies the circumstances and consequences of the defense of the first PhD by D.N. Keyser, which made it possible to supplement the idea of the content of political and ideological campaigns of the second half of the 1940s - early 1950s at pedagogical universities. It was possible to find new documents about one of the opponents of her dissertation - Professor of Syzran State Teachers’ Institute Vladimir Evgenievich Favorsky. In general, the analysis of documents proved the prospect of further archival research aimed at expanding the research field of studying the history of higher historical education in the province and the fate of historians in the post-revolutionary period.

This paper considers one of the urgent problems of the great Patriotic war history - the irrevocable human losses during the great Patriotic war. In the 21st century mass sources (electronic databases and databanks) were distributed. Some of them can be used while studying how local people of the Kuibyshev (now - Samara) Region participated in the military operations in 1941-1945. The paper analyzes information opportunities of the generalized databank «Memorial» and the consolidated database of the all-Russian information and search center «Fatherland». The paper also analyzes the electronic database of the irrevocable human losses of the Kuibyshev Region that is founded on «The Memory book» and made by the author of the paper. The databank «Memorial» and the database «Fatherland» are on the Internet and help to determine the fate or find the information about the dead or missing relatives and friends as well as to determine their burial place. Sections of the victims are accompanied by links as well as by digital copies of archival documents that confirm the information about the date, place of service, death and burial of soldier. Electronic resources have unique features and value for achieving the historical truth about the price of Victory.

The main purpose of higher education is to provide training of highly qualified personnel for all basic directions of socially useful activity in accordance with the needs of society and the state, the needs of the individual in intellectual, cultural and moral development, deepening of knowledge, abilities and skills and their expansion. In modern pedagogy and aesthetics there is an undeniable opinion that in spiritual activities of the individual creating a work of art is a major component of an artistic activity. The foundation of artistic activity is considered to be any object of reality and a substantive or spiritual environment. Creating a work of art its author enjoys social and individual emotional experience, reflecting the reality in the form of artistic images, which consist of art ideas, art assessment and the artistic emotions. Analyzing design activity, we can say that its main purpose is a holistic understanding and design of environmental objects. At the intersection of design with the production of the phenomenon of shape is beyond the scope of art, acquiring great importance in the industrial life of society. In this regard, familiarity with the form and special attention to it is important in the study of artistic and design disciplines in the process of professional training of students majoring in art and design.

Respiratory diseases are one of the most pressing problems of modern internal medicine, which is associated with their prevalence, significant impact on the quality of life and social activities of a person. This study is done not only by the complexity of diagnosis and treatment of major respiratory diseases, but also by the rapid development of modern pulmonology. The paper determines the level of knowledge of COPD and community-acquired pneumonia basic concepts among students of 5-6 courses at the Medical Institute of National Research Ogarev Mordovia State University majoring in «General medicine» with the use of an anonymous questionnaire. The survey was conducted using questionnaires developed on the basis of clinical national recommendations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and community-acquired pneumonia. The study found that less than half of senior students do not give correct answers to basic questions about the etiology, pathogenesis, clinical picture or treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). More than half of 5-year-students have difficulties answering questions about the etiology, classification, diagnosis, and treatment of community-acquired pneumonia. The results of the survey predispose to additional educational solutions in the field of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, community-acquired pneumonia and to focus more on prevention and therapy.

This paper discusses the experience of teaching «Inorganic Chemistry» course to the 1st-year-students of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Chemistry Department at Saratov State Agrarian University. The idea is substantiated that the content of the chemistry course is aimed at merging theory and practice. As practice shows, this course consists of giving lectures with the use of multimedia, performing laboratory work, practical exercises and test controls. The author proposes a method of organizing independent work among students, which leads to the successful development of the educational program of higher education. The paper contains some sample tasks of input control to control residual knowledge as well as sample test tasks and questions for student’s knowledge correct assessment. The author shows that such types of students’ knowledge control allow us to assess the level of material assimilation and identify problem points. The paper assesses the fact that a textbook developed by the department is used for a conscious and purposeful preparation for seminars, laboratory practice and exam. The author of the paper has come to the conclusion that the teacher acts as an assistant for students on their way to solve small scientific problems independently.

The paper provides an overview of the tour guide activities in one of the oldest gardens in Russia - Peter the Great Botanical garden of Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences. It is the first time the authors have summarized the experience of working with visitors of the Peter the Great Botanical garden from the end of the 19th century to the present. Much attention is paid to the history of the excursion business in Russia and in the Botanical garden. The incentive to work was the growing interest in Botanical gardens and various forms of the excursion activity that now exist in the Botanical garden of Saint Petersburg. Modern science about excursions broadly describes general basics of conducting excursions, but practical techniques are not presented enough. Therefore, the task of methodological developments for the guides of the Botanical garden becomes relevant. Based on historical experience, the authors describe the rules for preparing for excursions in the Botanical garden, aspects when choosing information for excursions, special training methods, and general recommendations for excursions organization. Specific knowledge about the content of excursions in the Botanical garden will help specialists effectively and competently organize activities for environmental and biological education of both adults and young visitors.

The complex phenomena studies of seasonal phenology (from the Greek fenomen-phenomenon and logos-doctrine) is the science of phenomena, taking into account and systematizing the laws of the order and timing of seasonal phenomena, i.e. studying the laws of seasonal development of nature. In Russia phenological observations began to be carried out at the beginning of the 18th century. Phenological observations are important for the study of Biology. The research of plant objects with the use of phenology methods contributes to the development of students’ mental operations: analysis, synthesis, comparison and generalization. Phenological observations are also important for students’ research skills development. During nature excursions, besides above mental operations, students develop observation, that is, the ability to notice signs and features of objects and to identify significant features. The problem of students’ research skills development is quite urgent in the modern educational process. One facet of this problem is a direct role of phenological observations in this development. According to the «Concept of the Federal target program of the education development for 2016-2020», research activity is of great importance in the educational process and has an important pedagogical meaning: a teacher, acting as an organizer of phenological observations, needs to know the methodology of such observations, the rules of their organization, registration and conduct. Therefore, the issue under consideration is relevant and has practical significance. The purpose of this paper was to show the importance of the organization of woody plants phenological observations to develop students’ research skills. The tasks of the research were to generalize the methodology of woody plants phenological observations and to develop tasks for woody plants phenological observations on the example of specific species of plants, to identify the features of woody plants phenological development.

This paper aims to discuss the problem of nationally oriented teaching of Russian grammar to Chinese students. The author analyzes the works that are devoted to the study of Chinese students’ cognitive and psychological characteristics. The analysis revealed specific learning strategies that Chinese students use when learning a foreign language. When training a mono-ethnic group, the national-oriented approach is considered optimal. To implement this approach, a comparative analysis of systems of contacting languages is necessary to determine the zones of interlanguage and intralanguage interferences. The most important factor in the effectiveness of the educational process is the adequacy of the teachers’ ideas about students from different regions. The author concludes that in order to maintain motivation for mastering the Russian language and optimize the learning process as a whole when developing curricula and class books for Chinese students, it is necessary to strive to make the learning process not only effective, but also as comfortable as possible for students. Taking into account Chinese students’ cognitive and psychological characteristics will not only contribute to the development of strong grammar skills, but will also ensure the development of oral speech skills in Russian. The paper provides recommendations for intensifying the process of teaching Russian grammar to Chinese students. The following research methods were used: a comparative analysis, an analysis and a synthesis.

The paper discusses the features of using project-technologies in the university educational process. Educational design is the intellectual foundation and creative source of innovation in creative appeal to professional development of prospective engineers. The author shows that it’s necessary to train engineers in conditions of educational design development of prospective engineers on the basis of fundamental (theoretical) knowledge transformation into the field of practical skills and skills of design activity in interdisciplinary fields of engineering knowledge. The paper also considers evolution of the project technologies. The work presents the main conceptual provisions for the effective practical implementation of the development of design for prospective engineers’ training, formulated on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the experience of research projects in Russian universities. The feasibility of basing the methodology of project training on information technologies, interdisciplinary approach and integrated design is justified. The use of a personalized educational information environment for training is recommended. The author shows that it is important for different-year-students who are supposed to be like-minded people to communicate and to participate in the project. Motivation of students’ participation in project activities is also very important as well as involvement of employers in discussion/implementation of the obtained results. These solutions are of a research nature and can be used in other similar Russian and foreign projects, as well as be implemented in the creation of personalized e-learning systems and online courses in the dynamics of educational design development.