Vol 151, No 2 (2019)

The article deals with the main problems of spatial development of modern Albania. It is argued that the study of Albania by Russian socio-economic geography has paid little attention. In the Russian mass consciousness, this country is surrounded by a lot of inventions that have nothing to do with reality: one of these inventions is the perception of Albania as a purely Muslim country and in general the outpost of the «Islamic world». In fact, Albania is a multi-religious state, but religious differences do not matter much for Albanians. In the geodemographic development of modern Albania there is a steady increase in the share of the center of the country, which now exceeds 50 % of the population. As a Center, the authors consider two main cities, Tirana and Durres, that does not correlate with the official zoning of Albania. The sharp increase in the share of the Center shows the similarity of Albania with Asian states, and in general it can be argued that Albania geographically belongs to Europe, and socially, demographically and historically is closer to Asia. The spatial structure of Albania's economy is characterized by an increase in the share of the Center with a decrease in its economic efficiency, as well as the lag of the North from the South, due to the factor of economic and geographical position. The realization of the idea of "Great Albania", connected with the artificiality of the state borders defined in 1913, is extremely unprofitable for modern Albania in economic, social and demographic terms.

The destruction of ground dams, of natural and artificial origin, is caused by certain critical conditions. The main reasons for this are the overflow of water over the crest of a dam, the filtration of water through its body, or mechanical destruction. The processes of destruction of ground dams of moraine lakes are very frequent phenomena for mountain regions and can often occur there. In addition, the outburst of ground dams can take place under the thickness of the cover and mountain glaciers that leads to the formation of the subglacial hydrographic drainage system. Because of the dam destruction, outburst floods, which are accompanied by significant destruction and even human losses, are formed. Considering that, it is extremely difficult and unsafe to investigate the outburst process directly at the time of its natural occurrence, the researchers turn to alternative methods, like physical modeling. In this paper, the results of physical modeling of the outburst of the moraine model reservoir are presented. The experiment was carried out near the coastline of the outburst glacier lake Bashkara (Central Caucasus, Elbrus Region, Russia). Therefore, the artificial dam, consisting of material of moraines surrounding the lake, was created. This leads to a possibility to recreate the experimental conditions closest to natural. During the research photography and video filming of the outburst of the model reservoir were carried out. The results of physical modeling are in complete agreement with previously published data of outburst of ground dams and do not contradict with the physical essence of the process.

Based on published and archival sources, the paper considers the transformations in Russian legislation and administrative policies on forest beekeeping (harvesting honey from owned or tended nests in forests) in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It demonstrates how in the course of the eighteenth century, the ownership of bee nests started violating the concept of absolute private property over forests, which was increasingly incompatible with the rights of other individuals to exploit natural resources on the same territory. From the early decades of the 19th century, borders were gradually demarcated between forested areas belonging to the state and private owners, and between the state forests and those designated for the use of state peasants. This process made possible to exercise the concept of absolute private property over forests in practice. These changes in legislation and the forest cadastre were closely linked to the making of ‘forestry science’ that developed in the late 18th century under the influence of a growing demand for timber needed for the navies and merchant fleets of all European states. The precepts of ‘forestry science’ were dictated by its objective to maximise profits by focusing on the production of commercially valuable sorts of timber. By the early 19th century, this logic prompted the forest administration of the Russian empire to start contemplating measures that would obstruct any alternative forms of forest exploitation, such as harvesting honey from tended trees. The paper considers in details the tightening of administrative regulations in this area, as imposed by the Ministry of State Domains that reached its peak in the Great Reforms era, and analyses the mechanisms that translated these general causes at work into specific policies.