Cultural landscape regionalization is a method of modeling the spatial specificity of the area associated with its development in past and present. The article analyzes national experience of the cultural landscape regionalization on different territorial levels. An approach to the regionalization is proposed, that reflects the organization of the landscape as a process and result of its development and understanding by a certain culture, including both modern and inherited traits. Cultural landscape regionalization is mainly based on structural features, visualized in modern landscapes and/or objectively determined by topographic and thematic maps and remote images. The proposed approach is applied to cultural landscape regionalization of the Leningrad Region (oblast), the territory on the contact of two physical-geographical countries (Fennoscandia and the East-European plain), which has a rich political and ethnic history and is situated in the ever-expanding zone of influence of St. Petersburg. On the territory of two subjects of the Russian Federation (Leningrad Region and St. Petersburg) 14 cultural-landscape areas are identified; their brief description is given. Cultural landscape areas reflect the current state of development of territory and are more or less dynamic. In the nearest decades we should expect, for example, changing the borders of Saint Petersburg central area and Saint Petersburg peripheral area in the direction of extension due to the increase of built-up areas and reducing the areas of other land use especially agriculture.

The paper analyzes the impact of the 2008-2010 financial and the 2015 refugee crises on evolution of the European geodemographic system. Four groups of European countries, (a) the core, (b) the «old» semi-peripheral, (c) the «new» semi-peripheral, and (d) the peripheral are subdivided. Dispersion analysis has shown the increasing influence of the centre-peripheral distinctions in Europe on the rate of population growth over the last twenty five years. With the exception of the peculiar cases, such distinctions explain as much as 55.6, 59.7 and 70.7 per cent of the total dispersion in the rate of population growth among European countries in the periods of 1990 to 2000, 2000 to 2010 and 2010 to 2014, respectively. Also, the central-peripheral distinctions in Europe manifest themselves in the close and statistically significant positive cross-countries correlation between per capita GNI (PPP) and net migration rate. In addition, close negative correlation between per capita GNI (PPP) and crude mortality rate have been observed. The 2008-2010 financial crisis was especially severe in the «old» semi-peripheral countries and initiated the re-orientation of migration flows from Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain to economic core of Europe. The extraordinary inflow of refugees in Germany in 2015 is in a sense a culmination of this trend. While re-orientation of the migration flows caused by the crises displays that European geodemographic system has got the inbuilt mechanisms of self-regulation, these mechanisms cannot completely balance the risks for EU integrity caused by 2015 migration crisis. This crisis puts on the agenda the painful issue of reconsidering the mutual obligations between the core and the peripheral EU countries.

The formation of Germany’s nature-anthropogenic landscapes in the process of their development is analyzed. The identification of historical stages, characterized by changing economy’s systems and particular sets of ecosystem services, is made. The analysis of demographic dynamics during the different historical stages as a factor of ecosystem services consumption is carried out. The change in population necessities and industrial needs in ecosystem services in different historical stages is revealed. Anthropogenic impacts on landscapes during historical stages and their role in the modern landscape transformation is characterized.

Interrelationship of the shopping types stratification, spreading of specific types of retail facilities and major macro-trends in tertiary sector spatial structuring is described using the case of St. Petersburg - one of the leaders and innovators of Russian retail development. Using the results of the dynamic comparative field research the author introduces 1989-2016 periodization based on the above mentioned criteria, outlining 6 periods. Parameters of the most recent, contemporary stage are described in more detail, with consideration of consumers’ income groups. The research results can add arguments to a broader discussion about finalization or continuation of transformation in a post-Soviet metropolis. The data on the stages and trends obtained by example of the innovation leader allows one to make prognoses for other biggest Russian cities development.

The paper analyzes the landscape indication of archaeological sites, located in the valley of the river Dzhazator (Altai mountains). As an example, a key area is selected in the valley of the river Dzhazator, which is located 2.5 km southeast from the village Belyashi (Dzhazator). For the key area the landscape map and scheme of location of the archaeological sites were created. Landscape map is based on field research, which were conducted during the summer season 2015, the digital elevation model, the satellite image with the high resolution, the geomorphological map, and the map of quaternary sediments and topographic maps of scale 1:50000. On the landscape map 35 taxa were allocated. The mid-mountain slopes of the mountain ranges of middle steepness (with slopes from 10° to 25°) with northern exposure, covered by deluvium, colluvial and glacial deposits with larch and spruce forests dominate in the valley of the river Dzhazator. In the valley of the river Dzhazator 134 archaeological sites were mapped, presumably 65 % of which belong to the Scythian period, 31 % of the Turkic period, 4 % are difficult for dating. Most of the monuments are mounds, fences and balbals (stone pillars). More than 90 % of the archaeological sites are located on the high ancient river terraces, composed of alluvial deposits with sedge, fescue and sagebrush steppe. Visibility of snowy mountain peaks played a major role in the selection of places of creation religious sites. In those places where the peaks are not visible, there are no archaeological sites, and vice versa, where the peaks are clearly visible, the concentration of archaeological sites is high.

By the end of the 19th century geography was differentiated into numerous branches. In the years of existence of the USSR the gap between physical geography and economic geography has increased. In post-Soviet time along with some resuscitation of interest in geography from representatives of the human sciences, the ideas of geography as a synonym of regional geography or even study of local lore or the servant of tourism have been disseminated. Similar views cause damage to a wholeness of geographical science and its value as most important branch of knowledge of regularities of relationship between the society and the environment. Meanwhile this relationship becomes more and more intense. At the same time geographers accumulated extensive experience of researches in this sphere and created the theoretical and methodological base for integration of various fields of the «sprawling» geography, and also for interdisciplinary researches with other humanities. The national landscape science (landshaftovedenie) has the largest integration potential in this regard.