The changes of Russian regions' economic and environmental characteristics during the post-Soviet period have been analyzed. It is found that the deepest decrease of pressure on nature during the post-soviet period took place in the centre of the country. A map of new industrial building in post-soviet Russia is created. Increasing spreads between reducing agricultural production factors (cultivated land, fertilizers, technical equipment, cattle) andits relatively stable productivity have been revealed. These disproportions, mostly pronounced in Saratov, Omsk and Tambov regions, lead to degradation of agricultural landscapes. It has been elicited that the bounds of plant-growing prevalence in agriculture have shifted from the steppe (in 1980s) up to tundra at present. As a result, the nature and scale of agricultural impact on the landscapes have changed. The regional structures of service have been appraised by the level of their «progressiveness». It has been pointed out that the post-Soviet dymamics of the service structure in the crucial Russian regions don't fall short of the tasks of innovation leap and contemporary ecological challenges.

The «Lakes of Earth» information system was created in Institute of Limnology, Russian Academy of Sciences. Access to the IS is provided to the Internet community (www.limno.org.ru). The «Lakes of Earth» IS was created mainly for solution of ecological problems associated with inland water bodies. The following features are included: water body name; its geographical conjunctions; morphometry, climate, thermal data; the basic biological and water quality characteristics; economical characteristics of anthropogenic activity in the basin; data on elements coming from the catchment area which cause water body eutrophication; data on content elements causing toxic pollution. Interactive means of the informational system are implemented as site pages containing menu, forms, text and graphic information. Depending on chosen menu item, different server modules could be used for data processing. The «Lakes of Earth» information system contains data on 1000 biggest and well-studied water bodies of the planet.

The Altai-Sayan territory is one of the most early-reclamed regions of Siberia. The degree of land reclamation can be estimated by the remaining archaeological relics, dating from various historical epochs. The article presents the basic results of the analysis of archaeological monuments' landscapes and territory confinedness. The historical-geographical research has uncovered the time-spatial connections between landscape conditions and ethnological activity throughout the period of Altai-Sayan land reclamation by mankind. At that, the rhythm of Holocene climatic change in the mountain areas has been considered.

The analysis of limnological characteristics in some lakes of North-West part of European Russia with different trophic level was carried out. The morphometrical (such as depths, light dilution, catchment area/lake surface area ratio, coefficient of water change) and hydrochemical (ions composition, BOD₅, COD, total and labile organic carbon concentration, ratio of organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations) water bodies parameters have been examined. The values of primary production and it part in total and labile organic carbon are discussed as related to these parameters. The mollusks species composition and growth in lakes with different trophic conditions were analyzed. The part of bivalves population in water circulation and suspended matters sedimentation was estimated. The close unity between non-living environment and biotic component functioning in lakes ecosystems has been showed.