Explore the vast range of titles available.

Engineering disturbances are increasing in permafrost regions of northeastern China, where soil microorganisms play essential roles in biogeochemical cycling and are highly sensitive to linear infrastructure disturbances. However, limited research has addressed how microbial communities respond to different post-engineering-disturbance recovery stages. This study investigated the impacts of the China–Russia Crude Oil Pipelines (CRCOPs) on soil microbial communities in a typical boreal forest permafrost zone of the Da Xing’anling Mountains. Soil samples were collected from undisturbed forest (the control, CK); short-term disturbed sites associated with Pipeline II, which was constructed in 2018 (SD); and long-term disturbed sites associated with Pipeline I, which was constructed in 2011 (LD). Pipeline engineering disturbances significantly increased soil clay content and pH while reducing soil water content (SWC), soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) (p < 0.05). No significant differences in these soil properties were observed between SD and LD. Bacterial diversity increased significantly, whereas fungal diversity significantly decreased following pipeline disturbances (p < 0.05). The beta diversity of both bacterial and fungal communities differed significantly among the three disturbance types. At the phylum level, pipeline disturbance increased the relative abundances of Proteobacteria, Acidobacteriota, Actinobacteriota, Ascomycota, and Mortierellomycota while reducing those of Bacteroidota and Basidiomycota. These shifts were associated with disturbance-induced changes in soil properties. Microbial co-occurrence networks in SD exhibited greater complexity and connectivity than those in CK and LD, suggesting intensified biotic interactions and active ecological reassembly during the early recovery phase. These findings suggest that pipeline disturbance could drive soil microbial systems into a new stable state that is difficult to restore over the long term, highlighting the profound impacts of linear infrastructure on microbial ecological functions in cold regions. This study provides a scientific basis for ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation in permafrost-affected areas.

\"Melting ice, a military arms race, the rush to exploit resources at any cost--the Arctic is now the stage on which our future will be decided. And as temperatures rise and the ice retreats, Vladimir Putin orders Russia's oil rigs to move north. But one early September morning in 2013, thirty men and women from eighteen countries--the crew of Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise--decide to draw a line in the ice and protest the drilling in the Arctic. Thrown together by a common cause, they are determined to stop Putin and the oligarchs. But their protest is met with brutal force as Putin's commandos seize the Arctic Sunrise. Held under armed guard by masked men, they are charged with piracy and face fifteen years in Russia's nightmarish prison system\"-- Provided by publisher.

Various countries are endowed with energy resources differently. It is supposed that the availability of energy resources is a sign of a nation's wealth. It is interesting to know how the production and export of energy resources impact on the social sphere of developing countries. There is an existing interest in investigating this problem because of the importance of the production and export of energy resources, for maintaining the standard of living of a population. This article analyzes the impact of the production and export of energy resource, namely of oil on the social sphere in Russia. The Russian fuel and energy sector accounts for about 30% of industrial output, for 32% of consolidated revenues, for 54% of the federal budget, for 54% of exports and for 45% of foreign exchange earnings in Russia. Social services are estimated by the following indicators: the index of Gini, the average wage in the country and the population's savings.

The China–Russia crude oil pipeline (CRCOP) has been in operation for over ten years. Field observation results have shown that a thaw bulb has developed around the CRCOP which expands at a rate of more than 0.8 m∙a−1 in depth. In view of the deficits of existing measures in mitigating permafrost thaw, a new control method is proposed based on active cooling. According to the relationship between total pressure loss and the driving force of natural ventilation, the wind speed in a U-shaped air-ventilation pipe around the CRCOP is calculated. By analyzing the theoretical calculation and numerical analysis results, it is found that the influence of thermal pressure difference on the natural ventilation of the structure can be negligible, and the influences of resistance loss along the pipe and local resistance loss in the pipe are similarly negligible. Exhaust elbows greatly improve the ventilation performance of the U-shaped air-ventilated pipe. This study developed a novel structure around warm-oil pipelines in permafrost for mitigating thaw settlement along the CRCOP and other similar projects across the world.

In permafrost regions, climate warming and extreme precipitation events, combined with rugged local terrains, pose considerable threats of water damage to buried crude oil pipelines. However, the susceptibility to water damage in these areas has received limited attention and research. Aiming to evaluate the susceptibility to water damage (STWD) of the China‒Russia Crude Oil Pipelines (CRCOPs) I and II, random forest (RF) algorithms, correlation analysis of influencing factors and on-site surveys were employed. The assessment, based on RF algorithms, field survey data from 2019 to 2022 and 14 geographically related factors, reveals that approximately 14.5% of the study area demonstrates high STWD, indicating a generally low risk of STWD across most segments of the CRCOPs. The pipeline segments between Wu’erqi–Jagdaqi and Jingsong–Xinlin display the highest STWD. Areas with high STWD typically experience ample precipitation, flow accumulation in flat, low-lying terrains, low surface roughness, over unconsolidated deposits and warm (>−1 °C) Xing’an (hemiboreal) permafrost and proximity to rivers. This study not only enhances theoretical understanding of mitigating water damage to pipeline foundations in cold regions but also offers important technical insights for the sustainable operation of these lifeline infrastructures. Future research should focus on continuous monitoring of pipeline foundation soil safety, improving numerical models for pipeline river crossing evaluations and refining water damage risks assessment through deep learning-based models.

The China–Russia crude oil pipeline (CRCOP) operates at a temperature that continuously thaws the surrounding permafrost, leading to secondary periglacial phenomena along the route. However, the evolution and formation mechanisms of these phenomena are still largely unknown. We used multi-temporal airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), geophysical, and field observation data to quantify the scale of ponding and icing, capture their dynamic development process, and reveal their development mechanisms. The results show that the average depth of ponding within 5 m on both sides of the pipeline was about 31 cm. The volumes of three icings (A–C) above the pipeline were 133 m3, 440 m3, and 186 m3, respectively. Icing development can be divided into six stages: pipe trench settlement, water accumulation in the pipe trench, ponding pressure caused by water surface freezing, the formation of ice cracks, water overflow, and icing. This study revealed the advantages of airborne LiDAR in monitoring the evolution of periglacial phenomena and provided a new insight on the development mechanisms of the phenomena by combining LiDAR with geophysics and field observation. The results of our study are of great significance for developing disaster countermeasures and ensuring the safe operation of buried pipelines.

The permafrost along the China-Russia Crude Oil Pipeline (CRCOP) is degrading since the pipeline operation in 2011. Heat dissipated from the pipeline, climate warming and anthropogenic activities leads to permafrost warming. The processes of permafrost warming along the CRCOP were studied based on the monitoring of air and soil temperatures, and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys. Results show that: (1) the mean annual air temperature (MAAT) in permafrost regions along the CRCOP increased with a rate of 0.21°C/10a–0.40°C/10a during the past five decades; (2) the mean annual ground temperature (MAGT, at −15 m depth) of undisturbed permafrost increased by 0.2°C and the natural permafrost table remained unchanged due to the zero-curtain effect; (3) permafrost surrounding the uninsulated pipeline right-of-way warmed significantly compared with that in a natural site. During 2012–2017, the MAGT and the artificial permafrost table, 2 m away from the pipeline centerline, increased at rates of 0.063°C/a and 1.0 m/a. The thaw bulb developed around the pipe and exhibits a faster lateral expansion; (4) 80- mm-thick insulation could reduce the heat exchange between the pipeline and underlying permafrost and then keep the permafrost and pipe stable. The MAGT and the artificial permafrost table, 4.8 m away from the center line of the pipeline, increased by 0.3°C/a and 0.43 m/a, respectively. Due to the heat disturbance caused by warm oil, the degradation of wetland, controlled burn each autumn and climate warming, the permafrost extent reduced and warmed significantly along the CRCOP route. Field observations provide basic data to clarify the interactions between CRCOP and permafrost degradation and environmental effects in the context of climate change.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the dramatically changed role of Russia in the global economy since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, as the Soviet institutions collapsed and were either reformed or replaced in a new Russian institutional landscape. The paper presents a fact-based and balanced view of Russia’s evolving role in the global economy, as distinguished from the sometimes one-sided view presented by some Western commentators. The authors establish that the two countervailing views are fundamentally based on different cultural perspectives about institutions, primarily the roles of business and government.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is developed as a perspectives article drawing upon the decades of academic and business experience of all three authors with Russian business, management and the economy. The paper focuses on the structure of Russian institutional change and places it within the historical context of the challenges of various periods of time from the late 1980s to the present. The authors posit that cultural foundations complicate that institutional evolution.FindingsRussia will remain a major player in world markets for energy, raw materials and armaments for the near future at least. Principal institutional questions facing Russia have to do with how to reduce the country’s overall dependence on raw material exports, with its vulnerability to world market fluctuations, and how to modernize Russian economic and political institutions. The degree of success in addressing these questions will depend largely upon the ability of the new and reformed economic institutions to show the flexibility to respond to changes in the global order, on whether political considerations will continue to supersede economic issues, and how markedly cultural traditions will continue to impede positive changes.Research limitations/implicationsThe entire system of international trade is under question, disrupted by the growing nationalism that is threatening the globalization that became institutionalized over decades in the wake of the Second World War. Russia’s future role is partially dependent upon how new patterns of international trade develop in response to the current disruption of established trade regimes, and by how political conflicts are expressed economically. The authors observe that Russia’s historical and cultural traditions, especially acquiescence to a highly centralized government with a strong autocratic leader, limit the country’s options. The authors explore how Russia’s reactions to Western sanctions have led to a new strategic approach, moving away from full engagement in the global economy to selective economic, and sometimes political, alliances with primarily non-Western countries, most notably China. The authors contrast Russia’s situation with that of China, which has been able to make substantial economic progress while still embracing a strong, centralized political institutional structure.Originality/valueMany Western analysts have viewed Russian institutional evolution very critically through the lens of Western politics and sanctions, while Russia has continued along its own path of economic and institutional development. Each view, the authors argue, is based upon differing cultural perspectives of the roles of business and government. As a result, a distinct difference exists between the Western and Russian perspectives on Russia’s role in the world. This paper presents both points of view and explores the future of Russia’s position in the world economy based upon its evolving strategy for national economic policy. The authors contrast the situations of Russia and China, highlighting how Western-centric cultural views have affected perceptions of each country, sometimes similarly and at times with decided differences.

On-site monitoring is very important for understanding formation mechanisms of frost hazards frequently occurring in pipeline foundation soils and for designing and deploying according mitigative measures in permafrost regions. Significant thaw subsidence of ground surfaces along the China-Russia Crude Oil Pipeline （CRCOP） from Mo＇he to Daqing, Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China have been observed at some segments underlain by ice-rich, warm （〉1.0°C） permafrost since the official operation in January 2011. Recent monitoring results of the thermal states of foundation soils at the kilometer post （KP） 304 site along the CRCOP are presented in this paper. The results indicate that during the period from 2012 to 2014, shallow soils （at the depths from 0.8 to 4.0 m from ground surface） has warmed by approximately 1.0°C in the lateral range of 1.2 to 2.1 m away from the pipeline axis, and deeper permafrost （such as at the depth of 15 m, or the depth of zero annual amplitude of ground temperatures） by 0.08°C per year 4 m away from the pipe axis, and 0.07°C per year 5 m away from the pipeline axis. The results indicate an all-season talik has developed around and along the CRCOP. The thaw bulb, with a faster lateral expansion （compared with the vertical growth）, enlarges in summer and shrinks in winter. This research will provide important references and bases for evaluating thermal influences of warm pipeline on permafrost and for design, construction, operation and maintenance of pipelines in permafrost regions.