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Conceptualization of Siberian Space: The Landscape–geographical Aspect

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Humans in the Siberian Landscapes

Abstract

Scientific and popular science notes of the first researchers of Siberia contain descriptions of not only natural processes and phenomena, but also the material and spiritual aspects of human activity. After a long break in Russian geography, which for a long time showed a tendency to oppose the artificial (cultural) and the natural, attempts are being made to integrate the geographical representations of natural science and humanitarian disciplines. The territory of Siberia is an excellent proving ground for retrospective and prospective reflection and application of geographical thought. The first aim of this chapter is the submission of the current state of knowledge concerning the conceptualization of Siberian space within the landscape paradigm. The second aim is to consider the main highlights of the Siberian environment in the context of perception by local and external people. So, when dividing Siberia into regions that differ in peculiarities of human interaction with the original natural landscape, it was concluded that, along with the physiographic regionalization, it is advisable to take into account the basin organization of the territory. River valleys often play a crucial role in the development of the territory, and basin boundaries, especially in the mountains, are often difficult-to-overcome barriers. Cryosophy, a system of ideas about the cold world and its role in the genesis and evolution of material–energy interactions in the origin and maintenance of life, about the development based on the created system of knowledge about the universe and the formation of the guidelines for multidisciplinary research of living and inert matter of the universe, was formed on the material of Siberia, the main part of which is located in the cryolithozone. In contrast to traditional judgments about Siberia as a periphery (a remote, hard-to-reach, wild, rich in resources, but impoverished region), ideas about the centricity of Siberia are being developed, where this region is regarded as a zone of common interests, a significant part of the Ecumene. Thanks to Siberia, Russia is a great Eurasian power.

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Abbreviations

Cold :

the state of living and inert matter due to changes in its aggregate parameters and structure at low temperatures.

Cryodiversity :

countless micro-and macro-objects, processes, and conditions, owing to their origin to the cold of celestial bodies and the cosmos.

Cryogenic resources :

resources created by cryogenic processes, conditions, and formations that have a beneficial effect on human life support as factors of climate formation, regulators of water resources and microbial psychrophilic communities, as well as the storage of solid gas (gas hydrates) and information about the geological past.

Cryosophy :

a system of ideas about the world of cold and its role in the origin and evolution of material–energy interactions, in the origin and maintenance of life, developing on the basis of the created system of knowledge about the universe and forming guidelines for multidisciplinary studies of the living and inert matter of the Universe.

Frontier :

a vector border between cultures with an active and a passive attitude to space; a dynamic geocultural border.

Geoconcept :

a toponym that is saturated with cultural meanings and is an inherent part of the geographical picture of the world of a certain community.

Geocultural border :

any territorial border between different cultures.

Subsistence :

a set of elements of material culture and practical skills to support the livelihoods of the local community through the use of certain natural resources.

Moscow-centricity :

one of the essential features of Russian geocultural space.

Physical–geographical regionalization :

a section of physical geography covering the whole complex of problems related to geographic systems at the over-landscape level.

River basin :

a part of the earth’s surface, which includes the river system and the territory feeding the river, limited by the watershed.

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Acknowledgements

This Study section 1.1. is supported by government assignment (Research Program № 0306- 2021-0007), section 1.3. is supported by government assignment (Research Program IX.135.2.2), section 1.5. is supported by government assignment (Research Program № FMGE-2019-0007 - AAAA-A19-119021990093-8)

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Chernykh, D.V. et al. (2022). Conceptualization of Siberian Space: The Landscape–geographical Aspect. In: Bocharnikov, V.N., Steblyanskaya, A.N. (eds) Humans in the Siberian Landscapes. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90061-8_1

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