The Central Headquarters of the Russian Geographical Society hosted a scientific and expert seminar on the Volga-Caspian macroregion and a presentation of encyclopedic publications.
On February 18, 2026, the Central Headquarters of the Russian Geographical Society in Moscow hosted a scientific and expert seminar "Volga-Caspian Macroregion: Natural Systems and Sustainable Development", the key event of which was the presentation of two fundamental encyclopedic publications - the three-volume "Volga: Educational Encyclopedia" and the four—volume "Caspian Region: Encyclopedia".
The seminar at the RGS site underlines the continuity of the Russian geographical tradition: it has been the Russian Geographical Society that has been uniting the scientific community for decades, supporting expedition research, mapping and geographical education, forming a culture of a systematic view of the country's largest natural complexes.
Encyclopedic publications as a "framework" of knowledge about the Volga and the Caspian Sea
The presented encyclopedias record the results of many years of interdisciplinary research and offer a holistic description of the Volga-Caspian space in the logic of "river— sea — region". The three-volume "Volga: an Educational Encyclopedia" reveals the Volga River as the natural, historical, cultural, and socio-economic axis of the country, while "The Caspian Region: an Encyclopedia" (4 volumes) expands the scope of discussion to coastal territories, the international dimension, and key processes of the Caspian basin.
It was the encyclopedic format that became the central "assemblage point" of the seminar: it allowed combining the fundamental scientific agenda with the tasks of education, expert dialogue and practical solutions for the sustainable development of the macroregion.
Scientific program: from the physics of the sea and river to the sustainability of territories
The scientific block of the seminar was built around a discussion of the relationship between the Volga and the Caspian Sea and the consequences of modern natural changes.
The report by Andrey Gennadyevich Kostyanoy (P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences) presented scientific estimates of the dynamics of the Caspian Sea level and the factors influencing changes in the basin.
Kirill Vasilyevich Litvinov (Astrakhan State Biosphere Reserve) outlined the ecological and biological consequences of the changes for the Volga Delta and its ecosystems.
Elena Dmitrieva (Samara State Technical University) presented a socio-economic perspective for the development of the Volga-Caspian macroregion, emphasizing the need to coordinate growth strategies with natural constraints.
A special emphasis was made in the report of Igor Alekseevich Yasinsky, a representative of Vodohod, on the Volga as a space of cultural and educational tourism and business responsibility, which expanded the discussion to the humanitarian and applied aspects of preserving river heritage.
Expert discussion
The seminar continued with an expert discussion aimed at discussing the Volga-Caspian macroregion as a single object of scientific responsibility and sustainable development, as well as at forming a common language between researchers, practitioners and public institutions.
The final chord was the solemn transfer of sets of encyclopedic publications to partner organizations and foundations, which emphasized the educational meaning of the project and its focus on a long "life" in scientific and educational terms.
Thanks
The organizers would like to thank the Russian Geographical Society for the provided platform and support, as well as special thanks to the moderator of the discussion, Deputy Chairman of the Expert Council of the Russian Geographical Society Andrey Vladlenovich Belotserkovsky, for the framework of the expert discussion. The role of the Tver Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society and its chairman Natalia Evgenievna Serditova, whose assistance became an important part of the preparation of the event, was also highlighted.