The wild reindeer population keeps declining. This is the conclusion that experts from Karelia, Komi, Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Regions, and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug have come to. With support from WWF, specialists from nature conservation organizations, nature reserves, and scientific communities gathered for a working meeting at the Karelian Research Centre RAS.

Language and culture studies in the digital era were discussed by participants of the 19th Bubrikh’s Readings Conference, which took place at KarRC RAS on October 26–27. Scientists presented the results of their research and useful digital resources. One of them is VepKar – an open corpus with over 4 000 texts in Veps and Karelian. It is currently used by specialists to create a spoken corpus of Balto-Finnic languages of Karelia.

Bubrikh’s Readings – one of Russia’s largest forums for specialists in Ugric studies – started at KarRC RAS. This year, the conference focuses on languages and cultures in the digital era and is timed to the National Year of the Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of Russia and the start of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

Working meeting on the study and conservation of wild reindeer in North European Russia is taking place in Petrozavodsk. Experts from Karelia, Komi, Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Regions are set to share latest research and topical problems and to discuss the Strategy for Wild Reindeer Conservation in the Russian Arctic Zone.

Karelian Research Centre RAS hosted the 11th International Conference “Problems of Forest Phytopathology and Mycology”. Specialists studying fungi, lichens and wood gathered in Karelia to discuss topical matters in their sphere. The attending scientists also planted trees to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Forest Research Institute KarRC RAS.

Scientists at KarRC RAS deem it necessary to designate the tip of the Lizh Peninsula in Lake Onego as a conservation area. Researchers have studied the local ecosystems and found that it has preserved pristine deciduous forest areas with rare plant species.

Why do settlements have certain names? Historically, the process of naming settlements was not arbitrary, but followed certain models or patterns operating within chronological and geographical timeframes. Employees of the Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History of the Karelian Research Centre RAS have analyzed over a thousand place names in southern Karelia and revealed patterns in the formation of the naming system. A detailed account thereof was given by Irma Mullonen, RAS Corresponding Academician, Chief Researcher at the Linguistics Section of ILLH KarRC RAS, at KarRC RAS Learned Council meeting on October 13.