Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences

In April 2025, the Energy Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2050 was approved. This strategic planning document is important not only for the fuel and energy complex, but also for the further socio-economic development of the country as a whole. According to the Energy Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2050, the goal of developing the domestic energy complex is to achieve a qualitatively new state of energy, including a balance between: affordable and guaranteed provision of the population and the economy of the country with products and services of the fuel and energy complex with the lowest costs and effective implementation of the export potential of the Russian Federation; achieving national goals in the field of climate policy, environmental protection, energy saving and improving energy efficiency; ensuring energy security, technological sovereignty and competitiveness of the fuel and energy complex industries. The stated goals cannot be achieved without proper legal support, which, in fact, is also a strategic task for the development of the energy sector and includes not only rule-making and expert activities, but also the training of specialized highly qualified legal personnel. The article is devoted to the tasks of legal support for the energy sector in the context of daily challenges, risks and threats to energy security.

Most countries face serious demographic challenges associated with population ageing, declining labor potential, migration crises, and other negative processes. This article proposes a methodology for measuring demographic potential across all countries of the world, based on the application of multivariate statistical analysis. The composite indicator enables the detection of weaknesses in demographic systems as well as the factors that largely determine their resilience in the short, medium, and long term. Three methods were applied in the calculations: entropy weighting, principal component analysis, and the CRITIC method. The resulting index also enables cross-country comparisons and can be used in the design of demographic policy measures.

In 2025, the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the northernmost academic institution in Russia, celebrated its 90th anniversary. The article briefly describes the history of the institute and its main scientific achievements in such areas as marine biology, oceanography, marine geology and ecology.

The article examines the main stages of the creation and organization of production of computers in the USSR. The history is tied to generations of computers: the first – based on electron tubes and semiconductor diodes, the second – based on transistors and diodes, the third – based on integrated circuits. The developer organizations, manufacturing plants, years and volumes of computer production are shown.

The article presents the most significant results of the work of the outstanding scientist and organizer of science, Academician Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentiev. He stood at the origins of the development of a number of scientific fields and was a direct organizer of educational and research institutions. Nevertheless, he considered the organization of an interdisciplinary center in the east of the country – the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences – to be the main project of his life. The first regional branch of the Academy of Sciences took a bold step in scientific policy. The Lavrentiev triad was successfully tested for the first time: development of fundamental research based on interdisciplinary approaches; training of personnel in modern scientific fields; implementation of scientific results in industry. M.A. Lavrentiev’s precepts, receiving creative content and development, are relevant in modern conditions.

Academician Nikolai Ya. Marr (1865–1934) is one of the most prominent representatives of Russian academia in the late imperial and early Soviet periods. A specialist in medieval literature of the Caucasus, he made a significant contribution to the study of the material culture of the region, its archeology, and came up with some original linguistic constructions that eventually formed the so-called “new theory of language”. This article will examine the significance of his ideas for the current problem of the holistic learning of culture, which is currently at the center of the process of reforming both higher and (especially) school education in Russia. The sources used are primarily materials from the N.Ya. Marr archive collection held at the St. Petersburg branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences: drafts, reports, working notes, and other documents previously overlooked by researchers. The article is structured around three main problems: training of museum personnel, the relationship between museum functions, and the organization of museum materials.