The Northern sea route (NSR) is the national Maritime transport route of Russia in the Arctic [2]. The NSR is almost 2 times shorter than other sea routes from Europe to the far East — from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok via the NSR 14,280 km, from Leningrad to Vladivostok via the Suez canal 23,200 km, and around the Cape of Good Hope 29,400 km [3]. The Northern sea route is one of the most significant and, one might say, the only transport corridor for cargo transportation in the Arctic regions of Russia.

Let’s analyze statistical data for the coming years, namely 2018, 2017 and 2016. in 2016, the volume of traffic along the Northern sea route amounted to 7.5 million tons, in 2017 10.7 million tons, which is 40% more than in 2016. in 2018 – 19.7, which is almost twice as much as in 2017[4]. Thus, we can conclude that the Northern sea route is developing more and more every year, which, in turn, also has a positive impact on the development of the Russian economy as a whole.

Due to the growing importance of the Northern sea route logistics at the international level, the priority was to ensure the competitiveness of logistics centers, which include transport and terminals for storage, warehousing, storage and transportation of goods. In other words, it is necessary to ensure innovative development of the infrastructure of the Northern sea route ports.

Currently, an external 4PL network is used for transport via the NSR. This is a service in which the cargo owner engages a third-party company to provide logistics services and gives it the right to provide services for planning and designing the supply chain, transfers tasks for managing business processes at the enterprise. Using the shipping capabilities of the NSR and the 4PL outsourcing network is the basis for creating an innovative level 5 logistics system for the Russian Federation. The 5PL operator uses the global information technology space and can provide a full range of services. This concept is based on the use of a client-oriented approach, rather than a resource-based approach, as is customary in our country. If necessary, the outsourcer decides how to use resources to perform a logical operation, and takes responsibility for insurance and other risks. This model will help ensure the competitiveness of terminal and warehouse centers.

The main problem that does not allow improving and creating new transport routes in the Arctic is the low rate of development of the coastal and railway infrastructure of the Northern sea route. Most of the current investment projects are aimed at solving the problem of connecting the continental and port infrastructure into a single logistics system.

The largest and most promising logistics project in the Arctic is the construction of the Northern latitudinal route (SSH), a railway connecting the Western and Eastern parts of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous district, the Northern and Sverdlovsk Railways in a single logistics system. The following infrastructure projects can also be identified:

Within the framework of the Yamal-LNG project, the Arctic port of Sabetta is being built to serve the production of liquefied natural gas, which has recently increased, and further transportation along the routes of the Northern sea route.
The project for the comprehensive development of the Murmansk transport hub is the creation of transport infrastructure on the Western shore of the Kola Bay, including the construction of coal and oil terminals, and the development of railway infrastructure.
Belkomur railway (“White sea – Komi – Ural”), which will connect the Northern Urals and the Komi Republic with the ports of the North-West, significantly shortening the route to Europe from the regions of Siberia and Asia.

Another important task that requires immediate attention is to improve the efficiency of Arctic seaports. Currently, almost the entire territory of the NSR is being restored, modernized and new ports are being built.

Thanks to all these projects for the development of the Northern sea route infrastructure, it is possible to create new routes and improve existing ones.

The main problem in the development of the Northern sea route is the impact of cargo transport on the Arctic environment. The fuel used to navigate NSR ships pollutes the waters of the Arctic ocean. When it is burned, sulfur and sulfur anhydrides, nitrogen oxides, gaseous and solid products of incomplete combustion, and sodium salts are also formed, which are released into the atmosphere and have a significant impact on the environment. Arctic. In the case of living organisms, emissions from fuel combustion accumulate gradually and lead to the degradation of biological resources, including the entire food chain.

In addition, the combustion of fuel generates soot, which leads to a faster melting of the ice layer when it settles on the ice. A large influx of fresh water in turn changes the chemical composition of seawater and has a corresponding impact on the biological resources of the Arctic. Oil contamination of ice also accelerates its melting. As a result, any oil spill in the Arctic will contribute to the rapid expansion of open water, and the sun’s rays will heat up faster than the ice, which will be accompanied by an accelerated decrease in the ice cover.

Thus, the anthropogenic impact on the nature of the Arctic has irreparable negative consequences, despite the effective transportation of goods through the NSR.

The Northern sea route is a complex and developing system. To support this development, it is necessary to implement infrastructure projects, logistics projects, and monitor the impact of cargo transportation on the Arctic environment.

Over the past two centuries in the production of military weapons there has been a tendency to reduce caliber. It is obvious to everyone that it is impossible to create the perfect weapon, so the designers are trying to make a rifle that will surpass all analogues. In 1974, a significant event occurred in the Soviet army: the AK-74 machine gun was used, which used a 5.45 mm caliber. Skepticism about this was quite unhealthy, and he was so ingrained that until now, some say that the 7.62 mm caliber was better. All technical characteristics in this article are taken from the work “That, from which they shoot in the CIS. Handbook of small arms “Alexander Bogolyubov.

Why did the change in caliber.

In addition to the trend mentioned above, there were 3 key reasons.

Former Chief Designer of FSUE “TsNIITOCHMASH” Shiryaev D.I. noted that during the first practical tests of ak-47 with a caliber of 7.62 mm, it turned out that when firing from an unstable position (for example, standing) in automatic mode, only 1-2 bullets fly at the target. This deficiency was planned to be eliminated at the factory revision, but this was not possible. For designers, it was obvious that using 7.62 mm caliber would be impossible to achieve.

Moreover, in the 60s, the Americans successfully switched to the 5.60 mm caliber with their M16A1, and at that time, this was a much more weighty argument, because once in the west they were able to create an accurate automatic rifle for shooting from unstable positions, and at the same time they used significantly smaller caliber, then the development in this area should bear fruit.

However, the main reason was the technical characteristics, which gave the rifle a new reduced caliber. To understand what the benefits of switching to 5.45 mm were, let’s look at its advantages over the outdated 7.62 mm.

Advantages and disadvantages.

The caliber of 5.45 mm has a smaller cross-sectional area. Many advantages of the new caliber immediately follow from this: a more flat trajectory of the bullet’s flight, a greater range of a shot, high accuracy, and also the preservation of a destructive force at a greater distance. It should also be borne in mind that since such bullets were 6 grams lighter (10.2 grams versus 16.2 from 7.62 mm), with 8 stores ammunition, each soldier will receive a weight saving of 1.4 kg, which is a very big advantage combat conditions. In addition, the structural features of the bullet make it “tumble” when hitting the target, thereby increasing the damage inflicted.

As disadvantages, it is worth emphasizing that the caliber of 7.62 mm due to the greater mass is less susceptible to the influence of weather conditions, that is, it shows itself a little better in combat operations in the mountains or forest areas.

Based on the foregoing, it becomes obvious that the transition to a caliber of 5.45 mm was a weighted and timely decision that allowed the Soviet machine guns to continue competition on an equal footing with Western counterparts.

Russia is a labyrinth consisting of many labyrinths placed inside the labyrinth. And in each labyrinth you are waiting for your own “minotaurs.”

The Moscow labyrinth.

According to the research of the famous Russian archaeologist and researcher of “underground Moscow” Ignaty Stelletskiy, underground constructions under the buildings of the XVI-XVII centuries, located within the Garden Ring, are connected to each other and to the Kremlin by a network of underground labyrinths. And initially the plan of the underground capital was created by the Italian architects of the Moscow Kremlin – Aristotle Fiorovanti, Pietro Antonio Solari and Aleviz Novy. In particular Stelletskiy wrote: “All three architects as foreigners could not leave Moscow and had to lay down their bones in it …” The archaeologist discovered a well-coordinated system of 350 underground points, thanks to which, for example, it was possible to get from the Kremlin to the Vorobyovy Gory. However, after Stelletskiy’s death, the studies were classified.

“Kandalaksha Babylon”

“Babylon” – the so-called labyrinths in the Russian North, where, by the way, there were a lot of them. There is a version that they were originally called “avalonami” (in honor of the Celtic mythical island of the Blessed), and then, with the advent of Christianity, according to the consonance – “Babylons”. Some believed that the ancient people in these buildings sacrificed, others – places for initiations, the third – places of power, where a person can move into another dimension. There was even an opinion that these were fish traps, which fell into the labyrinth during the tide.

It is not known what originally function was performed by “Babylon”, built on the shores of the Kandalaksha Gulf 3-5 thousand years ago. It is known that the Saami conducted their shamanic rituals here at the beginning of the last millennium. Then this place was inhabited by Russian Pomors, who treated the “Babylon” very cautiously. It was believed that a “journey” through the maze could result in a descent into hell. True, they say, Pomory-Old Believers still enjoyed the “Babylon” before the beginning of naval navigation: they say, with the help of the labyrinth, it was possible to control the winds.

“Umba Babylon”

Near the river Umba (near Kandalaksha) you can find another “Babylon”. Probably, its functional did not differ from the neighboring Kandalaksha labyrinth. Local residents said that “Babylon” is in the old Sámi cemetery, and the passage of the labyrinth can result in unwanted contacts with ancient spirits.

The Great Solovetsky labyrinth

This labyrinth is located on the Big Solovetsky Island. It consists of two intertwined snakes. Regardless of which way you are going, you will always return to the entrance. There is a belief associated with this “Babylon”: the popular rumor said that it helps to double “material” values. For example, if you pass a labyrinth with 10 rubles in your pocket, your capital will soon grow to 20 rubles. People scientists, “investment” version is, of course, called nonsense.

Pyskorsky labyrinth

This labyrinth was accidentally discovered in 1915 in the Urals, near the Pyskorskaya Mountain. At one time on the mountain stood Pyskorsky Monastery, the birthplace of the famous Stroganovs. Under the monastery, monks created a system of tunnels, underground chapels, secret cells, warehouses and other premises. To study the labyrinth more thoroughly and failed, because soon a single underground passage in it was closed by a descending landslide. It is interesting that among the locals there have long been legends about hidden treasures in the mountain, while some of the villagers in a dream from night to night came to an old man and indicated the location of the treasure.

“The Garden at Tempel Pavilion”

Peter I was a big fan of labyrinths. It is said that no less than ten buildings throughout Russia were built by the order of the modern tsar. Peter even attributed the creation of some “babylon” in the Belomorie, which archaeologists allegedly are mistaken for today’s Neolithic structures. But these are all rumors. With complete certainty, one can attribute to Pyotr Alekseevich the authorship of only one labyrinth – in Peterhof, which was created according to the plan of the French specialist Jean Baptiste Leblon. The labyrinth, called “The Garden at the Temple Pavilion”, was an almost square plot of about 2 hectares. In the center of it was an oval pool, from which eight paths separated; they were crossed by a ring alley, dividing the site into sixteen clumps, in which flowers were planted. Despite the “vegetable” origin of the labyrinth was not so innocuous: there were rumors that some “travelers” were completely lost there. According to another legend, “The Garden at the Temple Pavilion” was eventually chosen by the first Russian Masons, who conducted their secret rituals in it.

“Labyrinth of the Spiritual”

This icon, written in the XVIII century, you can see in the New Jerusalem Monastery. The image is very unexpected for Russian iconography: knowledgeable people talk about the influence of the Western Christian tradition. Although this is not important. “Labyrinth of the Spiritual” includes 12 circles: two entrances lead to the Kingdom of Heaven, and twelve – to hell. The icon serves as a kind of a detector of sinfulness: having gone visually from the center to the road, you are allegedly rested precisely in your main sin. People said that you can go through the “Labyrinth Spiritual” just before confession (and once in a while).