Association of Russian Geographers and Social Scientists

The Association of Russian Geographers and Social Scientists (ARGO; Russian: Ассоциация российских географов-обществоведов, АРГО) is a Russian professional association that consolidates the community of social and economic geographers. It was founded in 2010 as a voluntary, self-governing, non-commercial public association with interregional status. Unlike national geographical societies such as the Russian Geographical Society, which focus primarily on popularizing science, ARGO is dedicated to advancing socio-economic geography as a research discipline and to integrating professionals in the field. The idea of creating the association was voiced in summer 2009 at a meeting on current problems of socio-economic geography development in Saint Petersburg. In May 2010, the founding assembly was held in Rostov-on-Don, where the charter and governing bodies were adopted. Since then, regional branches have been established across Russia, reaching 36 by 2019. The association is governed by a Coordination Council (Presidium) headed by a president, with Alexander Druzhinin serving as president. It includes commissions on research, education, international activities, information, young scientists, and interaction with the Russian Geographical Society. ARGO organizes annual assemblies that combine congresses of the socio-geographical community, international scientific conferences, and meetings of the coordination council and commissions. The first assembly took place in Rostov-on-Don in 2010, and subsequent assemblies have been held in various Russian cities, including Kaliningrad, Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Simferopol, Grozny, Perm, Barnaul, Kazan, Vladivostok, Izhevsk, Tyumen, Ulan-Ude, Krasnodar, and Pskov. The XVII Assembly is scheduled for Yekaterinburg in 2026. Since April 2012, ARGO has published the scientific journal "Socio-Economic Geography. Bulletin of the Association of Russian Geographers and Social Scientists" (ISSN 2227-8249), which is included in the Russian Science Citation Index (RINC). The journal is annual and is the first Russian specialized scientific journal entirely devoted to socio-economic (human) geography. The association also issues books, such as "Theory of Socio-Economic Geography: Spectrum of Views of Russian Scientists" (2010) and "Space of Modern Russia: Opportunities and Barriers of Development" (2012). ARGO maintains international partnerships with geographical societies in Argentina, Turkey, Cuba, the Republic of Srpska, and Uzbekistan. It awards the ARGO Medal "For Fundamental Contribution to the Development of Human Geography" and the N. N. Baransky Prize for innovative textbooks and teaching materials in socio-economic geography. As of 2019, the association had more than 550 members, including geographers, economic geographers, regionalists, and specialists in various fields of human geography and spatial economics.

The idea of creating an association of Russian geographers and social scientists was voiced in summer 2009 at a meeting on current problems of socio-economic geography development in Saint Petersburg. In May 2010, the founding assembly was held in Rostov-on-Don, where the charter and governing bodies were adopted. The association was established as a voluntary, self-governing, non-commercial public association aimed at actively positioning Russian economic-geographical science, developing and popularizing its ideas and approaches, raising awareness and integration of the professional economic-geographical community, and expanding its participation in solving practical tasks of socio-economic development of territories. By legal form, the association is an interregional public association. Since 2010, regional branches began to be created, and by 2019 their number reached 36. In 2010, under the auspices and leadership of the association, the book "Theory of Socio-Economic Geography: Spectrum of Views of Russian Scientists" was published, and in 2012, "Space of Modern Russia: Opportunities and Barriers of Development (Reflections of Geographers and Social Scientists)". These books contain expert opinions on major problems of theory and methodology of socio-economic (human) geography, characterize key problem situations and trends in the territorial organization of society in post-Soviet Russia, and offer a socio-geographical interpretation of determinants, scenarios, and strategies of the country's development. As of 2019, the association had more than 550 members, including geographers, economic geographers, regionalists, and specialists in various fields of human geography and spatial economics. The governing body is the Coordination Council (Presidium), headed by a president. The president is Alexander Druzhinin. Vice-presidents include Vladimir Kolosov, Tatiana Pototskaya, Igor Okunev, Andrei Treivish, and Stanislav Lachininsky. The Coordination Council coordinates the activities of the entire association, including the Expert Council, Executive Secretariat, and regional branches. The association has commissions on research activities, socio-geographical education, international activities, information activities, work with young scientists, and interaction with the Russian Geographical Society. Since 2010, the association has annually held assemblies, which include a congress of the socio-geographical community, international scientific conferences, and meetings of the coordination council and commissions. The assemblies have been held in various cities: I Assembly (4–8 May 2010) in Rostov-on-Don; II (14–18 September 2011) in Kaliningrad; III (29–30 September 2012) in Saint Petersburg; IV (14 September 2013) in Moscow; V (29–30 August 2014) in Saint Petersburg; VI (16–20 September 2015) in Simferopol; VII (20–25 September 2016) in Grozny; VIII (26 September – 1 October 2017) in Perm; IX (12–19 September 2018) in Barnaul; X (17–22 September 2019) in Kazan; XI (correspondence) in Vladivostok; XII (12–19 September 2021) in Izhevsk; XIII (11–18 September 2022) in Tyumen; XIV (10–19 September 2023) in Ulan-Ude; XV (29 September – 8 October 2024) in Krasnodar; XVI (14–20 September 2025) in Pskov; XVII (14–19 September 2026) in Yekaterinburg. Since 2012, the scientific journal "Socio-Economic Geography. Bulletin of the Association of Russian Geographers and Social Scientists" has been published. It is an annual publication, issued once a year. The journal is the first Russian specialized scientific journal entirely devoted to issues of socio-economic (human) geography. It is included in the Russian Science Citation Index (RINC). The association has foreign partners: the Argentine Society of Geographical Research, the Association of Turkish Geographers, the Geographical Society of Cuba, the Geographical Society of the Republic of Srpska, and the Geographical Society of Uzbekistan. The association awards the ARGO Medal "For Fundamental Contribution to the Development of Human Geography". Recipients include Mikhail Sharygin (2014), Anatoly Chistobaev (2015), Pyotr Baklanov (2017), Arnold Tulokhonov (2025), Tatiana Nefedova (2026), and Vyacheslav Baburin (2026). The N. N. Baransky Prize is awarded for the creation of innovative textbooks and teaching materials in socio-economic geography. In 2015, it was awarded to the team of authors of the textbook "Russia: Socio-Economic Geography" edited by A. I. Alekseev and V. A. Kolosov. In 2016, it was awarded to the team of authors of the textbook "Gradovedenie" by E. G. Animitsa and N. Yu. Vlasova.

• 2026

  XVII Assembly scheduled in Yekaterinburg.

• 2019

  Number of regional branches reaches 36; membership exceeds 550.

• 2012

  Book "Space of Modern Russia: Opportunities and Barriers of Development" published.

• 2012

  Scientific journal "Socio-Economic Geography. Bulletin of ARGO" founded (ISSN 2227-8249).

• 2010

  Founding assembly held in Rostov-on-Don; charter and governing bodies adopted.

• 2010

  Book "Theory of Socio-Economic Geography: Spectrum of Views of Russian Scientists" published under the association's auspices.

• 2009

  Idea of creating the association voiced at a meeting in Saint Petersburg.

Professional association for social and economic geographers in Russia, distinct from popularization-oriented geographical societies.

• Journal "Socio-Economic Geography. Bulletin of the Association of Russian Geographers and Social Scientists"

  Annual scientific journal, first Russian specialized journal on socio-economic geography, ISSN 2227-8249, included in RINC.

• Book "Theory of Socio-Economic Geography: Spectrum of Views of Russian Scientists"

  Published in 2010 under the association's auspices.

• Book "Space of Modern Russia: Opportunities and Barriers of Development"

  Published in 2012, containing reflections of geographers and social scientists.

1. 1Главная | АРГОargorussia.ru
2. 2Assot︠s︡iat︠s︡ii︠a︡ rossiiskikh geografov obshchestvovedovwikidata.org
3. 3Ассоциация российских географов-обществоведовru.wikipedia.org