The paper is devoted to Yeugenia Nikolaevna Ivanova, an out-standing soil scientist and a founder of soil studies in the Republic of Komi. A brief review of the latest successes achieved by special-ists of the Institute of Biology in the Republic of Komi shows the development of Ye.N. Ivanova’s ideas presented in the publication entitled “Principal Regularities of the Soil Cover along the North-Pechora Railway” (1952).

Under consideration are typical profiles of podzolic loamy soils described in many publications on the soils of  Komi Republic with respect to their diagnostics in national and international classifica-tion systems. It is argued  that the podzolic soils should be preferably recognized at the type level with numerous subtypes to reflect the  variations in the profile drainage conditions. In terms of the international soil classifications (FAO/WRB) the  podzolic soils may be correlated with the former Podzoluvisols and recent Retisols better than with the  Albeluvisols of the intermediate versions.

The peculiar morphology and physical-chemical properties of soils in mountain meadows of the Northern Ural are shown. From the position of the latest “Classification and Diagnostics of Soils in Russia” (2004) these soils are referred to 3 different types including the gray-humus (trunk of organo-accumulative soils), illuvial-humus-ferruginous soddy podburs (trunk of Al-humus soils) and gray-humus litozems (trunk of litozems)

Under study was the temperature regime of frozen soils situated along the southern boundary of cryolithozone in the North-East of European Russia. In southern tundra the frozen soils with the cold temperature regime are confined to peat and mineral parent materials. The seasonal and long-term temperature dynamics in seasonal-thawing and underlying permafrost-affected layer is shown. The frozen soils are characterized by the main temperature indices.

A semi-centennial history of compiling the State soil map of Kamchatka is described; the reasons for its correcting and partial alterating are shown including new data about soils and regularities in the soil  development in this peninsula, particular ashes distribution in the region, available satellite imagery of  high resolution. The map was compiled in traditional paper version by using multizonal aerospace Landsat  images, geological maps at 1:1 000 000 and 1: 5 000 000 scales, a hypsometric map at 1: 1 000 000 scale,  the published materials about soils, the vegetation cover and the soil-ash mantle. In general, Kamchatka and its separate regions have been so far examined insufficiently and the compilation of the State soil map assumes an expert character being based upon the comprehensive analysis of different available information on soils. As an example the swampy West-Kamchatka (Pre-Okhotsk) lowland is considered. A list of soils demonstrating on this map is given to show 26 soils, 4 grades according to the particle-size distribution and 2 grades according to the lithologic-mineralogical composition of compacted soil-forming rocks and their genesis.

When correcting the lists for the State soil map of the northern part in Central Siberia in electronic format using visual satellite images obtained by SAS Planet, it was possible to specify the boundaries of old soil contours and recognize new ones. Interpretation of aerospace images for sloping landscapes within the northern taiga subzone as confined to compacted rocks of trappean complex, loose Quaternary rocks and Jura sedimentary non- carbonate rocks permitted to enlarge the knowledge about the component composition of the soil cover at the above territory.