96 Section HUMANS and ENVIRONMENT ISOTOPIC AND ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS DATA FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE MOBILITY OF THE BRONZE AGE STEPPE SOCIETIES Dobrovolskaya Maria Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Study of the lifestyle of the most ancient of pastoralists from skeletal evidence is the important direction in anthropology. <...> Isotopic and elemental studies allow reconstructing the landscape and climatic characteristics of human environment. <...> Importantly, these analyzes allow the options to obtain individual characteristics describing the living space of human or animal specifi c past, and in certain cases - even during their lifetime. <...> The stable isotope ratio 13/12C and 15/13N of bone tissue collagen of humans and animals is used to determine the main components of everyday diet. 87/86Sr (strontium) in biological objects refl ects the local geological rocks and is used to identify indigenous and immigrant individuals. <...> Values of the standard deviations for isotopic parameters for the twelve groups of buried mounds from the Northern Caucasus area were calculated. <...> Minimum values were determined for a group of sedentary population of the Early Bronze Age burials of Velikent (0.23). <...> Maximum values were obtained (1.3 - 1.4) for the Early Catacomb groups of burials (Peschany, Temrta). <...> Thus, the statistical analysis suggests that during the arid periods the population could take over large areas. <...> Obviously, in the more arid pastures biological productivity was low, and pastoralism provoked large-scale seasonal migrations. <...> So isotopic indicators show regions of considerable stability in seasonal nomadic populations associated with the culture of the Early - Early Middle Bronze Age, as well as the signifi cant impact of climate change on the expansion of pastureland. <...> Key words: Bronze Age, South Russia steppes, mobile population, paleodiets, stable isotopes, strontium isotopes Contact information: Dobrovolskaya Maria, e-mail: mk_pa@mail.ru. <...> RUSSIAN FEDERATION POPULATION DECLINE Grigulevich Nadezda Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia In demographic processes whose principal characteristics are birthrate decrease and mortality growth, sharp shifts have been noted in the Russian Federation starting from the 1990’s. <...> The process of depopulation which was called “the Russian cross” began. <...> Nearly 2 million people <...>