Academician V.B. Sochava’s Theory of Geosystems and Modern Times

In the 1960s and 1970s, Academician Viktor Borisovich Sochava developed a theory of geographical systems, which marked the beginning of a new direction in the earth science. Over the past 60 years, the scientific worldview has significantly changed. These changes have also affected the theory of geosystems. The authors have studied the development paths of the theory of geosystems. It has been concluded that the main provisions of this theory are conceptually relevant today. It has been shown that several directions in the development of geosystem theory were anticipated by Sochava at the very outset of the formulation of this concept. The creation of a unified theory about the hierarchical structural and functional basis of natural systems is practically recognized, which makes it possible to organize environmental management in such a way that it is adapted to the natural territory organization as a unified, sustainable functioning system. This article considers some directions for the further development of the theory of geosystems, such as the functioning of natural complexes in the presence of weak connections between components and the application of the graph theory to study internal and external interactions. One effective method for studying geosystems is fractal analysis, which makes it possible to relate the density and distribution of natural and anthropogenic components and elements with their stability and self-regulation.