The latest issue of the scientific journal The Russian Journal of Seismology has been published – Vol. 8, No. 1. The issue contains articles written by scientists from various research organizations in Russia and the United States. This time, Russian seismologists from Obninsk, Moscow, Novosibirsk, and Vladikavkaz contributed to the publication.

The issue opens with the regular article “Global earthquakes in the 2025 second half according to the GS RAS” (authors: Yu.A. Vinogradov, M.I. Ryzhikova, N.V. Petrova, M.V. Kolomiets), prepared at GS RAS, Obninsk, Russia. The article describes the Earth's seismicity in the second half of 2025 at a magnitude level of m_b (MS) ≥ 6.0 (a total of 108 earthquakes), as well as information on 144 of the 566 earthquakes felt in the territory of the Russian Federation according to the Alert Service of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The article presents the parameters of the main shocks, focal mechanisms, waveforms, and macroseismic data. It is reported that during the period under review, the strongest earthquake on the globe with MS = 8.2 (Mw = 8.8) occurred on July 29 off the eastern coast of Kamchatka. This event was the most significant in Russia (magnitude 7–8 in Severo-Kurilsk) and caused tsunami. The most catastrophic earthquake reportedly occurred on August 31 with magnitude of 6.0 in Afghanistan. As a result, 2,205 people died and more than 3,000 were injured. It is claimed that the seismic energy released globally in the second half of 2025 was 17.5 times greater than that in the first half of 2025 and 4.9 times greater than the semiannual average for the period 2010–2025.

The article “United System of Seismic Observations in the USSR” was prepared by a Russian-American team of authors: A.V. Ponomarev, A.N. Morozov, A.D. Zavyalov (IPE RAS, Moscow, Russia), A.A. Amramina (American Institute of Physics, College Park, USA), and O.E. Starovoit (GS RAS, Obninsk, Russia). The article presents the brief description of the history of the creation, development, and evolution of the Unified System of Seismic Observations in the USSR, prepared on the basis of documents from the Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences and published materials on the topic of research.

The manuscript for the next article, “A refined one-dimensional velocity model of the Earth's crust of the Polar Urals” was prepared by a team of researchers from GS RAS, Obninsk, Russia (A.S. Zvereva and N.N. Noskova) and IDG RAS, Moscow, Russia (I.A. Sanina and O.A. Usoltseva). The results of a comparative assessment of the quality of seismic event locations are presented based on three velocity models used in seismological observations in the Polar Urals and adjacent territories.

This issue contains another, somewhat historical, article, “On the First Seismic Station in North Ossetia: A Brief History of Establishment and Development, Current State, and Prospects” prepared by authors from the Central Office and North Ossetian Branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences (A.A. Sayapina, S.V. Gorozhantsev, T.V. Chivieva). The article is devoted to the 40-year history and current status of the Tsey (ZEI) seismic station—the first in North Ossetia, founded in 1983. It is stated that development prospects are linked to the transformation of the Tsey station into a comprehensive geophysical monitoring facility for studying not only seismicity but also hazardous exogenous processes.

The article “Solar Activity, Galactic Cosmic Rays, and Seismicity of the Racha-Dzhava Zone of the Greater Caucasus” originally published in the Russian Seismological Journal, was prepared by a team of authors from SAI MSU, Moscow, Russia, and, as in the previous article, from the Central Branch and North Ossetian Branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences: A.V. Myasnikov, Z.I. Dudarov, and S.S. Bagaeva. The article presents the results of the correlation analysis of the seismic activity level of the Racha-Dzhava zone, located in the central segment of the Greater Caucasus, and the intensity of galactic cosmic rays based on neutron monitor data. It is argued that the maximum seismic energy output from “prepared” earthquakes in one consolidated zone occurs during solar minimums, with a delay of approximately 10 months and approximately six months from the maximum intensity of galactic cosmic rays.

The latest article by A.V. Mikheeva (ICM&MG SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia), a regular contributor to the Russian Journal of Seismology, “Creepex-study of the seismic-geodynamic situation on the eve of strong earthquakes in the continental part of southeastern Eurasia” continues a series of publications devoted to this method of seismicity analysis.

The issue concludes with traditional short reports on recent seismic events felt in Russia. The articles were prepared by authors from the Central Branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences: I.P. Gabsatarova, A.I. Klyanchin, I.N. Sokolova, and Z.V. Temnikova, “The felt South Azov earthquake on February 2, 2026” and A.S. Zvereva, A.I. Klyanchin, N.L. Ponomareva, and P.A. Borisov, “A felt earthquake occurred on February 9 (10), 2026, in the Anapa-Novorossiysk seismogenic zone (Mw=4.8)” Both articles briefly present instrumental and macroseismic data on the corresponding events and describe their focal mechanisms.