Submissions

Author Guidelines

Download the Author Guidelines (PDF)

Article Preparation

Length of papers

Your article’s total character count should not be over 80,000, including spaces. Please note that the total length of the article includes the text of the article and the notes (footnotes), as well as the figures, references and bibliography.

Formatting requirements

When preparing their articles, authors are advised to use the dedicated document templates that are available for download on our website. If you prefer not to use the templates, please consider the journal requirements when preparing your text. After your article is accepted for publication, it will be subjected to scholarly and literary editing and formatted in accordance with the layout of the journal.

Download the Article Template

Completeness and presentation of papers

1. Papers are presented as a single file in the .doc or .docx format that includes the following parts in the following order: information about the author (see “Information about the Author”), universal decimal classification (UDC), title of the article, abstract and keywords in (see “Title”, “Abstract” and “Keywords”), text of the article, notes of acknowledgement and list of sources and references (see “Reference List”). Please also attach the names, organisations and contact details of at least three potential reviewers. Other reviewers may be chosen for your article; you do not need to ask those individuals whether they will be available to review your article.

2. To name the article file, use the author’s last name in Latin characters.

3. If the article text requires the use of non-standard fonts, formulas, complex formatting, etc., a .pdf file of the article text should be provided in addition to the .docx file. Authors are asked to provide the font files as well.

4. If the article contains illustrations, each should be provided as a separate .jpg, .jpeg or .png file (see Tables, Figures, Charts). To name the file, use the author's last name in Latin characters, space, Fig, sequence number, e.g. Avtor_Fig1. Any illustrations prepared in MS Word and containing text should be kept in the main file of the article.

Format, font, paragraphs. The article should use Times New Roman, 14 pt; full justification; paragraph indent 1.0 cm. Automatic hyphenation should be deactivated.

Information about the author

All information about the author should be stated on the first page of the article file sent to the editorial team. The information must include the following:

• the name of the author in full (if the name is natively written in non-Latin alphabet, the transliteration should match that used in other publications); 
• the academic degree;
• the position, the name of the organization (place of work);
• the legal address of the organization (not of its subdivision!);
• the email and/or phone number (with country and city code) of the author;
• the author’s personal identification codes (ResearcherID, ORCID and Scopus AuthorID, if applicable).

If there are several authors, all of the above information is provided for each of them.

UDC index. The Universal Decimal Classification index should be specified on the left-hand side of the first page of the main text, giving an accurate reflection of the article’s subject. The UDC is widely used for article indexing and efficient retrieval.

Title. The title should be given in bold; capital letters are only used at the beginning of the title and for proper names.

Abstract. The abstract should precede the main text of the article and be separated from it graphically. The abstract should be at least 500 and not more than 2000 characters long, including spaces. The abstract should demonstrate the relevance of the study. Readers should be able to assess the subject, the course of the study and the conclusions reached by the author. Background information, general and insignificant statements, superfluous introductory words, etc., should be avoided.

The abstract should follow the rules of the English language and academic style.

Keywords. Keywords must follow the abstract, precede the main text of the article and be separated from both graphically. Please start the list of keywords with “Keywords:”. Your list should comprise between 5 and 10 keywords and must include at least two words that are also present in the article title.

The purpose of keywords is to make it easier for potential readers to locate your article, so refrain from using either too general or too specific terms.

Structure. The text should have a clear structure, with sections and subsections reflecting the course of the research.

Section titles

Please use a consistent style for different level titles:
(1) for first level titles (e.g. Introduction, Conclusion, etc.), use bold type on a separate line;
(2) for second level titles, use italic bold type on a separate line;
(3) for third level titles, use italic type on a separate line;
(4) for fourth level titles, use italic bold type at the beginning of the paragraph, so that the first sentence of the paragraph directly follows the title punctuation mark;
(4) for fifth level titles, use italic type at the beginning of the paragraph, so that the first sentence of the paragraph directly follows the title punctuation mark.

Capital letters are only used at the beginning of the section title and for proper names.

Tables, figures, charts

1. Tables should be found at the end of your article, following the reference list. Any figures or charts should be provided as separate files for easier layout.

2. Immediately after the paragraph in which a table, figure or chart is first mentioned, [Table X should be here] should be inserted on a separate line, with the relevant number.

3. The content of the table, figure or chart should be clear without referring to the main text of the article and should not be duplicated in it.

4. Each table, figure or chart must have a title in the same format as the regular text. Please put figure captions after the reference list.

5. All tables, figures and charts are numbered continuously with Arabic numerals. If an article only contains a single table, figure or chart, it should not be numbered.

6. Pictures and diagrams should be provided as separate files in the JPG, JPEG or PNG format. Image quality should be high enough to ensure it remains clear after resizing. Resolution should be at least 300 dpi (dots per inch).

7. When using figures, photos or charts that have not been created by you, make sure that those images are published under an Open Access license and list all relevant information that is available:

• author’s name;
• year (if available);
• the name of the work (if available);
• a link to the page where the image is located;
• a note detailing your right to use the image (if available).

Spelling and punctuation

The article should follow the rules of the modern English language.

Quotations

1. All direct quotations must be given in quotation marks. Quoting word for word without quotation marks is not allowed.

2. Source should be stated in round brackets directly after the quote (see In-Text Citations). For literal quotations, page number must be stated, if present in the source.

3. Any quotations from the author’s own works should be treated similarly to others, properly cited and included into the references.

Examples and highlighting

1. Examples should be given in italic, their translation should be given in regular type in quotation marks. Examples from all languages except English and Russian should be translated.

2. To highlight a section of the text, you can use either bold italic or regular bold (depending on the surrounding text) type; text underlining is not allowed. Please use highlighting sparingly.

Page numbering. Numbers are placed at the bottom of the page (using footers).

Dates and numerals

1. Dates must be given in accordance with the following format: 05.08.1982.

2. Numbers one through ten are spelled out; numbers above ten are written as numerals.

3. Use Roman numerals for centuries and the following format for decades: the 1980s.

Names

1. When a person is first mentioned, use initials of the first name (and patronymic, if applicable) and their last name; in subsequent mentions only the last name is stated (unless the article mentions multiple individuals with the same last name).

2. Non-breaking space should be used to separate initials from each other and from the last name (Ctrl + Shift + Space).

3. If you wish to specify a person’s years of birth and death, you can add them in the parenthesis after the name is first mentioned, separated by en-dash without spaces, e.g.: Ch. Darwin (1809–1882).

Titles of works. Quotation marks should be used for titles in all languages.

Abbreviations. Please, use abbreviations, such as “e.g.”, “i.e.”, “etc”.

Males and females are marked with symbols ♂ and ♀.

Geographic coordinates are given in 00°00′00″ format.

If abbreviations are used in the article, the list of abbreviations should precede the references.

Lists

1. Microsoft Word List tool should be used exclusively to format all lists.

2. Top level lists are numbered, with an indent of 1.5 cm from the left margin.

3. Second level lists are bulleted, with an indent of 2.0 cm from the left margin.

Formatting of footnotes

It is recommended to use footnotes as rarely as possible. If a note is necessary, please use the Microsoft Word “Insert Footnote” note to create notes with continuous numbering at the bottom of the page.

In-text citations

1. For in-text citations, the author’s last name and year of publication should be stated in round brackets: (Author 2019).

When citing a specific fragment, state the page number after a colon: (Author 2010: 25).

If there are multiple works by the same author in the same year, they are ordered alphabetically by the title and are allocated a letter (a, b, c etc) after the date: (Author 2019a).

When citing a source with one or two authors, all authors’ names should be included. For more than three authors, only the first three names should be stated, followed by “et al.”: (Author1, Author2, Author3 et al.). If the authors are not stated, the document should be named instead (shortening of long titles is accepted): (The Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 732 of 17 July 1995… 1995).

When citing a source divided into several parts or volumes, state the relevant part or volume number: (Tsalolikhin 2000, vol. 4)

2. When citing multiple sources, they should be separated by a comma and arranged in alphabetical order: (Negrobov 2000; Tsalolikhin 2000, vol. 4: 45). If citing multiple works by the same author or authors, do not repeat their name or names: (Negrobov 1979; 1986; 2000).

3. When citing a source, always provide a full reference. Ibid, op. cit., etc. are not allowed.

Reference list

1. Make sure to prepare the reference list with the utmost attention. Any format inaccuracies may impede the cited sources’ tracking in databases, impacting the authors’ citation rate. It is preferable to use respected and relevant sources present in major scientific databases or national indices and that are easily accessible.

2. The reference list must include all sources cited in the article, whether directly or indirectly, and may not include any unmentioned works.

3. All references are given after the text of the article as an unnumbered list, arranged in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. All references should be given in Harvard referencing style. If there are multiple sources by the same author, then citations are listed in order by the date of publication. If referencing multiple works from one author released in the same year, the works are allocated a letter (2000a, 2000b, 2000c) after the year.

4. Please, divide the reference list in the following sections: “Sources”, “Dictionaries and reference literature” and “References”. Sources should include all texts that have been studied.

5. You can consult reference examples, as well as previous issues.

Journal titles should be provided in full. If present, always include DOI (as an active link). Journal, book and website titles are given in italics to visually distinguish them from article, chapter and section titles.

Transliteration of references

BSI standard is used for transliteration. In this section, please provide transliterated titles for Russian-language sources and original titles for sources in other languages. References are arranged in alphabetical order regardless of language. At the end of each reference, please state the language you accessed the source in.

For names of authors, please transliterate names that are originally in Cyrillic alphabet and provide the original spelling for names in the Latin alphabet (e.g. Genette G., Barthes R. (French), Köstlin K. R. von (German, etc.)

Please add “Publ.” to the titles of Russian publishing houses (e.g. “М.: Наука” = “Moscow: Nauka Publ.”). For organisations, only use official translations of the title.

For journals, only list the translation of the title into English if it is an official translation. If there is no translation provided by the journal, only use the original name. If the original is in non-Latin characters, please transliterate it.

If you reference any Russian-language sources, please use the translitonline.com website with the following settings:

ё — e;
ц — ts;
й — j;
щ — shch;
ий — ij;
ый — yj;
х — всегда kh (always kh).

Download the Citation Guide

Reference examples

Journal article

• Dubatolov, V. V., Kostomarova, I. V. (2019) K faune dnevnykh cheshuekrylykh (Lepidoptera, Hesperioidea, Papilionoidea) khvojnykh lesov Botchinskogo zapovednika [Hesperioidea and Papilionoidea (Lepidoptera) of Coniferous Forests from the Nature Reserve Botchinskii]. Amurskij zoologicheskij zhurnal — Amurian Zoological Journal, vol. XI, no. 1, pp. 48–71. https://doi.org/10.33910/1999-4079-2019-11-1-48-71 (In Russian)

Book

• Löbl, I., Smetana, A. (eds.). (2010) Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera. Vol. 6. Stenstrup: Apollo Books, 924 p. (In English)
• Zheleznov-Chukotskij, N. K. (1994) Ekologiya snezhnykh baranov Severnoj Azii [Ecology of snow sheep in North Asia]. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 256 p. (In Russian)
• Geptner, V. G., Naumov, N. P., Urgenson, P. B. et al. (1967) Mlekopitayushchie Sovetskogo Soyuza: v 3 t. T. 2. Ch. 1: Morskie korovy i khishchnye [Mammals of the Soviet Union: In 3 vols. Vol. 2. Pt 1: Sea cows and carnivores]. Moscow: Vysshaya shkola Publ., 1004 p. (In Russian)

Book chapter

• Kotov, A. A. (1993) Skalistyj golub’ [The rocky dove]. In: V. D. Il’ichev, V. E. Flint (eds.). Ptitsy Rossii I sopredel’nykh regionov: Ryabkoobraznye, Golubeobraznye, Kukushkoobraznye, Sovoobraznye [Birds of Russia and adjacent regions: Pterocliformes, Columbiformes, Cuculiformes, Strigiformes]. Moscow: Nauka Publ., pp. 98–110. (In Russian)

Conference, seminar or roundtable proceedings

• Gashev, S. N., Kazantseva, M. N., Sazonova, N. A., Stolbov, V. A. (2007) Rezul’taty kompleksnoj ekspeditsii v zakaznik “Sorumskij” [The results of a comprehensive expedition to the Sorumsky Reserve]. In: T. M. Islamova (ed.). “Slovtsovskie chteniya — 2007”: Materialy XIX Vserossiyskoj nauchno-prakticheskoj krayevedcheskoj konferentsii [Slovtsovskie Readings — 2007: Materials of the 19^th All-Russian scientific and practical local history conference]. Tyumen: Tyumen State University Publ., pp. 205–206. (In Russian)

Online source

• Moth Photographers Group. Digital Guide to Moth Identification. [Online]. Available at: http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu (accessed 29.07.2019). (In English)

Submission of Papers

Articles prepared in accordance with the rules are sent to the editorial board via the file uploading system on the official website of the journal (www.azjournal.ru). Physical copies will not be accepted.

No submission or publication fees are charged.

After the article is received, its compliance with the formal requirements will be checked within 15 days, followed by a open peer review (see Review Statement). 

Articles only require an expert assessment certificate stating that such articles contain no classified information if it is deemed necessary by the editor during the initial review.

Both the issue in which your article is published and the order of the articles are determined by the number of articles that have been submitted to different sections of the journal.