The article explores the impact of migration on wages in Russian cities. The research was carried out on the basis of the data collected by the authors in September–October 2017 in the administrative centres of the subjects of the Ural Federal District, Russia. The aim of the study was to find out whether migrant workers are complements or substitutes to local workers in the local labour markets of the Russian cities. Econometric models were estimated using OLS and GLS methodology. The OLS results showed that migration does not affect wages in the cities. The GLS estimations were also statistically insignificant for the local employees with higher education, but for those with primary and secondary education, migration demonstrates a positive and statistically significant impact on an individual’s wages. It gives us reason to suggest that migrant workers are complementary to the local workers with primary and secondary education.

A review of the literature on the theory and practice of creating smart cities shows that there is no common understanding of the concept of a smart city, as well as the goals of its creation. The concept of a smart sustainable city has been gaining popularity in recent years and is being actively implemented in various countries. It is considered as a means of solving social, economic, and environmental problems caused by urbanization. The Nordic countries have achieved the greatest success in its implementation. The purpose of the article is to analyze the existing theories on the concept of smart sustainable cities, as well as the most successful experience of their creation in the Nordic countries. This analysis will allow us to determine the most optimal technologies for implementation in Russian practice. The methodological approach of this study includes a systematic review of the literature on smart cities, with an emphasis on those that focus on conceptual development and provide an empirical database. The review shows that the literature reveals three types of driving forces of smart sustainable cities. These are technologies, communities, and public policy which are associated with such areas of their development as improving the population welfare and the life quality in cities, productivity, and efficiency of their functioning and management. But this experience is not taken into account in the development of Russian programs for creating smart cities. The article presents a comprehensive study of the experience of Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland in creating smart sustainable cities, digitalizing the economy of countries, and at the same time in achieving the goals of sustainable development.

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The article presents the results of the study of a new tourist practice in Russia-the socalled 'couchsurfing'. The members of the social network Couchsurfing.com travel around the world and stay at other members' homes for free if they use their homes in the same way. There is an obvious lack of data about this social phenomenon, which does not allow to define clearly its functions and to estimate its possible transformations in the future. Therefore, the authors conducted an analysis of publications on hospitality network and in-depth interviews with couchsurfers to define the features of the couchsurfing as a social practice. It is a set of actions and interactions of individuals, groups and communities, which perform important social functions. The couchsurfing possesses all features of social practices: reproducibility, generality, stability and normativity. Thus, common values of couchsurfers contribute to the solidarity within the community, to the high level of interpersonal trust and generalized trust. The main motives for participating in couchsurfing are search for self-identification and social ties (belonging), learning a foreign language, seeking for help and saving money. Despite the risks, the researchers and informants positively evaluate the couchsurfing practices, especially for the ways to ensure couchsurfers' safety are improving, and the couchsurfing changes the lives of its participants by positively affecting their values and worldview. The couchsurfing constitutes an essential element of a new global system of hospitality that allows people to visit and socialize anywhere in the world.

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