"The objective of the study is to develop and implement for Russia an integrated spatial-economic-ecological modelling approach, which represents the state-of-the-art in different areas of economic, transport, resource-use and environmental modelling, and can be used to assist policy makers in their choice of medium and long-term sustainability policies. This implies the following interrelated aims: develop modelling approach, which represents the state-of-the-art in impact assessment modelling and corresponds the complexity of the sustainability issue; build consistent database necessary for the implementation of the developed approach for Russia; construct the spatial-economic-ecological model for Russia; develop a set of sustainability indicators associated with the model, which allows for quantification of social, economic and environmental effects of sustainability policies; use the model to assess the effects of a set of important sustainability policy measures in order to demonstrate the operation ability and reliability of the developed modelling approach. The SUST-RUS modelling approach will provide Russian and international community with the sound scientific support for formulating sustainability policies, which is characterized by a balanced integration between social, economic and environmental policy objectives. The use of the SUST-RUS approach will assist the implementation of the EU strategy for sustainable development in Russia as well as an efficient incorporation of the sustainability goals into the existing Russian policy tools on regional and federal levels. The SUST-RUS modelling approach represents the state-of-the-art in many different areas of knowledge and, hence, will be superior to other models available for Russia."