The chemistry of heterocyclic compounds has traditionally been and remains a bright area of chemical science in Russia. This is due to the fact that many heterocycles find the widest application. These compounds are the key structural fragments of most drugs, plant protection agents. Many natural compounds are also derivatives of heterocycles. At present, more than half of the hundreds of millions of known chemical compounds are heterocycles. This collective review is devoted to the achievements of Russian chemists in this field over the last 15–20 years. The review presents the achievements of leading heterocyclists representing both RAS institutes and university science. It is worth noting the wide scope of the review, both in terms of the geography of author teams, covering the whole of our large country, and in terms of the diversity of research areas. Practically all major types of heterocycles are represented in the review. The special attention is focused on the practical applications of heterocycles in the design of new drugs and biologically active compounds, high-energy molecules, materials for organic electronics and photovoltaics, new ligands for coordination chemistry, and many other rapidly developing areas. These practical advances would not be possible without the development of new fundamental transformations in heterocyclic chemistry. Bibliography — 2237 references.

New monothiolate ruthenium alkylidene complexes bearing bulky tricyclic N-heterocyclic carbene ligands decorated with two geminal trifluoromethyl groups were synthesized. Their catalytic activity in representative olefin metathesis reactions, such as ring closing metathesis of diallyltosylamine and selfmetathesis of allylbenzene, has been evaluated.

New gold (I) complexes with bulky fluorinated N-heterocyclic carbene ligands were synthesized and fully characterized. Their catalytic activity was tested in model reactions such as intramolecular hydroamination of 2-(phenylethynyl)aniline, alkyne hydration and hydrohydrazination of henylacetylene. In all studied cases new complexes demonstrated from good to excellent catalytic activities under standard conditions.

A regioselective pathway to new fluorinated γ-arylated α-amino acid derivatives bearing a terminal double bond in the side chain has been developed based on Pd-catalyzed allene hydroarylation using ArI and TsNHNH ₂ as aryl and hydride sources.

A convenient synthetic approach has been developed for novel monobenzotriazoles incorporating a mesoionic 1,3a,6,6a-tetraazapentalene core. The method involves a Cu(I)-catalyzed (3+2) cycloaddition of ortho-nitrophenyl azide to terminal aryl(alkyl)acetylenes, followed by an intramolecular cyclization under Cadogan-type deoxygenation conditions. The process can be successfully performed in a one-pot fashion, affording the target benzo[d][1,2,3]triazolo[1,2-a]triazole derivatives in good yields.