The article analyzes the scientific works of the academician N. Ozeretskovsky. The possibility and prospects of using his descriptions as scientific data for a multivalent assessment of the region and to study the historic-geographical differentiation of the space of European Russia in the late 18th century are demonstrated by example the description made in the course of his 1785 expedition. The Ladoga region as that most comprehensively described by N. Ozeretskovsky has been selected for a solution to this problem. The detailed analysis of the academician's descriptions and the maps which he had at his disposal allowed us to select eight historic-geographical districts in the Ladoga region. Refs 11. Figs 2.