An Environmental History of Russia

This environmental history of the former Soviet Union explores the impact that state economic development programs had on the environment.

Paul Josephson (Author), Nicolai Dronin (Author), Ruben Mnatsakanian (Author), Aleh Cherp (Author), Dmitry Efremenko (Author), Vladislav Larin (Author)

9780521869584, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 30 April 2013

352 pages, 11 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.59 kg

'… connoisseurs of the damage perpetrated by human folly on the natural world in the name of progress will greatly appreciate this book … A study of the Soviet Union's environmental history (most of the book covers the Soviet period) is much needed, and the authors are to be acknowledged for producing this volume.' David Moon, European History Quarterly

The former Soviet empire spanned eleven time zones and contained half the world's forests; vast deposits of oil, gas and coal; various ores; major rivers such as the Volga, Don and Angara; and extensive biodiversity. These resources and animals, as well as the people who lived in the former Soviet Union - Slavs, Armenians, Georgians, Azeris, Kazakhs and Tajiks, indigenous Nenets and Chukchi - were threatened by environmental degradation and extensive pollution. This environmental history of the former Soviet Union explores the impact that state economic development programs had on the environment. The authors consider the impact of Bolshevik ideology on the establishment of an extensive system of nature preserves, the effect of Stalinist practices of industrialization and collectivization on nature, and the rise of public involvement under Khrushchev and Brezhnev, and changes to policies and practices with the rise of Gorbachev and the break-up of the USSR.

1. From imperial to socialist nature preservation: environmental protection and resource development in the Russian empire, 1861–1925
2. Stalinism, industry, agriculture and the environment
3. The Khrushchev reforms, environmental politics, and the awakening of environmentalism, 1953–64
4. Developed socialism, environmental degradation and the time of economic 'stagnation', 1964–85
5. Gorbachev's reforms, the break-up of the USSR and the environmental policies of transition
Conclusion: 6. After the break-up of the USSR: inheriting the environmental legacy.

Subject Areas: The environment [RN], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]