An Environmental History of Russia [Hardcover]

This environmental history of the former Soviet Union explores the impact that state economic development programs had on the environment.This environmental history of the former Soviet Union goes beyond simple lists of polluted regions and destroyed ecosystems to consider the individuals and institutions that debated the impact of socialist economic development. Based on original research and firsthand accounts, this book contains dynamic debates between party officials, scientists, and citizens about how best to use the great natural and mineral resources of the USSR and the impact Soviet programs had on the empire's extensive biodiversity and numerous citizens.This environmental history of the former Soviet Union goes beyond simple lists of polluted regions and destroyed ecosystems to consider the individuals and institutions that debated the impact of socialist economic development. Based on original research and firsthand accounts, this book contains dynamic debates between party officials, scientists, and citizens about how best to use the great natural and mineral resources of the USSR and the impact Soviet programs had on the empire's extensive biodiversity and numerous citizens.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 collectivlS>