Aleh Cherp
Professor, Coordinator of the MESPOM Consortium
An Environmental History of Russia
Author
Summary, in English
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.
Department/s
- The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
Publishing year
2013
Language
English
Document type
Book
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Topic
- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
Keywords
- Russia
- USSR
- environmental history
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISBN: 9780521689724