An Environmental History of Russia (Studies in Environment and History) - Softcover

Josephson, Paul; Dronin, Nicolai; Mnatsakanian, Ruben; Cherp, Aleh; Efremenko, Dmitry; Larin, Vladislav

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521689724 ISBN 13: 9780521689724

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2013

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Book Description:

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.

About the Author:

Paul Josephson is Professor of History at Colby College. A specialist in big science and technology in the twentieth century, he is the author of nine books on the history of science and technology and on human-nature interactions.

Aleh Cherp is Professor of Environmental Sciences and Policy at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, and Associate Professor at Lund University, Sweden.

Ruben Mnatsakanian is a Professor of Environmental Sciences and Policy at the Central European University and head of the Collaborating Centre of the Global Environmental Outlook Project launched by United Nations Environmental Programme.

Nicolai Dronin is a Senior Researcher in the Department of Geography at Moscow State University.

Dmitry Efremenko is Head of the Sociology Department at the Institute for Scientific Information on Social Sciences at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0521689724
• ISBN 13: 9780521689724
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 347