Description
Book SynopsisThis book, originally published in 1992, describes the Soviet environment at its crisis point in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Beolorussia and the Ukraine had, as a result of the Chernobyl accident, been declared ecological disaster zones and across the country as a whole as many as 20 per cent of the population lived in environmental danger areas and another 35â40 per cent in unsatisfactory conditions. According to a Supreme Soviet Environment Committee report of 1989, 80% of all illness in the USSR related either directly or indirectly to environmental problems. In this book, leading specialists from both the West and the Soviet Union present a comprehensive analysis of these problems. The contributors examine the aftermath of Chernobyl, the catastrophic causes and effects of the Aral Sea's shrinkage, the environmental issues and public unrest. The depth of analysis in this volume together with the breadth of topics addressed will ensure that it is read by students and specialists
Table of ContentsNotes on contributors; Preface; 1. Environmentalism and nationalism: an unlikely twist in an unlikely direction Marshall I. Goldman; 2. The environmental basis for ethnic unrest in the Baltic republics Philip R. Pryde; 3. Political participation, nationalism and environmental politics in the USSR Charles E. Ziegler; 4. BAM after the fanfare: the unbearable ecumene Victor L. Mote; 5. The massive degradation of ecosystems in the USSR Zeev Wolfson; 6. The new politics in the USSR: the case of the environment Joan Debardeleben; 7. Water management in Soviet Central Asia: problems and prospects Philip P. Micklin; 8. Perestroika: how it affects Soviet participation in environmental cooperation Elena Nikitina; 9. US–Soviet cooperation for environmental protection: how successful are the bilateral agreements? Kathleen E. Braden; 10. US–USSR nuclear safety cooperation: prospects for health and environmental collaboration Michael Congdon; 11. The global impact of the Chernobyl accident five years after Zhores Medvedev; 12. Glasnost, perestroika and eco-sovietology Igor I. Altshuler, Yuri N. Golubchikov and Ruben A. Mnatsakanyan; 13. Environmental issues in the Soviet Arctic and the fate of northern natives Alexei Yu. Roginko; 14. Air and water problems beyond the Urals John Massey Stewart; Index.
