Friday 29 April 2016

New book "The Nature of Soviet Power - An Arctic Environmental History"



The Nature of Soviet Power
An Arctic Environmental History

Part of Studies in Environment and History
Author: Andy Bruno, Northern Illinois University
Date Published: April 2016

During the twentieth century, the Soviet Union turned the Kola Peninsula in the northwest corner of the country into one of the most populated, industrialized, militarized, and polluted parts of the Arctic. This transformation suggests, above all, that environmental relations fundamentally shaped the Soviet experience. Interactions with the natural world both enabled industrial livelihoods and curtailed socialist promises. Nature itself was a participant in the communist project. Taking a long-term comparative perspective, The Nature of Soviet Power sees Soviet environmental history as part of the global pursuit for unending economic growth among modern states. This in-depth exploration of railroad construction, the mining and processing of phosphorus-rich apatite, reindeer herding, nickel and copper smelting, and energy production in the region examines Soviet cultural perceptions of nature, plans for development, lived experiences, and modifications to the physical world. While Soviet power remade nature, nature also remade Soviet power.


Tuesday 19 April 2016

Radio New Zealand interview

Professor David Moon discusses research on Russian environmental history 

Professor David Moon has been interviewed on the 'Nights' programme on Radio New Zealand. He was talking about the on-the-ground research on Russian environmental history being conducted as part of the Leverhulme International Network Exploring Russia's Environmental History and Natural Resources.

The interview was broadcast live on 13 April, and you can listen again here