Essays and photos from Lake Baikal

The Network fieldtrip to Lake Baikal took place on 25 July – 4 August 2015. The group met in Ulan-Ude and visited various places on and around the lake including the Barguzin Nature Reserve (Russia’s first Zapovednik), the Ushkanyi Islands (home to the nerpa – the endemic  Baikal ringed seals Pusa sibirica), Olkhon island (with its important Buriat sites), finishing up in Irkutsk. Several workshops were held and local experts were involved.

Visit the Baikal page of our website for a full itinerary, reflective essays from participants, photos and more.

Environmental History vs. Palaeoenvironmental Science

Richard Payne, Lecturer in Environmental Geography at the University of York and a member of the Russian Environmental History Network, has written an essay called:

Environmental History vs. Palaeoenvironmental Science : Two disciplines. Two cultures. The same questions?

This, and other interesting essays, are available on the Resources page of the website for the Leverhulme Network Exploring Russia's Environmental History and Natural Resources.

Life in a Real Nuclear Wasteland

Strange illnesses in one of the most contaminated towns in the world challenge what we think we know about the dangers of radioactivity.

This article (2013) by Kate Brown, visiting researcher with the Network, is about people living on a contaminated river in the Russian Urals:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/04/nuclear_contamination_in_former_ussr_radioactivity_in_muslomovo_on_techa.html

Read more about Kate Brown on the UMBC website http://history.umbc.edu/facultystaff/full-time/kate-brown/

View a list of all people involved in the Network on the Network website http://www.york.ac.uk/history/research/majorprojects/russiasenvironmentalhistory/#tab-3

Essays on the Network Trip to the Solovetskii Islands

A number of Network members who took part in the trip to the Solovetskii Islands in August 2013 have contributed essays on the trip to the Network website. These can be viewed at:

http://www.york.ac.uk/history/research/majorprojects/russiasenvironmentalhistory/#tab-7