Strategy and Ecological and Societal Results of Extensive Resources Damage in the South of the USSR

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Strategy and Ecological and Societal Results of Extensive Resources Damage in the South of the USSR NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SOVIET AND EAST EUROPEAN RESEARC H TITLE : Strategy and Ecological and Societa l Results of Extensive Resource s Development in the South of the USSR AUTHOR : Michael A . Rozengurt CONTRACTOR : United States Global Strategy Council PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR : Michael A. Rozengurt COUNCIL CONTRACT NUMBER 04-22 DATE: March,1 199 : 8 The work leading to this report was supported by funds provided b y the National Council for Soviet and East European Research . The analysis and interpretations contained in the report are those o f the author . NCSEER NOTE This paper is an incidental product of the Council Contract identified o n the face page . It summarizes some of the work done under a previous Counci l project described in a series of Council Reports distributed in 1988 . United States Global Strategy Council , Global Water Summit Initiative , Washington, D.C . Strategy and Ecological and Societal Results of Extensive Resources Development in the South of the USS R by Michael A. Rozengurt, Ph.D . Senior Research Associate prepared fo r The National Council for Sovie t and East Europe Research, Washington, D .C. December 1990 TABLE OF CONTENT S r Introduction 1 Availability and Utilization of Freshwater Resources 2 Rivers 2 Reservoirs 3 Lakes 3 Ground Water 4 Agriculture and Irrigation - 5 Impoundment of Rivers and Ecological Desertification o f Estuaries-Sea Systems 6 References 1 4 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1 . The USSR large-scale river diversion projects . Figure 2 . Generalized trends in the decrease of oxyge n concentration and the increase in detention time o f pollutants in the riverine-estuarine ecosystems affecte d by water impoundment . Figure 4 . Conceptual model of the role of the river flow reductio n on riverine-estuarine ecosystems . Figure 5 . Generalized scheme of the impact of excessive wate r diversion on the environment of the areas adjacent t o the Aral Sea . Figure 6 . The capitalized losses substained by the fisheries o f the Southern Seas because of river impoundments for th e period 1977 to 1987 . Figure 7 . The range of percentage increase in birth defects as a result of unsuitable water quality in the Low Volga , Central Asia and South Kazakhstan . Figure 8 . Conceptual chain reaction between spring river runof f and some major chemical, physical and economi c parameters in the delta-estuary-sea economy . Strategy and Ecological and Societal Result s of Extensive Resources Developmen t in the South of the USSR Michael A . Rozengurt, Ph . D . Environmental degradation has progressed to such a state across the southern portion of the USS R from Romania to the Chinese border that destruction of the habitat has become the Achilles' heel of the Soviet society, which, through economic, political and social consequences, may bring it down . In the late 1940s-1950s, water management policies accelerated impoundment of thousands of small and large rivers flowing into the southern seas of the USSR (Figure 1), to cope with energy and foo d problems. During this period most, if not all, positions of managerial responsibility were staffed by politica l appointees rather than professionals. This dictatorial administrative "mafia" coupled with unscrupulous conformists from the water management establishment failed to integrate balanced economic planning an d alternative projects into the long term ecological and economic benefits of riverine-estuarine-coastal zone s ecosystems. Four decades later this failure has triggered the precipitous decline in water and land quantit y and quality, and has resulted in irreparable losses in commercial and recreational fishery and reduction in th e standard of living for over 120 million people of the South agro-industrial belt of the Black, Azov, Caspia n and Aral seas' basins. Conditions are particularly intolerable in the South Kazakhstan and Soviet Central Asia Republics (especially in the Southern part of the Aral Sea Basin) where ecological concerns were suppressed by inflated economic requirements of the local cabal who ruled this area during the last decade, dubbed by Soviet officials as a period of economic, social and political stagnation . At present, this results in unrest among the people living in these despoiled lands and drinking of polluted surface and ground waters . These and other impacts of unlimited water development and land resources utilization on the environment and economy, and, related to them, societal problems of the Southern USSR, are partially summarized below from several studies prepared for the National Council for Soviet and East European Research, Washington , DC. Among those, "Water Policy Mismanagement in Southern USSR: the Ecologic and Economic Impac t on Natural Resources of the Southern Seas," (May, 1989) served as a basis for the current presentation. The author gratefully acknowledges the indispensable role of the Council's interest and financial support in having this work completed . The author also thanks Dr . Joyce R. Starr, Co-Chairman of United States Globa l Strategy Council, Washington, DC, for unfailing encouragement in the course of preparation of this work . The author would like to express his special appreciation for the help of the Administration of the CSDO C (County Sanitation Districts of Orange County, CA) for having this presentation available for th e distinguished audience of the 2010 symposium . Availability and Utilization of Freshwater Resource s 1 . Rivers . The USSR has nearly three million streams ranging from less than 10 km long through 5 4 large rivers over 1000 km long. Approximately 70% of all Soviet rivers are located in the mountainou s regions of the Asian part of the USSR. Small rivers constitute 92% of all streams in the USSR, and on e third of these small rivers are located in Russia . In European and Asian Russia the flow of these smal l rivers accounts for 1,239 km' (40%) and 1,145 km3 (37%) of the total of all rivers, respectively . In the semi-arid and arid regions of the agricultural south, over 80% of the small rivers are impounded, and it is these rivers that are considered to be the most polluted streams in the USSR . The surface normal runoff (SNR, computed as an average over 55 to 60 years) from the Sovie t landmass amounts to 4,721 km' per year and constitutes 10% of the world's renewable surface runoff . Ou t of the total SNR, only 330 km' originate in neighboring countries . Compared to other countries, this SNR i s greater than that for the USA's (2,850 km') and Continental China's (2,600 km') runoff but only about hal f that for Brazil (9,200 km3). However, the SNR per km 2 in the USSR is 1/2, 1/3 and 1/6 that in the USA , France and Norway, respectively . The European part of the USSR receives only 1,059 km', or 22 .4%, of the SNR. In the South, a stil l smaller portion of SNR totaling about 614 km', or 13% of the total, discharges into the four souther n seas--Black, Azov, Aral and Caspian, and of this amount the Caspian Sea receives almost half (abou t 290 km') . Thus, water supply in the USSR is skewed. Vast areas in the northwest, north and east flood plains , and mountainous regions, which account for 48 to 50% of the landmass of the USSR, have the mos t water--slightly less than 80% of the total surface runoff, but lower population and less agricultural and industrial potential. Over 64% of the SNR is discharged to the Arctic basin and 22% to the Pacific . Th e Amur river runoff to the North Pacific alone equals 500 km' per year in average . By contrast, the most industrialized areas of the west, southwest and south--which account for 25 t o 27% of the landmass, 70% of the total population of 287 million (1988), and almost 46% of the arable land , totaling 598.4 million hectares--have a disproportionately small fraction of the annual normal runoff (Fig . 2). Suffice it to say that about 400 million hectares of arable land experiences water deficit almost every year. The semi-official name of this land is "the area of high risk agricultural development? In other words, th e Southern European Russia, Soviet Central Asia, and Kazakhstan (except the mountainous areas), a land-mass constituting 27% of the USSR, has only 2% of the total surface runoff excluding transit runof f from neighboring republics or countries . For example, Soviet Central Asia, and the Ukraine and Moldavia possess only 50 to 80 and 40 to 4 5 km' of sustainable water, respectively, while their populations exceed 40% of the Soviet Union total . Consequently, the lowest surface water supply per capita and per one square km is typical for thos e 2 geographic areas. However, these republics account for 40 to 49% of industrial output (oil, petrochemicals , coal, heavy metallurgy, agricultural equipment, hydropower, organic and inorganic chemistry, metalli c construction, weaponry, etc.), and serve as bread, rice and vegetable baskets for the rest of the country . The highest use of irrigation water is located in these areas . 2. Reservoirs . The USSR has over 160 large reservoirs each containing not less than 400 million m' , plus 1000 small storage facilities used for seasonal regulation, each containing not less than 1 million m' . The vast majority (94%) of the reservoirs were constructed after 1950 . Almost 9% of all reservoirs the world over are in the USSR . Their capacity comprises 22% of the total volume of all world water storag e facilities . The quantity of water held in these reservoirs in 1987 was 3 .4 times the normal runoff of the Volg a River (251 km'/year), or 3 .4 times of all the country's rivers' runoffs during the dry weather period .
Recommended publications
  • Kyzylorda Oblast, Kazakhstan Challenges
    for Kyzylorda Oblast Youth Health Center Oblast Youth for Kyzylorda © Umirbai Tumenbayev, official photographer © Umirbai Tumenbayev, The Kyzylorda Oblast Medical Center, Kyzylorda Oblast, Kazakhstan Kyzylorda City General overview Kyzylorda Oblast (region) is situated along the summer, precipitation generally evaporates, and Syrdariya River in the south-western part of the it is only in winter that the soil receives moisture. Republic of Kazakhstan in central Eurasia. The There are many days with strong wind, and dust region covers an area of 226 000 km2 with a storms can occur in summer. The remaining part distance of 1000 km between its northernmost of the shrinking Aral Sea – the Small Aral Sea – is and southernmost borders (1). Comprising seven located in the southern part of the region. The districts and the capital city – also called Kyzylorda Aral Sea has been described as “one of the worst – the region is more than 190 years old, one of environmental disasters of the world”(2). The the oldest in the country. It borders on Aktobe salinity of the remaining water exceeds 100 g/l. Oblast in the north-west, Karaganda Oblast in In 2008, a project to construct a seawall made the north, South Kazakhstani Oblast in the south- it possible to increase the water level slowly in east, and the Republic of Uzbekistan in the south. the northern part of the Aral. Currently, the level It has a wide range of mineral resources, the of salinity is decreasing, which has resulted in most important being hydrocarbons, non-ferrous the appearance of some species of fish.
    [Show full text]
  • Soviet Central Asia and the Preservation of History
    humanities Article Soviet Central Asia and the Preservation of History Craig Benjamin Frederik J Meijer Honors College, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI 49401, USA; [email protected] Received: 23 May 2018; Accepted: 9 July 2018; Published: 20 July 2018 Abstract: Central Asia has one of the deepest and richest histories of any region on the planet. First settled some 6500 years ago by oasis-based farming communities, the deserts, steppe and mountains of Central Asia were subsequently home to many pastoral nomadic confederations, and also to large scale complex societies such as the Oxus Civilization and the Parthian and Kushan Empires. Central Asia also functioned as the major hub for trans-Eurasian trade and exchange networks during three distinct Silk Roads eras. Throughout much of the second millennium of the Common Era, then under the control of a succession of Turkic and Persian Islamic dynasties, already impressive trading cities such as Bukhara and Samarkand were further adorned with superb madrassas and mosques. Many of these suffered destruction at the hands of the Mongols in the 13th century, but Timur and his Timurid successors rebuilt the cities and added numerous impressive buildings during the late-14th and early-15th centuries. Further superb buildings were added to these cities by the Shaybanids during the 16th century, yet thereafter neglect by subsequent rulers, and the drying up of Silk Roads trade, meant that, by the mid-18th century when expansive Tsarist Russia began to incorporate these regions into its empire, many of the great pre- and post-Islamic buildings of Central Asia had fallen into ruin.
    [Show full text]
  • The Aral Sea
    The Aral Sea edited by David L. Alles Western Washington University e-mail: [email protected] Last Updated 2011-11-4 Note: In PDF format most of the images in this web paper can be enlarged for greater detail. 1 Introduction The Aral Sea was once the world's fourth largest lake, slightly bigger than Lake Huron, and one of the world's most fertile regions. Today it is little more than a string of lakes scattered across central Asia east of the Caspian Sea. The sea disappeared for several reasons. One is that the Aral Sea is surrounded by the Central Asian deserts, whose heat evaporates 60 square kilometers (23 sq. miles) of water from its surface every year. Second is four decades of agricultural development and mismanagement along the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers that have drastically reduced the amount of fresh water flowing into the sea. The two rivers were diverted starting in the 1960s in a Soviet scheme to grow cotton in the desert. Cotton still provides a major portion of foreign currency for many of the countries along the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers. By 2003, the Aral Sea had lost approximately 75% of its area and 90% of its pre- 1960 volume. Between 1960 and January 2005, the level of the northern Aral Sea fell by 13 meters (~ 43 ft) and the larger southern portion of the sea by 23 meters (75.5 ft) which means that water can now only flow from the north basin to the south (Roll, et al., 2006).
    [Show full text]
  • Oberhänsli, H., Boroffka, N., Sorrel, P., Krivonogov, S. (2007)
    Originally published as: Oberhänsli, H., Boroffka, N., Sorrel, P., Krivonogov, S. (2007): Climate variability during the past 2,000 years and past economic and irrigation activities in the Aral Sea basin. - Irrigation and Drainage Systems, 21, 3-4, 167-183 DOI: 10.1007/s10795-007-9031-5. Irrigation and Drainage Systems, 21, 3-4, 167-183, 10.1007/s10795-007-9031-5 1 Climate variability during the past 2000 years and past economic and irrigation 2 activities in the Aral Sea basin 3 4 Hedi Oberhänsli1, Nikolaus Boroffka2, Philippe Sorrel3, Sergey Krivonogov,4 5 6 1) GeoForschungsZentrum, Telegraphenberg, D-14473 Potsdam, Germany. 7 2) Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Im Dol 2-6, D-14195 Berlin, Germany. 8 3) Laboratoire "Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière" (UMR 6143 CNRS), 9 Université de Caen Basse-Normandie, 24 rue des Tilleuls, F-14000 CAEN, France. 10 4) United Institute of Geoloy, Geophysics and Mineralogy of the Russian Academy of 11 Sciences, Siberian Division, Novosibirsk regional Center of Geoinformational 12 Technologies, Academic Koptyug prospekt 3, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia. 13 14 Abstract 15 The lake level history, here based on the relative abundance of Ca (gypsum), is used for 16 tracing past hydrological conditions in Central Asia. Lake level was close to a minimum 17 before approximately AD 300, at about AD 600, AD 1220 and AD 1400. Since 1960 the 18 lake level is lowering again. Lake water level was lowest during the 14th or early 15th 19 centuries as indicated by a coeval settlement, which today is still under water near the 20 well-dated mausoleum of Kerderi.
    [Show full text]
  • Hydrographic Development of the Aral Sea During the Last 2000 Years Based on a Quantitative Analysis of Dinoflagellate Cysts
    Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 234 (2006) 304–327 www.elsevier.com/locate/palaeo Hydrographic development of the Aral Sea during the last 2000 years based on a quantitative analysis of dinoflagellate cysts P. Sorrel a,b,*, S.-M. Popescu b, M.J. Head c,1, J.P. Suc b, S. Klotz b,d, H. Oberha¨nsli a a GeoForschungsZentrum, Telegraphenberg, D-14473 Potsdam, Germany b Laboratoire Pale´oEnvironnements et Pale´obioSphe`re (UMR CNRS 5125), Universite´ Claude Bernard—Lyon 1, 27-43, boulevard du 11 Novembre, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France c Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK d Institut fu¨r Geowissenschaften, Universita¨t Tu¨bingen, Sigwartstrasse 10, 72070 Tu¨bingen, Germany Received 30 June 2005; received in revised form 4 October 2005; accepted 13 October 2005 Abstract The Aral Sea Basin is a critical area for studying the influence of climate and anthropogenic impact on the development of hydrographic conditions in an endorheic basin. We present organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst analyses with a sampling resolution of 15 to 20 years from a core retrieved at Chernyshov Bay in the NW Large Aral Sea (Kazakhstan). Cysts are present throughout, but species richness is low (seven taxa). The dominant morphotypes are Lingulodinium machaerophorum with varied process length and Impagidinium caspienense, a species recently described from the Caspian Sea. Subordinate species are Caspidinium rugosum, Romanodinium areolatum, Spiniferites cruciformis, cysts of Pentapharsodinium dalei, and round brownish protoper- idiniacean cysts. The chlorococcalean algae Botryococcus and Pediastrum are taken to represent freshwater inflow into the Aral Sea. The data are used to reconstruct salinity as expressed in lake level changes during the past 2000 years.
    [Show full text]
  • Engaging Central Asia
    ENGAGING CENTRAL ASIA ENGAGING CENTRAL ASIA THE EUROPEAN UNION’S NEW STRATEGY IN THE HEART OF EURASIA EDITED BY NEIL J. MELVIN CONTRIBUTORS BHAVNA DAVE MICHAEL DENISON MATTEO FUMAGALLI MICHAEL HALL NARGIS KASSENOVA DANIEL KIMMAGE NEIL J. MELVIN EUGHENIY ZHOVTIS CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN POLICY STUDIES BRUSSELS The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) is an independent policy research institute based in Brussels. Its mission is to produce sound analytical research leading to constructive solutions to the challenges facing Europe today. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors writing in a personal capacity and do not necessarily reflect those of CEPS or any other institution with which the authors are associated. This study was carried out in the context of the broader work programme of CEPS on European Neighbourhood Policy, which is generously supported by the Compagnia di San Paolo and the Open Society Institute. ISBN-13: 978-92-9079-707-4 © Copyright 2008, Centre for European Policy Studies. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior permission of the Centre for European Policy Studies. Centre for European Policy Studies Place du Congrès 1, B-1000 Brussels Tel: 32 (0) 2 229.39.11 Fax: 32 (0) 2 219.41.51 e-mail: [email protected] internet: http://www.ceps.eu CONTENTS 1. Introduction Neil J. Melvin ................................................................................................. 1 2. Security Challenges in Central Asia: Implications for the EU’s Engagement Strategy Daniel Kimmage............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Mapping Cropland Abandonment in the Aral Sea Basin with MODIS Time Series
    remote sensing Article Mapping Cropland Abandonment in the Aral Sea Basin with MODIS Time Series Fabian Löw 1,2,* ID , Alexander V. Prishchepov 3,4,5, François Waldner 6,7, Olena Dubovyk 8, Akmal Akramkhanov 1 ID , Chandrashekhar Biradar 1 and John P. A. Lamers 8 1 International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), 11431 Cairo, Egypt; [email protected] (A.A.); [email protected] (C.B.) 2 MapTailor Geospatial Consulting, 53113 Bonn, Germany 3 Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN), University of Copenhagen, 1165 København, Denmark; [email protected] 4 Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany 5 Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kazan Federal University, 420008 Kazan, Russia 6 Earth and Life Institute-Environment, Université Catholique de Louvain, 2 Croix du Sud, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; [email protected] 7 CSIRO Agriculture & Food, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, QLD 4067, Australia 8 Department of Geography, Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, 53113 Bonn, Germany; [email protected] (O.D.); [email protected] (J.P.A.L.) * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 18 November 2017; Accepted: 16 January 2018; Published: 23 January 2018 Abstract: Cropland abandonment is globally widespread and has strong repercussions for regional food security and the environment. Statistics suggest that one of the hotspots of abandoned cropland is located in the drylands of the Aral Sea Basin (ASB), which covers parts of post-Soviet Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran. To date, the exact spatial and temporal extents of abandoned cropland remain unclear, which hampers land-use planning.
    [Show full text]
  • The Aral Sea Basin Crisis and Sustainable Water Resource Management in Central Asia 1
    The Aral Sea Basin Crisis and Sustainable Water Resource Management in Central Asia 1 1 THE ARAL SEA BASIN CRISIS AND SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN CENTRAL ASIA Everett J. Peachey This article traces the historical development of water resource management in Central Asia, focusing on the causes of the cur- rent Aral Sea Basin crisis. It examines the obstacles facing the Central Asian republics in addressing this problem and offers predictions regarding the future state of the region’s ecology, economy, and stability, as well as the health of the region’s people. The article also explains how existing plans of action have been largely ineffective and why restoring the Aral Sea to its original state is an impossible task. Finally, it provides feasible policy recommendations on how to prevent the further mismanagement of the region’s water while maintaining viable levels of economic development and population growth. “That which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed on it” (Aristotle, Politics, Book II, Chapter 3). The five Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are facing a nearly unsolvable crisis in the Aral Sea Basin, the site of an environmental and human catastrophe. Given economic and time constraints, the mitigation of the catastrophe, rather than the reconstruction of the Basin’s original ecosystem, is the only viable Everett J. Peachey is a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy candidate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University ([email protected]). Journal of Public and International Affairs, Volume 15/Spring 2004 Copyright © 2004, the Trustees of Princeton University 7 http://www.princeton.edu/~jpia The Aral Sea Basin Crisis and 2 Everett J.
    [Show full text]
  • Kadukin A.I., Klige R.K. the Water Balance of the Caspian Sea and Aral Sea / Hydrologeofnaamil
    HydrologeofNaamil and Manmade Lakes (Proceeding ol the Vienna Symposium, August 1991). IAHS Publ. no. 206,1991. The water balance of the Caspian Sea and Aral Sea A. I. KADUKIN & R. K. KLIGE Water Problems Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences, 13/3 Sadovaya-Chernogryazskaya St., 103064 Moscow, USSR ABSTRACT The effect of water vapour, trans­ ferred from irrigated lands of the USSR Cent­ ral Asia, on the evaporation from the Caspian Sea surface has "been proved. The fresh water flowing to the Aral Sea was used for irrigati­ on. The other processes influencing the moist­ ure content of air masses over the Caspian Sea surface have been discussed as well. The pos­ sible changes in the Caspian Sea level fluctu­ ations under the effect of changes in the mo­ isture content over the sea surface by 12.5% and 6% have been determined. Beginning from 1930 to 1975 the Caspian Sea level con­ stantly droped from an elevation of -26.08 to -29.0 m. Since 1978 the sea level began to rise and this rise continues until present. The sea level rose by 1.2 m and reached an elevation of 27.8 m for the period under con­ sideration. The water volume accumulated for these years amounted to about 450 cu km. The Aral Sea level from I860 to I960 was relatively constant and amounted to 53 m. After i960 a sharp de­ crease in the sea level began and at present it is ap­ proaching an elevation of 43 m, i.e. lowered by almost 10 m. The water volume of the Aral Sea decreased by abo­ ut 450 cu km for the same period (Table 1).
    [Show full text]
  • French Historiography of Central Asia
    Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana ISSN: 1315-5216 ISSN: 2477-9555 [email protected] Universidad del Zulia Venezuela French Historiography of Central Asia TAYSHANOVA, Saltanat T.; AITBAYEVA, Rauilya T.; ABZHAPPAROVA, Bibikhadisha Zh.; ALIYEVA, Saule K.; ALPEISSOV, Amirzhan K. French Historiography of Central Asia Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana, vol. 23, no. 82, 2018 Universidad del Zulia, Venezuela Available in: https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=27957591001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1495786 This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International. PDF generated from XML JATS4R by Redalyc Project academic non-profit, developed under the open access initiative Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana, 2018, vol. 23, no. 82, July-September, ISSN: 1315-5216 2477-9555 Estudios French Historiography of Central Asia Historiografía ancesa de Asia Central Saltanat T. TAYSHANOVA DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1495786 Eurasian National University , Kazakhstan Redalyc: https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa? [email protected] id=27957591001 http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1995-3779 Rauilya T. AITBAYEVA Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan Bibikhadisha Zh. ABZHAPPAROVA Eurasian National University , Kazakhstan Saule K. ALIYEVA Eurasian National University , Kazakhstan Amirzhan K. ALPEISSOV Eurasian National University , Kazakhstan Received: 26 August 2018 Accepted: 22 September 2018 Abstract: Article presents the analysis of historiography of French scientists concerning Central Asia in common and each of its republics separately. We have studied the works of leading French researches from 1991 to the present. e study has revealed, that region of Central Asia has lost its homogeneity: each state in the region is developing in its own way, according to its own model and has only its own international guidelines.
    [Show full text]
  • An Introductory History of Soviet Uzbek Academics 1924-1960
    Sevket Akyildiz Sevket Akyildiz AN INTRODUCTORY HISTORY OF SOVIET UZBEK ACADEMICS 1924-1960 INTRODUCTION It took approximately 36 years (from 1924 to 1960) to establish from scratch the Soviet Central Asian academics in Uzbekistan. The investment, organization and political commitment shown by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU, est. 1925) in the predominately Muslim region of Central Asia resulted in a highly literate and educated local population. Indeed, by the 1960s, education provision in Soviet Central Asia surpassed that found in most of the socialist and non-socialist ‘Muslim majority’ countries of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.i In this paper I will clarify the story of the local academics in the Central Asian republic with the largest population: the Soviet Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan (est. 1924). I will describe the origins of the Soviet academics and explain how they were educated, groomed and promoted by the CPSU for specific ideological, economic and cultural purposes between 1924 and 1960.1 During the historical period covered by this paper most academics employed in Uzbekistan were ethnic Slavs, Tatars or Jews. However, I will focus upon the emergence, development and integration of ethnic Uzbek academics into the higher education system during Stalin’s rule (a period when dissenting voices were purged from society) and in the decade following his death in 1953. I feel a study of the Soviet Central Asian academics is necessary because in Western literature there are some grey areas in the knowledge about the creation of local academic cadres from ‘working class’ origins in Soviet Central Asia.
    [Show full text]
  • Neogobius Pallasi (Caspian Monkey Goby) Ecological Risk Screening Summary
    Caspian Monkey Goby (Neogobius pallasi) Ecological Risk Screening Summary U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, June 2019 Revised, July 2019 Web Version, 11/19/2019 Photo: K. Abbasi. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Available: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neogobius_pallasi.jpg. (June 2019). 1 Native Range and Status in the United States Native Range From Froese and Pauly (2019): “Europe and Asia: Caspian basin; common in Volga drainage, upriver to Moscow.” According to Froese and Pauly (2019), N. pallasi is native to the countries of Russia and Kazakhstan. Neilson and Stepien (2011) report N. pallasi as native to the Caspian Sea basin in Azerbaijan. Esmaeili et al. (2014) report N. pallasi as native to the Caspian Sea basin in Iran. Status in the United States This species has not been reported as introduced or established in the United States. There is no indication that this species is in trade in the United States. Means of Introductions in the United States This species has not been reported as introduced or established in the United States. 1 Remarks A previous version of this ERSS was published in 2014. From Neilson and Stepien (2011): “Both genetic and morphological data strongly supported two species of monkey gobies that were formerly identified as subspecies: N. fluviatilis in the Black Sea basin, Don and Volga Rivers, and the Kumo-Manych Depression, and Neogobius pallasi in the Caspian Sea and Volga River delta. Genetic origins of introduced N. fluviatilis populations indicated a common invasion pathway shared with other introduced Ponto-Caspian fishes and invertebrates.” From Grabowska (2014): “The monkey goby [Neogobius fluviatilis] is considered to be one of the most successful fish invaders in European inland waters in recent decades (Copp et al., 2005).” Neogobius pallasi has only recently been declared as a species separate from Neogobius fluviatilis (Neilson and Stepien 2011).
    [Show full text]