Uncovering a Social Movement in the Soviet Union

Under the Permafrost: Uncovering a Social Movement in the Soviet Union Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Sarah Jessica Jones, B.A. Graduate Program in Slavic and East European Studies The Ohio State University 2013 Thesis Committee: Dr. David Hoffmann, Advisor Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle Copyright by Sarah Jessica Jones 2013 Abstract Despite the wealth of information on the advent of environmentalism on the Soviet Union less is known about the social aspect of its development. This thesis examines the social aspect of environmentalism through a look at public responses to massive degradation. The instances of intense ecological ruin presented significant public health problems for surrounding communities and this study views these sources as a catalyst for social activism outside of the political spectrum. Perestroika and Chernobyl were two of the important politically charged factors that gave the environmental movement the lift it needed to function. Official organizations working under the direction of intellectuals and academics worked as a moderator between society and the government. The social movement which grew out of dissatisfaction with governmental management of the environment is a unique social activism that developed outside the scope of traditional Soviet civil society. The trilateral separation between the public engagement with environmental protection, the official organizations’ role in advocating for the environment, and the government’s response to protecting the environment left a legacy that continues to affect environmentalism under the Russian Federation. ii Dedication Dedicated to everyone who, through steps big or small, is working to save our planet and our future. iii Acknowledgments I first and foremost, want to thank my parents, Paul and Jolianne, for their persistence in backing my ideas and goals, without them I would not have gotten this far, and thanks to my friend Brittany for being a sounding board throughout the course of my research. My sincerest appreciation to the Guglielmi family for being a constant source of moral support. Thank you to the Ohio State University, the Center for Slavic and East European Studies, and the Thompson Library for granting me access to research materials and anything I needed to further my research. Thanks to Jordan for a listening ear and valuable feedback and Alex for helping to translate what I found untranslatable. Thank you to Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle whose invaluable input gave shape to my ideas. Last but most definitely not least, I want to thank Dr. David Hoffmann for his constant support, encouragement and edits that gave my paper cohesiveness. iv Vita May 2006………………………………..Grandview High school June 2010…………………………………B.A., International Relations, University of Denver Fields of Study Major Field: Slavic and East European Studies v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Vita ...................................................................................................................................... v Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Sifting Through the Layers ............................................................................... 6 Chapter 3: The Incident .................................................................................................... 15 Chapter4: Exposing Eco-Glasnost .................................................................................... 31 Chapter 5: Conclusion....................................................................................................... 47 References ......................................................................................................................... 50 vi Chapter 1: Introduction In the summer of 2009, Vladimir Putin took a miniature submarine ride to the bottom of Lake Baikal, and when he resurfaced, declared the lake to be “in good condition”; he then gave the go ahead for the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill to reopen.1 Lake Baikal is important to both Russia and the world because it holds one fifth of the world’s fresh water; and before the paper mill opened in 1966, there was a maelstrom of opposition from Soviet ecologists and scientists. Between 1958 and 1962, the Soviet Press was inundated with articles and letters opposing the building of a mill combine because of the chemicals it would release into the water, and the construction would require leveling the taiga surrounding the lake. 2 It took forty-two years of remonstration from environmental activists and the scientific community to close that mill, but a single year to reopen it. The struggle over the mill is based on the surrounding communities’ need for the jobs and its central heating system it provides; the mayor of Baikalsk stated that, after the 1 Moskvitch, Katia. "UN May Strike Baikal off World Heritage List." BBC News. BBC, 23 July 2010. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. 2 Komarov, Boris. The Destruction of Nature in the Soviet Union. White Plains, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1980. Print. (4) 1 mill closed “the working rhythm that existed for the past 40 years was gone. People had no money, and this resulted in strikes, protest actions, a threat to block roads and the Trans-Siberian railway.” 3 Baikal Environmental Wave, an organization that specializes in spreading information and research pertaining to environmental degradation in Siberia, has been working since 1992 to shut down the paper mill. The group is fighting against the Baikal townspeople, owners of the mill, Putin, and all those who consider the impoverished condition of the town more important than ecological degradation. This is just one example of the legacy the Soviet Union left to the Russian social environmental movement. Environmental activists have to struggle against the forces of industrialization that continue to drive the Russian economy; they also have to combat the corruption that undermines all sectors of society, and the lack of true information percolating through the population. This thesis intends to explore that legacy through analyzing the foundations of the social environmental movement, which can be traced back to the mid-1980s. The coincidental intersection of two major events served as a catalyst in the rise of a grassroots response to the state of the environment, the Soviet government's policy of Glasnost, and the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Underneath these much discussed and analyzed developments at the end of the Soviet Union is the permeation of information, and the ability to independently organize and express controversial ideas, and the loss of trust and confusion that followed. This affected the way people talked about their environment, and multiplied and strengthened 3 Moskvitch, Katia. "UN May Strike Baikal off World Heritage List." BBC News. BBC, 23 July 2010. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. 2 the voices against further destruction, and at once created the opportunity to legitimize opposition to the government’s handling of environmental concerns. To exhume the development of a social activist movement in Russia is an extremely delicate process, which requires a broader understanding of the terms “social movement and social organization.” The existence of local organizations that existed for the promotion of the local popular concerns was first made possible by Nikita Khrushchev, under the Soviet term “informal organizations and movements” and was expanded under Mikhail Gorbachev.4 These organizations were almost identical to urban Komsomols and had little real influence on the Party or in the creation of policy and the public did not seriously engage in them. The true social organizations developed organically, from the people creating their own public space to voice concerns rather than using a soapbox provided by the State. The building of these independent organizations can be considered activism, and when done collectively by several groups around the State, a movement. This thesis will explore the pockets of environmental awareness that developed through the gradual spread of information to the public or where the extreme degradation of the environment affected local populations’ health and daily lives. These populations in Chelyabinsk, around the Aral Sea, and in the chernozem regions of the southern USSR were exposed to the disastrous effects of environmental degradation and where awareness grew, a response ignited. This response took shape through media and journalist 4 Jancar-Webster, Barbara. Environmental Action in Eastern Europe: Responses to Crisis. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1993. Print, 177 3 disclosure, and the creation of organizations with locally elected representation to defend resident interests. The second portion will examine the Chernobyl incident and present it as a focus point for the unique shape of the Soviet-Russian environmental movement through the fall of the USSR. The incident solidified the Russian population’s distrust in the political system, and prevented them from unifying

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