Ethnography of a Post‐Soviet Landscape: Exploring the Dynamics among Forests, People, and Resource Use in Central Kamchatka by Stephanie K. Hitztaler A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Natural Resources and Environment) in The University of Michigan 2010 Doctoral Committee: Professor Bobbi S. Low, Chair Professor George F. Estabrook Professor William G. Rosenberg Associate Professor Rebecca D. Hardin Associate Research Scientist Kathleen M. Bergen Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis‐idaea) ©Stephanie K. Hitztaler ______________________________________________________ 2010 Dedication To my mother who planted the Russian seed and to my father who supported it, and to the memory of my Aunt Janie who loved lingonberries. ii Acknowledgements They say that it takes a village… This dissertation took six villages—Mil’kovo, Dolinovka, Lazo, Atlasovo, Krapivnaya, and Kozyrevsk—and two cities—Petropavlovsk‐Kamchatsky and Elizovo. During my three seasons of fieldwork in Kamchatka in 2003‐4, 2006, and 2008, I spent varying amounts of time in all of these villages and cities, collecting as many data, materials, and insights as I could on a place that never ceases to fascinate me. The people in this place are equally inspiring: they have truly been the wind beneath the wings of this project. Without the gracious hospitality and warm generosity of the people in Kamchatka, this project would never have gotten off of the ground. I am greatly indebted to all of these people who welcomed me into their lives and selflessly shared their time, energy, and resources. Below, I attempt to recognize all those who supported this work, city by city, and village by village. As any traveler to the Kamchatka Peninsula knows, all journeys begin in the small town of Elizovo where the sole international airport on the peninsula is located. Most visitors also spend at least some time in Petropavlovsk‐Kamchatsky—Kamchatka’s capital city. For me this city served as an important base prior to and in between extended trips to the central Kamchatka depression where my study site was located. My colleagues and friends at the Kamchatka Branch of the Pacific Ocean Institute of Geography extended to me invaluable scientific, logistic, and emotional support. I am also extremely grateful for the working and storage spaces that they offered to me while I was in the city and when I went away. Specifically, I would like to recognize: the late Robert Savel’evich Moiseev who served as the distinguished director of the institute and the current director, Aleksei Mikhailovich Tokranov; Tat’yana Robertovna Mikhailova, Valentina Petrovna Vetrova, Tat’yana Alexandrovna Pinchuk, Aleksandr Semenovich, Yul’ya, and Inga. I’d also like to extend a special thank you to the Vyatkin family—Pyotr Stepanovich, the late Alla Mikhailovna, and Marina Petrovna who have so graciously helped me in all aspects of my work and have housed me (and assisted me in finding housing.) Ol’ga Vladimirovna Lagutina has also been especially helpful in fieldwork logistics, including obtaining the proper invitations for visas. iii Outside of the institute, Elena Pavlovna Abramova at the Kamchatka State archive bears much of the responsibility for the lengthy list of archival documents that comes at the end of Chapter 3. She went way beyond the call of duty in helping me navigate a foreign system and made every possible effort to make sure that I had access to the materials that I needed. Also I’d like to recognize my field assistants Elena Balabanova (from Vladivostok), Katya Gembrel, and Diana Ozhyalite who worked with me in 2004, 2006, and 2008, respectively. We shared great adventures in the forests, and endured untold numbers of mosquitoes. I thank them all for their flexibility and tireless efforts. In Elizovo, I would like to thank Nikolai Petrovich Bagunov for so generously helping me with transportation during fieldwork, especially in 2008. I would have seen much less of central Kamchatka had it not been for his willingness to show me new places. Lyudmila Grigor’evna Shnailenko kept me abreast of the latest happenings in Kamchatka’s environmental NGO (non‐governmental organization) field and introduced me to many new people in this field. Natal’ya Golub and Lyudmila Zhukova also supported me in my work. After leaving the cities in the south, I often made the small town of Mil’kovo my way point en route to my study site. I spent many nights at the Dom Detskovo Tvorchestva (DDT) for which I thank Galina Ivanovna Bartoshina, director of the DDT, who consistently welcomed me with open arms and was always willing to help me in ways big and small. In Mil’kovo, Vladimir Fedorovich Kolmakov also always warmly welcomed me and provided me with invaluable materials on the gospromkhoz (former state Soviet organization responsible for non‐timber forest product collection and processing); he also shared pictures from his lingonberry gathering operation in 2006. Lia Pavlovna Korobikhna and her husband kindly took me on a day‐long gathering trip in fall 2006. I have fond memories of collecting cranberries in the bogs outside of Mil’kovo with Oleg Yur’evich Rozhdestvensky and of seeing his amazing works of art crafted from non‐timber forest products. In Dolinovka, Tamara Petrovna and Valery Mikhailovich Gerasimenko graciously hosted and fed me every time was in their village. Lidia Anatol’evna Purgina became an immediate friend, showing me glimpses of village life and the surrounding forests that I would not have seen otherwise. In Lazo, Dina Petrovna Krasil’nikova, housed and fed us during fieldwork in 2004, for which I am very grateful. I spent the majority of my time in central Kamchatka in the villages of Atlasovo and Kozyrevsk. In Atlasovo, Tamara Stepanovna Demchenko was a faithful host, providing housing for me and field assistants, often on short notice. Ol’ga and Nikolai Zubchenko supported me iv and my work, providing everything from their expertise to a hot banya after a long day of fieldwork. In regards to fieldwork, Anatoly Ivanovich Krasnoshchekov was an invaluable source of knowledge and was instrumental in the fieldwork we conducted in the Atlasovo region. He generously provided transportation and housing for us, not to mention “five‐minute” caviar after a long hard day of work on forest plots. Gennady Nikolaevich also kindly gave of his time and resources to transport us to our plots (in 2008). Oleg Alexandrovich Porshnev and Sergei Alexandrovich, the past director and head forester, respectively, at the former leskhoz (forest service unit) in Atlasovo gave me invaluable insights into past and current forest politics and resource use patterns. Sergei Aleksandrovich, the current head of the village administration, was exceptionally helpful during the 2008 field season, providing me with socio‐economic data on the village and pointing me toward prospective interviewees. Finally, in Atlasovo, I’d like to recognize Anna Nikolaevna Boiko who gave me great moral support and encouragement as I pursued my work. As in Atlasovo, there are many people to recognize in Kozyrevsk. First and foremost is Valentina Andreevna Nesterova who has become like a second grandmother to me. I cannot conceive of being in Kozyrevsk and not staying with her, nor can I thank her enough for the countless times that she welcomed me into her home and shared her rich life stories and experiences with me. She also always made room for my small field teams, ensuring that we were well taken care of and well fed. I am also indebted to her daughter, Nadezhda Vital’evna Bozhok who has become a good friend and inspired me in my work and life with her indefatigable energy and zest. Besides her daughter, Valentina Andreevna’s close friends also befriended me, sharing their wisdom with me. These women include: Valentina Vasil’evna Luk’yanovna, Tat’yana Ivanovna Radionova, Maria Stepanovna Chernetskaya, Galina Fedorovna, Lyudmila Alekseevna, Tamara Vasil’evna, and Valentina Grigor’evna. Other women who were anchors in my life while I was in Kozyrevsk included Valentina Fedorovna Yarovaya, Nadezhda Kardash, and Inga. Their faith in and obedience to God helped me grow in my own faith journey. The fieldwork component of my research in Kozyrevsk and Krapivnaya would not have been possible without the efforts of Lidia Akhmetyanovna Butenko, the past director of the former Kozryevsky Opetnyi Leskhoz, and the head forester, Vladimir Eduardovich Gennikh. Lidia Akmetyanovna provided us with transportation to field sites and “Gennikh” kept the bears at bay during an overnight trip to the forest. He also endured my many questions and reminded v me not to take myself too seriously. I only regret that the joint work we began in 2006 was short lived due to the liquidation of the leskhoz in 2008. Nonetheless, both Lidia Akmetyanovna and “Gennikh” continued to be available during the 2008 field season, connecting me with Yuri Nikolaevich Sergeev who went out of his way to show me a part of central Kamchatka that I had not yet explored. Along the way, he offered a steady stream of information on the forests and non‐timber forest products, which was pivotal in making critical connections between the people and forests of this region. Also in Kozyrevsk the head librarian, Galina Grigor’evna, and the head of the village administration, Tat’yana Sergeevna provided me with valuable materials and shared their knowledge and wisdom with me. Galina Pimenova at the village administration was instrumental in setting up my survey sampling scheme in. 2006 Finally, I would like to thank all of the respondents who participated in my survey, and to all others whom I have not named who played a role in my project. Although I had a cadre of support within Kamchatka, people elsewhere in Russia were integral to the completion of this project.