Environmentalism in the USSR: The Opposition to the River Diversion Projects

Abstract

The opposition to the Soviet river diversion projects is analyzed in order to explore the nature of environmentalism in the USSR. Three groups are distinguished: (1) utilitarians, who concentrate upon economics and argue for the more rational use of natural resources and freer specialist participation in policymaking; (2) populists, who argue that nature also has noneconomic value and advocate broader public participation; and (3) Russian nationalists, who argue that economic development has destroyed the spirituality of modern Soviet man, and wish to reverse this process in order to return to the traditional values of the Russian village. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 124, 720.