Zapovednik system
The Zapovednik system consists of a network of nature reserves established in the former Soviet Union, primarily aimed at ecological preservation and scientific research. Initiated in the early 20th century, these reserves played a dual role: some were dedicated to maintaining pristine ecosystems for study, while others focused on agricultural experimentation. The establishment of zapovedniki was influenced by scientific advancements in biology and ecology, particularly in relation to Charles Darwin's evolutionary theories. Despite fluctuations in support due to political and economic factors throughout Soviet history, the system saw significant growth, with over 128 reserves created by the early 1930s.
However, the system faced severe challenges during events such as Stalin's industrialization and World War II, leading to a drastic reduction in protected areas. Post-1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the zapovedniks struggled with funding and preservation, but some have since received recognition as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, enhancing their protection. Today, the zapovedniks remain some of the most strictly-protected natural areas in the world, highlighting their importance in biodiversity conservation and ecological research.
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Zapovednik system
IDENTIFICATION: System of nature reserves established in the former Soviet Union
The reserves in the zapovednik system served two different purposes under the former Soviet Union, with some used as sites of preservation and research and others used mainly for agricultural experimentation. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the reserves have faced difficult times, but some have gained protection and funding after being designated World Heritage Sites or biosphere reserves.
The establishment and administration of nature reserves has generally mirrored the development of biology, ecology, and related sciences. The systematic development of nature reserves with a scientific basis accompanied the developments in biology of the nineteenth century. During that time, Russian biologists related English evolutionist Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theories to the environment. From such early scientific studies came a recognition of the importance of natural areas and their preservation.
In the first decade of the twentieth century, Russian zoologists developed the idea of nature reserves, called zapovedniki, that would be dedicated to the protection of entire ecosystems. Over the course of the century the popularity of and support for nature reserves in general waxed and waned in the Soviet Union, often influenced as much or more by the political and economic climate as by scientific advances. As was also true in other countries, environmental concerns were seldom of prime importance in the Soviet Union, a giant state that struggled for its own survival for more than seven decades before disintegrating into separate republics in 1991.
In January of 1919, while the new Soviet government was struggling for its existence, agronomist Nikolai N. Pod’’iapol’skii proposed the establishment of the regime’s first zapovednik at Astrakhan. The first five years of the Soviet Union also saw the organization of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Nature, a volunteer conservation organization that had the effect of enhancing environmental awareness among citizens.
In 1921 Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin signed legislation titled On the Protection of Monuments of Nature, Gardens, and Parks. This empowered the Ministry of Education to declare parcels of nature having special scientific, cultural, or historical value as zapovedniki. Between 1919 and 1932 a total of 128 zapovedniki were created, with a total area of 12.6 million hectares (31 million acres). The reserves represented 0.56 percent of the total area of the Soviet Union. They varied in size from parcels smaller than 100 hectares (247 acres) to a few of more than 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres) each. Most were in western Russia, Ukraine, or the Caucasus, with a smaller number in Siberia and the far east on the Pacific coast.
The zapovedniki were administered by two separate government agencies with different philosophies and sets of goals. The Ministry of Education maintained relatively pristine reserves for their aesthetic properties and as sites for preservation and scientific research. During the 1920s these reserves were utilized by several important Russian ecologists who pioneered studies in such areas as productivity, trophic relationships, and predator-prey interactions in ecosystems. Unlike the national park system in the United States, the zapovedniki run by the Ministry of Education did not give great consideration to tourism.
Nature reserves under the management of the Ministry of Agriculture, in contrast, were maintained primarily as centers of agricultural production and experimentation. The Soviets sought to discover scientific management policies that would maximize yields of timber, fur, and other products of value to the economy. These goals compromised conservation efforts.
The emergence of Joseph Stalin as dictator of the Soviet Union in 1929 and the outbreak of World War II in 1939 had disastrous effects on conservation efforts in general and on the zapovedniki in particular. Stalin disbanded the Society for the Protection of Nature and introduced a vigorous program of industrialization. Lip service was paid to conservation, but polluting industries were allowed to operate with few regulations.
During this same period, the conservation movement in the Soviet Union was subjected to a fate similar to that of the field of genetics: Scientific principles were abandoned in favor of incorrect, unsupported ideas favored by Marxist theorists. As a result, many unspoiled nature reserves that had been established during the 1920s were dismantled or converted into agricultural enterprises. By 1952 only 40 reserves with a total of 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) were left; this represented just 12 percent of what had existed before the war.
Under Leonid Brezhnev, first secretary of the Communist Party during the 1960s, a new interest in conservation emerged. An improved economy and a reduction in restrictions on individual freedom led to an increase in tourism among Soviet citizens, and appreciation of natural areas grew as international tourists also sought these places out. By 1981 nature reserves had become popular with the Soviet public, and the number had grown to 129, surpassing the number that had existed before World War II.
After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, new challenges emerged. Faced with a legacy of widespread and near bankruptcy, the former states of the Soviet Union struggled to maintain themselves. Many conservationists feared that the in general, including the zapovednik system, would suffer. The of the reserves was threatened both by a lack of funds and by impoverished local people who destroyed the flora and fauna in order to survive. Most observers believed that the assistance of outside agencies would be required to prevent deterioration of the system. By 2010 the number of zapovedniki had shrunk to 101. Some of the remaining sites, however, had begun to receive protections and aid with funding through their designation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as World Heritage Sites or reserves. The zapovedniki remained some of the most strictly-protected nature reserves in the world in the 2020s.
Bibliography
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