SOVIET PRACTICE OF USING WATER RESOURCES IN THE SIBERIAN NORTH (THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17072/2219-3111-2026-3-137-147Keywords:
water resources, Northern Siberia, development of Siberia in the second half of the 20th century, protection and rational use of water resources, sustainable developmentAbstract
Based on the analysis of archival and published sources, as well as special literature, the article examines the problems of water use and protection of water resources in the North of Siberia in the second half of the 20th century. This analysis allows us to assess the overall situation with water availability in the North of the country as a whole and its specific regions, to consider the main problems associated with the uneven distribution of water resources and their pollution as a result of excessive anthropogenic load. The development of the water management system in the USSR took place on the basis of the so-called industrial standard, which assumed the exploitation of the country's water resources in accordance with the objectives of industrial development of its regions, including the North of Siberia. The specific directions of the USSR's water management strategy in the second half of the twentieth century included the construction of hydropower complexes on Siberian rivers; the implementation of a complex of biotechnological measures (aquaculture, fish farming); the development of water transport; the use of water in production processes, urban economy and household purposes. Two opposite trends have emerged in the practice of Soviet water management in the North of Siberia. On the one hand, the emphasis was placed on the intensification of the use of water resources for the industrial development of this macroregion. On the other hand, there was a gradual realization that uncontrolled industrial growth leads to an increase in anthropogenic pressure on the environment, and therefore measures are needed to protect and rationalize the use of Siberian water resources. These contradictions included, on the one hand, plans to "turn" Siberian rivers to the south, and, on the other, the protest of the Soviet academic and artistic intellectual communities, as well as the nascent environmental movement against this ill-conceived and dangerous for Siberian ecosystems project. The authors conclude that studying the Soviet experience (with all its achievements and mistakes) is useful for building a modern Russian water management strategy based on high environmental standards and the sustainable development principle.
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