Developments in Russia—Soviet Legacy to Putin
and /Medvedev-Putin Tandem
Abuses in the Soviet era resulted in a broad range of
environmental destruction that posed serious threats
to human and natural resource health (Feshbach and
Friendly 1991; Funke 2005, 246-275). During the per-
estroika reforms in the late 1980’s, the environmental
movement gained strength. The Chernobyl disaster
in 1986 and other environmental problems provided a
focal point of public concern. The Soviets finally took
steps to address environmental problems and created
the environmental agency, Goskompriroda, in 1988.
In the following several years Goskompriroda shut
down many polluting factories and canceled some
nuclear tests, even stopping testing entirely in one
area as result of open protests (French 1991, 105-106;
Renner 1991, 149-150). Goskompriroda put a variety
of environmental standards in place to limit exposure
to pollutants, though there was, and continues to be,
widespread violation of those standards.
The Environmental Movement
Environmental groups were among the most vis-
ible, and vocal, sources of opposition to the regime.
The emerging Russian environmental network was
credited with playing a prominent role in the demise of
the Soviet government. The Russian ecological party,
founded in 1991, claims to be the oldest political party
in Russia. In the early post-Soviet years, it seemed
possible for this movement to have substantial influ-
ence in the emerging political landscape. Those hopes
and expectations did not bear fruit, however, and en-
vironmental consciousness and commitment quickly
waned after the fall of the USSR.