Growing in and out of their shells in Kamchatka

The recent Benthic survey shows recovery for echinoderms and shelled molluscs in Vilyuchinskaya Bay, April 2022, following the 2020 toxic single-celled algae destroying the marine environment in Avacha Bay. Kamchatka researchers in the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, KSTU and divers from Kamchatka RGS completed “Monitoring of qualitative and quantitative indicators…

Riddled with doubts – climate change conversations in Russia

The effects of climate change in Russia have become more apparent in the past years, and policymakers are recently active in addressing the issue. Yet, a lot of Russians think climate change is bad, but do not see it as a serious problem either recognize the role of human activity. Kokorin discusses the reasons such…

Green shoots not yet visible in the forestry economy

Forest companies are the chief exploiters of forest resources, and their actions may have a major impact on the global sustainable development. Russian companies have a special place in this regard as Russia is the most forested country in the world and the forest industry there has a global impact. Researchers from the University of…

How to stop drilling holes through indigenous rights in the Russian Arctic

Liobov Sulayandziga discusses the issues between indigenous people of the Russian Arctic and extractive industries. She looks at the authentic communities in four Arctic regions: Komi Republic, Sakhalin, Sakha Republic and Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Area She concludes that indigenous opinions are often ignored in areas where resource extraction is prioritized. The communities receive significant opposition from…

Idols and rabbits in the Urals – designing Arctic ecotourism

Researchers from Ural State University of Architecture and Art proposed an innovative approach for developing tourism in Russian Arctic destinations where holidaymakers commonly avoid travelling. Tough climate, remoteness and non-existing hospitality services make it a challenge to tempt any tourist. Attracted by wilderness, endangered fauna, melting icebergs and glaciers, vanishing indigenous cultures, endangered mega-fauna has…

Nothing goes to waste: sustainable practices of re-use among indigenous groups in the Russian North

Do the main inventions in current environmental sustainability practices always come from the metropolitan research centres? Could they also be of ‘non-Western’ origin? To answer and challenge these questions, Siragusa and Arzyutov explored waste practices among two indigenous communities in the Russian North – Nenets and Veps as part of ethnographic fieldwork since 2009. They highlight…

Human fatprints in the Arctic snow

Anthropogenic pollution of the Arctic atmosphere is of great interest due to the vulnerability of the Arctic ecosystems, as well as the processes of global transport and industries under cold climate conditions. Researchers from Lomonosov State University (Moscow) and Lomonosov Northern (Arctic) Federal University brought the first results on snow pollution in the least explored…