Lesniki and Leskhozy : Life and Work in Russia's Northern Forests

• Published in: Environment and History
• Main Author: Moran, Dominique
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Liverpool University Press 2004
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous); Environmental Science (miscellaneous); History; Geography, Planning and Development; Russian North
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.3197/096734004772444423; https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/whp/eh/2004/00000010/00000001/art00004

Abstract This paper examines the history of forestry in the Russian North through a study area in the North Urals. The relationships between the local leskhozy (forestry enterprises) and the lesniki (forestry workers) and the environment are contrasted. The paper explores four key aspects: exile, planned production, decline in rural population and environmental problems which characterised the Soviet period, and links these to conditions in the region post-1991, drawing on archival sources, contemporary accounts from the Soviet period and fieldwork in the study area.