Sibérie extrême-orientale : nature et ville post-communiste en république Sakha (Iakoutie)

• Published in: Strates
• Main Author: MAJ, Émilie
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: French
• Published: Laboratoire Ladyss 2007
• Subjects: hist; geo; Sakha; Vierge; Sakha Republic; taiga; toundra; Yakutia; Siberia
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/strates/2392

Emilie Maj. Soviet legacy and environmenal stakes in Siberian city During the Soviet years, man tried to master virgin nature East of the Urals. By settling nomadic or semi-nomadic populations living on vast tracts of land to build mining towns in particular, the USSR caused environmental damages in the 1960’s which are now felt today. To understand what is at stake in an ecological policy in the Siberian context, the following questions will be asked: what is a Siberian town in a Taiga and Toundra country, that derives most of its living from mining industry in the post-communist context? How does the urban space fit in the environment? What relationship does it have with nature? To answer these questions, we will first describe the environmental space of nature, countryside and town. Then, basing our research on the Sakha republic of Yakutia, we will ask how the new autonomous Siberian republics manage the Soviet heritage, as they are caught between the desire to put in place an ecological policy to protect the environment in response to appeals by international organisations, and the necessities of economic survival which incite them to start exploiting their mining wealth again in spite of the environmental protection promises they have made. Durant les années soviétiques, l’homme a entrepris de dominer la nature vierge de l’est de l’Oural. Sédentarisant des populations nomades ou semi-nomades qui vivaient dispersées sur de grandes étendues pour y construire des villes minières en particulier, l’URSS a causé des dommages à l’environnement dans les années soixante qui se ressentent aujourd’hui. Dans la partie orientale de la Sibérie, la création des villes remonte au début du xxe siècle Pour comprendre les enjeux d’une politique écologique dans le contexte sibérien, on se posera ici les questions suivantes : qu’est-ce qu’une ville de Sibérie dans un pays de taïga et de toundra qui vit essentiellement de l’industrie minière dans le contexte post-communiste ? Comment l’espace citadin s’inscrit-il dans ...