A political ecology of protected areas in post-Soviet Russia

This project examines the peculiar political ecology of protected areas in post-Soviet Russia in the vortex of pressures for resource use, conservation, education and local participation. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has established several dozen new protected areas. Although the financial situation has gradually improved since 2000, many parks are still inadequately funded to perform their basic functions. Whereas initially they enjoyed little popularity as tourist destinations, recent years have seen a sharp increase in tourist numbers. On the one hand, the tourist boom extends the scope of action for protected areas since it allows raising additional funds. On the other hand, the development of tourist infrastructure often sidesteps existing laws and takes place at the expense of nature protection.