|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As discussed in the preceding GeoCurrents post, Siberia is often considered too big and too cold; and as mentioned in an earlier GeoCurrents post, it is also too polluted. Such problems made Fiona Hill and Clifford G. Gaddy, the authors of The Siberian Curse: How Communist Planners Left Russia Out in the Cold, quip that “Siberia has been a rich …
Read the full story »Noteworthy Overlooked News From Around The World
|
Art & Culture |
|
Diplomacy |
|
Economics |
|
Environment |
|
Gender |
|
Politics |
|
Sports |
|
War & Strife |
Any discussion of Siberia is incomplete without an examination of its role in the history of Russia as a penal colony.
The city of Norilsk in the north-central part of the region, has been deemed the most polluted place in Russia for 19 years running. By some measures, Norilsk may be the most environmentally degraded city in the world.
The Russian government has been implementing a series of economic measures – including a gradual increase in export duties on round-wood and direct subsidies for timber processing capabilities in Russia – the goal of which is to shift timber exports from unprocessed to processed wood. But what is the environmental impact of such measures?
Siberia has a wealth of forest resources, which if handled properly, could be a major renewable strategic resource. But are Siberia’s forests handled properly?
The Pleistocene Park project envisaged by Sergei Zimov and his colleagues calls for an extraordinary transformation of the tundra and tundra-forest transition zones of Siberia. By restocking the region with large herbivores, an ecosystemic shift would theoretically occur, breaking down the current pattern of vegetation and establishing a new equilibrium. The basic idea is to transform waterlogged landscapes, currently dominated …
I must admit to having difficulty comprehending winter conditions in central and northern Siberia. From the U.S. perspective, Fairbanks, Alaska seems the epitome of cold, with an average January low temperature of -19 F (-28 C), but Fairbanks is positively balmy compared to Verkhoyansk, Siberia, where the average January high temperature is -44.9 F (-42.7 C). But what really staggers …
Sakhalin Island in particular has become a battleground between big Western oil companies, the Russian government, and environmentalist groups, with the Pacific salmon, gray whales, and the indigenous Nivkh people suffering collateral damage.
Maps such as the one on the left reveal a severe demographic imbalance in the sex ratio (the number of males divided by the number of females) in Russia. While few countries in the world have an even gender distribution, Russia experiences a strong female bias, with only 86 men for every 100 women. There are several serious reasons to …
On September 29, 1957 residents of the Chelyabinsk area in the extreme southwestern corner of Siberia saw a pillar of smoke and dust up to a kilometer high, glimmering with orange-red light. A week later, on October 6, a local Chelyabinsk newspaper published the following note (translation mine):
“Last Sunday night… many residents of Chelyabinsk observed a peculiar glimmer in the …
While the population of Siberia and the Far East is shrinking, some areas have experienced a worse-than-average depopulation. The Magadan Oblast in the Far Eastern Federal District stands out among all Russian federal subjects. Its population, numbering over half a million in 1989, decreased to just over 150,000 in 2010. The most precipitous drop occurred in 1991-1996, after the dissolution …
GeoCurrents is a forum dedicated to exploring events from all over the world by delving into the peoples, places, genes, and languages that are shaping them.
The aim of GeoCurrents is not to take sides on any of these events, but to help foster an enriching and respectful exchange of information and ideas.
For more about GeoCurrents and its authors, please visit this page.
The Siberian Curse: Whence Siberia?—part 2
The Siberian Curse: Whence Siberia?
Sakha (Yakutia) Since the Fall of the Soviet Union
The Yakut Under Soviet Rule
The Yakut (Sakha) Under Tsarist Rule: Subordinate Partners in Empire?
Mapping the Ethno-Linguistic Mosaic of the Caucasus
The Politics of Genocide Claims and the Circassian Diaspora
Afghanistan and the Ethnolinguanymic State
Where Is the Caucasus?
Peoples, Languages and Genes in the Caucasus: An Introduction
James T. Wilson: That makes sense. I would have expected a site ca...
Asya Pereltsvaig: You've got some excellent points here, James, as a...
James T. Wilson: My question about the word xenophobia was sort of ...
Asya Pereltsvaig: Thank you for your kind words about the site!
You...
Asya Pereltsvaig: Neither have I. By the way, here's a better link:
...
If you have a great product or service you'd like to let our targeted audience know about, you can sponsor the development of this site with your promotion.
Terranova: The Black Petaltail - A Novel
Diversity Amid Globalization: World Regions, Environment, Development (5th Edition)
Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World (3rd Edition)
