Lake Baikal

Abstract

Baikal is the deepest, oldest, and most voluminous lake on Earth. It is home to thousands of endemic species. It occupies a special place in the Russian psyche—a point of national pride and religious mysticism. Despite the lackluster status of civil society and political involvement in Russia generally, Lake Baikal is home to a strong and flourishing environmentalist community. The history of this activism dates back to the Soviet era, when local activists began the first mass movement against the state to protest the construction of a paper mill on the shore of Lake Baikal. This chapter examines the history of Soviet environmentalism around Lake Baikal and its relationship to the field of power. Despite the existence of a Soviet environmental civil society, the field of power was so monopolized by the Communist Party that environmental conditions only worsened.