The Nature of Soviet Power. Ecological History of the Arctic

In the 20th century, the Union transformed the Kola Peninsula - once a remote outpost of the Russian Empire - into one of the most populated, industrially developed, militarized, and polluted areas of the Arctic. This transformation had a significant impact on the Soviet experience of regional development. Interaction with the natural world, on one hand, brought industrial advantages, while on the other, it limited the possibilities for radical socialist transformations, as nature itself played the role of a participant in the communist project. In Andy Bruno's book, Soviet ecological history is examined from a comparative perspective as part of the global aspiration of modern states for infinite economic growth. By exploring the history of railroad construction, the establishment of mining and processing industries, nickel and copper smelting technologies, reindeer herding, and energy production in the region, the author simultaneously studies Soviet cultural representations of nature, development plans, life experiences, and the ways of socio-economic adaptation to the reality of the physical world and its changes. Before the reader lies the history of two interconnected processes: while Soviet power reshaped nature, nature reshaped Soviet power. Andy Bruno is a professor in the History Department at Northern Illinois University, USA.