Russia and Its Neighbors - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 228

Issues: With the end of the old-style state control of the economy
under Gorbachev and continuing with the independence of the Russian
Federation under Yeltsin, the economy became chaotic. Many big enter-
prises were sold cheaply to businessmen who rapidly amassed great wealth,
often illegally and in cooperation with criminals. This privatization led to
corruption. Many state-owned enterprises were closed because they were
inefficient, throwing employees out of work. Much wealth was transferred
out of the country to Switzerland or London to hide it. These corrupt busi-
nessmen gained the label “oligarchs.” Corruption continues to pervade the
economy. Even worse, criminality has become enshrined. Critics call it
the “mafia state.” Citizens who speak out may be beaten and murdered.
Victims are political enemies as well as economic rivals.
The gigantic country has extensive reserves of oil, natural gas, coal, and
uranium. Russia produces 10 million barrels of oil a day, nearly as much as
Saudi Arabia, and exports 7 million barrels a day. It produces 650 billion
cubic meters of natural gas a day, and exports 250 billion cubic meters a
day. It produces 250 million tons of coal a year, the fifth most in the world.
Thirty nuclear reactors produce 15% of its electricity. Although it is the
largest country in the world in terms of area, much of it cannot be farmed
due to cold temperatures and lack of rainfall. Only 7% is arable. Half the
land is covered by forests, and timber is a major industry.
In the 1980s the Soviet Union began building the Baikal-Amur Mainline
railway, known as BAM. This was a rail line paralleling the Trans-Siberian
railway several hundred kilometers to the north and running from the
north end of Lake Baikal to the Pacific Ocean. The reason was fear that
the Trans-Siberian line was too close to the border with China and sub-
ject to capture in time of war. The BAM was 3,500 kilometers long with
nine tunnels, 3134 bridges, and 50 new towns. Conditions in this northern
clime are harsh, with permafrost underlying the roadbed for two-thirds of
its length. Local civil engineers suggested laying ballast that would freeze
to become part of the permafrost after several years. The engineers from
Moscow overruled this because it would take too long. They also sited one
new town in terrain underlain by ice and in another location disrupted the
natural permafrost by digging a new river channel. Other environmental
problems occurred. The permanent high pressure center over Siberia exac-
erbated air pollution from the new towns in Chita. Forests were cut down
for the construction, and later the new residents cut fire wood. The builders
failed to leave buffers along the rivers. Worst of all, the new railway gave