The Great Environmental Destruction Projects of Communism

The Volga River Will Never Be the Same

At the end of the 1920s, the USSR adopted a course of rapid industrialization, which essentially required a large amount of electricity. In this regard, in 1931-1936 the "Big Volga" scheme was developed, which provided for the radical reconstruction of the river for energy, transport and irrigation purposes [2]. In addition, the conquest of Europe by Nazi Germany, and then of the Cold War, attached particular importance to the creation of a powerful energy base on the Volga [3].

The Great Construction Projects of Communism Our gain is their loss

Utmost priority in the planning and construction of hydroelectric power plants was given to ensuring the safety and reliability of the stations and their economic and technical efficiency [4]. The socio-cultural impact was considered a secondary problem and the environmental issues omitted. A full-fledged study of the ecological conditions of the power plant construction became possible in 1960-1970s when 7 out 8 stations were already commissioned [4]. "The Great Construction Projects of Communism" significantly altered the natural habitat of numerous fish species, including sturgeon, and led to the deterioration of the major Volga fisheries [5]. 

The Volga Hydroelectric Power Plant construction, 1952

Citations

1

Dvoretskaya M. I., Zhdanova A. P., Lushnikov O. G., Sliva I. V., Vozobnovlyayemaya energiya. Elektrostantsii Rossii. Handbook, (Saint-Petersburg: Politekhnichskiy universitet, 2018).

2

Burdin E.A., "Major Factors of a Construction of the Volga Cascade of Hydroknots (1930-1950th)" Vestnik Chuvashskogo universiteta, (2) (2010), pp. 3-8.

3

Burdin E. A., "Historical aspects and dynamics of the development of the Russian hydropower industry in the 1900-1980s (on the example of the Volga cascade of hydropower stations)" Izvestiya Samarskogo nauchnogo tsentra Rossiyskoy akademii nauk, 12 (2-1) (2010), pp. 107-113.

4

Burdin E.A., Volzhsky HPP Cascade: Triumph and Tragedy of Russia, (Moscow: Rossiyskaya politicheskaya entsiklopediya (ROSSPEN, 2011).

5

Glantz M. H., Zonn I. S., The Scientific, Environmental, and Political Issues of the Circum-Caspian Region, Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, Series 2: Environment - Vol.29, 13-16 May 1996.

Volga Station Construction

Ivankovo Station photo

Uglich Station photo

Rybinsk Station photo

Nizhny Novgorod Station photo

Cheboksary Station photo

Zhiguli Station photo

Saratov Station photo

Volga Station photo

The Great Construction Projects of Communism Our gain is their loss

The Volga Hydroelectric Power Plant construction, 1952