Steppe by Steppe : Exploring Environmental Change in Southern Ukraine

This article considers the environmental legacy of Soviet central planning, that began in the late-1920s, and also longer-term human intervention, in the ‘natural’ world of rural Southern Ukraine. It is based on a journey across the steppe, what the author learned from people, especially scientists, he met, and research in written sources. The first section considers ‘nature transformed’. Since the conquest by the Russian Empire in the 18th century, the steppe grassland has been transformed from pasture for livestock into arable land farmed by settlers of European origin. The second section, ‘nature protected’, discusses the Askania Nova biosphere reserve, where an area of grassland has been protected since the late-19th century. The reserve also contains an artificial woodland park and a collection of grazing animals from all over the world. The third section, ‘nature destroyed’, is about the Oleshkivs’ki sands, on the left bank of the estuary of the Dnipro river opposite the city of Kherson. In ancient times, a forest grew on the sands. From the 18th century, European settlers cleared much of the forest for grazing, leading to erosion. Trees have since been replanted surrounding a curious landscape of sand dunes, which have become a habitat for rare plant species. The sands were also used a bombing range for Warsaw Pact air forces during the Cold War, but part if now protected as a nature reserve

The international dissemination of Russian genetic soil science (pochvovedenie), 1870s – 1914

This article considers the international dissemination of the Russian innovation of genetic soil science, devised by a team of scientists led by V. V. Dokuchaev in the 1870s and 1880s, over the decades down to 1914. Russian soil science was disseminated by articles in foreign languages, exhibits at world fairs, papers read by Russian scientists at international conferences, visits by Russian soil scientists abroad and correspondence with foreign scientists. Acceptance came sooner in Europe, but took longer in the United States where, in spite of attempts to disseminate the innovation, it encountered institutional resistance

Cultivating the Steppe : The Origins of Mennonite Farming Practices in the Russian Empire

The main part of this article is presented in two sections. The first considers the practices for cultivating grain introduced by Mennonite farmers in Molotschna in the 1830s; the second analyzes the wider contexts in which the Mennonites developed the practices and the motivations behind them. The article is based on a range of primary sources including reports by Mennonite leaders to the Russian authorities, studies of Mennonite agriculture by visiting specialists, and articles by Mennonite and Russian authors published in contemporary Russian agricultural periodicals and preserved in archives in Russia and Ukraine. It also draws on the recent edition of the correspondence of pioneering Mennonite farmer and leader Johann Cornies. Reference is made to a selection of the extensive secondary literature on the Mennonite colonies and steppe farming. In keeping with recent Ukrainian scholarship, the Mennonites are considered as part of the wider population of southern Ukraine

Rossiiskaya i sovetskaya ekologicheskaya istoriya v sovremennoi zapadnoi nauke’

The subject of this essay is the growing body of historical scholarship on Russian and Soviet environmental history produced in recent decades by environmental historians in the west. These scholars are taking advantage of the extraodrinarily rich material for research offered by the interaction over time between human societies and the natural world of which they are a part in this section of the globe. Of especial interest is the work of a younger generation of western scholars. All western environmental historians of Russia and the Soviet Union have benefitted greatly from their interaction with Russian scholars

Agronomiya stepi : razvitie “sukhogo zemledeliya” v Rossiiskoi imperii

The aim of this article is to analyze on the basis of archival and printed sources from both Russia and the United States the development of ‘dry farming’ techniques for cultivating grain crops in regions, such as the steppes and the American Great Plains with semi-arid climates, where the average, annual precipitation was around or under 400 mm, which was lower than in other agricultural regions in both countries, and also unreliable, varying sharply from year to year. Both regions also experienced periodic droughts. The focus of the article is on the steppe region in the southern part of the Russian Empire (today’s southern Ukraine and the south of the Russian Federation) to the west of the Ural River and Ural mountains covering the period from the early nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. The main farming techniques considered in the article are cultivating the soil and keeping fallow fields clear of vegetation (chernyi par) in order to conserve scarce moisture. The article compares the techniques devised on the steppe in the early and mid-nineteenth century with those used later on the Great Plains of the United States, where they were promoted as ‘dry farming’. The article recognizes that farmers in both the Russian Empire and the United States may have devised similar techniques independently, as they faced similar challenges, in particular scarce supplies of moisture, but suggests that the American methods may have had their origins in the experience of farmers on the steppe. In this regard it is important that among the pioneers of such techniques on the steppe, were Mennonite farmers, who migrated from the steppes to the United States in the 1870s and took their methods with them

Международная конференция «Природные ресурсы, ландшафты и климат в истории России и сопредельных стран», посвящённая 200-летию академика А.Ф. Миддендорфа

This was an international interdiscipinary conference, at which historians, geographers, zoologists and specialists in other disciplines from various universities and academic institutions in Russia and foreign countries met to examine issues of environmental history, the history of the reception and construction of natural resources and landscapes, the history of the study of climate and its influence on the history of Russia and neighbouring countries over the course of several centuries. A special focus was made on the presentation of materials which shed light on the role of natural factors in the history of studying and developing peripheral regions with complex climatic conditions, such as Siberia and the Russian North. In this regard, it was very important that the conference was connected with the name of the outstanding Russian scholar, zoologist and geographer, Academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, Alexander von Middendorf, who made an exceptional contribution to the study of Siberia and other outlying regions of the Russian Empire. The activities of Middendorff and his contemporaries demonstrated the importance of St. Petersburg as one of the centres of world science. Problems of studying and utilizing natural resources are listed among the most urgent for contemporary Russia. At the same time, the very understanding of natural resources is in need of conceptualization, including in a historical context. Understanding the historical implications of the “construction” of particular natural objects as resources, the peculiarities of the interrelationship between society and those resources, conceptions of how the significance of individual resources in the life of society changes in different periods, cannot be understood without historical research. The tasks of the conference were the following: studies of the historical bases and traditions of natural resource use in Russia; uncovering the roles of expert and local knowledge and the practices of natural resource use, destruction and changes in these traditions; analysis of the conceptualization of natural resources and natural forces of production in various historical periods of the functioning of the Russian state and among various social groups in Russian society; description and analysis of the circulation of knowledge about the environment of Russia in the Russian and international scientific space in various historical periods; revealing the features of the formation of images of nature in Russia and neighbouring territories; and also the perception of its landscapes, including urban landscapes; describing the contexts of how significant natural and cultural sites functioned in historical memory

The Centenary of the Journal Soil Science : Reflections on the Discipline in the United States and Russia Around a Hundred Years ago

Soil Science emerged on the scene in January 1916 as a journal focused on soil fertility and allied fields. Its founding editor and guiding force for 23 years was Jacob Goodale Lipman, an immigrant from the Russian Empire who came to the USA in his teens and received all of his scientific training in the USA, at Rutgers and Cornell Universities. His knowledge of the Russian language and culture, rather than a pre-existing professional network, however, enabled him to serve as an important bridge to the Russian soil science community. As well as facilitating communication between soil scientists in the USA and the Russian Empire (and, after 1917, its successor state, the Soviet Union), Lipman also found support for young scientists from abroad to come to work at Rutgers. The most prominent was another migrant from the Russian Empire who went on to win a Nobel Prize, Selman A. Waksman. Lipman, who had an enormous capacity for work, also organized the 1st International Congress of Soil Science in Washington, DC, in 1927, which was followed by a remarkable transcontinental excursion. These events allowed many American and international, including Soviet, soil scientists to meet. However, the journal that he guided from its foundation in 1916 provided a longer-term vehicle for international intellectual exchange before and after 1927

Assessing the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment: the challenge ahead.

Lifestyle factors are responsible for a considerable portion of cancer incidence worldwide, but credible estimates from the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) suggest that the fraction of cancers attributable to toxic environmental exposures is between 7% and 19%. To explore the hypothesis that low-dose exposures to mixtures of chemicals in the environment may be combining to contribute to environmental carcinogenesis, we reviewed 11 hallmark phenotypes of cancer, multiple priority target sites for disruption in each area and prototypical chemical disruptors for all targets, this included dose-response characterizations, evidence of low-dose effects and cross-hallmark effects for all targets and chemicals. In total, 85 examples of chemicals were reviewed for actions on key pathways/mechanisms related to carcinogenesis. Only 15% (13/85) were found to have evidence of a dose-response threshold, whereas 59% (50/85) exerted low-dose effects. No dose-response information was found for the remaining 26% (22/85). Our analysis suggests that the cumulative effects of individual (non-carcinogenic) chemicals acting on different pathways, and a variety of related systems, organs, tissues and cells could plausibly conspire to produce carcinogenic synergies. Additional basic research on carcinogenesis and research focused on low-dose effects of chemical mixtures needs to be rigorously pursued before the merits of this hypothesis can be further advanced. However, the structure of the World Health Organization International Programme on Chemical Safety 'Mode of Action' framework should be revisited as it has inherent weaknesses that are not fully aligned with our current understanding of cancer biology

Australia\u27s health 2000 : the seventh biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australia\u27s Health 2000 is the seventh biennial health report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It is the nation\u27s authoritative source of information on patterns of health and illness, determinants of health, the supply and use of health services, and health services costs and performance.This 2000 edition serves as a summary of Australia\u27s health record at the end of the twentieth century. In addition, a special chapter is presented on changes in Australia\u27s disease profile over the last 100 years.Australia\u27s Health 2000 is an essential reference and information source for all Australians with an interest in health

Assessing the Carcinogenic Potential of Low-Dose Exposures to Chemical Mixtures in the Environment: The Challenge Ahead

Lifestyle factors are responsible for a considerable portion of cancer incidence worldwide, but credible estimates from the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) suggest that the fraction of cancers attributable to toxic environmental exposures is between 7% and 19%. To explore the hypothesis that low-dose exposures to mixtures of chemicals in the environment may be combining to contribute to environmental carcinogenesis, we reviewed 11 hallmark phenotypes of cancer, multiple priority target sites for disruption in each area and prototypical chemical disruptors for all targets, this included dose-response characterizations, evidence of low-dose effects and cross-hallmark effects for all targets and chemicals. In total, 85 examples of chemicals were reviewed for actions on key pathways/mechanisms related to carcinogenesis. Only 15% (13/85) were found to have evidence of a dose-response threshold, whereas 59% (50/85) exerted low-dose effects. No dose-response information was found for the remaining 26% (22/85). Our analysis suggests that the cumulative effects of individual (non-carcinogenic) chemicals acting on different pathways, and a variety of related systems, organs, tissues and cells could plausibly conspire to produce carcinogenic synergies. Additional basic research on carcinogenesis and research focused on low-dose effects of chemical mixtures needs to be rigorously pursued before the merits of this hypothesis can be further advanced. However, the structure of the World Health Organization International Programme on Chemical Safety \u27Mode of Action\u27 framework should be revisited as it has inherent weaknesses that are not fully aligned with our current understanding of cancer biology