Elena Kochetkova,
Higher School of Economics
The trip to Lake Baikal was one of the most exciting travels I ever had.The past and present of the lake concentrate a lot of issues, ranging from environmental to technological and cultural. As a researcher of history of Soviet technology and its impact on nature, I was excited to take part in the trip, experience the lake and its surroundings, communicate with locals as well as present my research to an international group of researchers. In this essay, I explainshortly just a few meanings that Baikal trip brought to me.
First, it was stimulating to visit the place I am investigating. I do research into the relation between industry and nature, and in particular it was interesting to learn about the present situation around the Baikal pulp and paper plant. Before the trip, I had rather a simplified view of the problem. For instance, I thought that after the plant stopped its activities, the problem of pollution reduced significantly. However, the current situation illustrates more other polluters like oil and shows that the problem still remains a fact. In this sense it was important to travel cross the lake as well as visit nearby cities on the both sidesto learn about how Baikal influences people`s activities and views on nature pollution and protection. We could compare how inhabitants on both banks (citizens of Ulan-Ude and Irkutsk and nearby settlements) took care about “their” side of the lake.In this sense I learned how researchers from the Buryat state university engaged into investigating nature and comprehending the roles of the lake. I was surprised to see that a lot of university professors and students conduct applied research related to Baikal and use their expertise in solving current problems like water pollution and preservation of animals. Many of university members were involved into environmental movement (and later the local political activities) in the late Soviet Union. They continue to act as important actors in preserving the lake and its environment.
Another thing I learnt ishow nature images are used in tourism and mass culture. In particular, seal (nerpa) and omul, local species, appeared a lot as symbols of Baikal in museums, shops, and other places. Although I heard about similar type of seals in Lake Ladoga (though I never seen myself), it is not used there a lot as an attractive image for tourists.However, tourism on Baikal is still not well organized and suffers from deficiencies in infrastructure and lack of investment.
Then, being found of current situation in forest management in Russia, I got to learn about forestry in Siberia. It was not surprising to hear about current problems in Russia like wasteful forestry, the issues extending to the Soviet times. We noted a lot of forest fires and their main reason – dry forests and hot weather, and the scale of the problem seems to be enormous. I learnt what actors take part in struggling with fires, like local boards of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergency Management and Natural Disasters Response and the role of additional forces like volunteers. Actually, it was surprising to know how many people from different parts of Russia wish to come to the lake (in particular, to the Bargusinsky reserve) to become volunteers. So, Baikal seems to concern a lot of people and illustrates that environmental issues are acquiring a more significant meaning in the society.
Last, Baikal nature struck me in terms of its fauna diversity and similarity with the North. Visually, I found a lot of common issues between my home region (Karelia, in particular the border part between Russia and Finland around Lake Ladoga).While travelling by boat on Baikal I thought about how this lake is similar with Ladoga and how its islands resonate with the Valaam (in Ladoga) island I worked on as a guide some time ago. There are unique combinations of neighboring water and rockscovered with trees in both places, but probably at different scale. So, Baikal is more monumental with larger islands and higher rocks. Also, there were a lot of plants I never seen before.
Summing up, the trip brought to me a lot of meanings and issues to think about like relations of human and unique nature, how nature shapes culture and what beautiful places are in the world. It was an exited exploring Russian nature and resources.