Andrew R. Bond

PANEL ON NATIONALISM IN THE USSR: ENVIRONMENTAL AND TERRITORIAL ASPECTS

A panel of geographers, demographers, and political scientists discusses a broad range of issues related to the resurgence of nationalism in the USSR and its relationship to environmental protest and territorial disputes: the emergence of nationality politics; differential rates of nationality population growth and urbanization; various conceptions of (and levels of autonomy within) ethnic homelands; the spatial pattern of actual and potential territorial claims; linkages between environmentalism and nationalism (with an emphasis on the Baltic and Central Asian republics); parallels and differences between the USSR and other countries; and consequences of efforts to implement republic-level economic autonomy and khozraschet.

Reflections on Environmentalism and the River Diversion Projects

In a companion paper to “Environmentalism in the USSR: The Opposition to the River Diversion Projects,” two geographers survey the current status of water transfer research after cancellation of the European and Siberian diversion projects and offer a different perspective on the debates leading to that cancellation. Implications of a demand-side approach to Centra! Asian water management problems are then assessed in light of (a) contradictory objectives of expanding irrigated hectarage and mitigating environmental deterioration in the Aral basin and (b) the problematic nature of projected water savings and costs involved in their realization. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 124, 720.

RUSSIAN DIAMOND INDUSTRY IN STATE OF FLUX

This paper describes changes and proposed changes in the structure of the Russian diamond mining and processing industry upon the USSRs disintegration, focusing on the conflict between legislative and executive branches of the Russian government and between Russia and Yakut-Sakha for increased powers over the distribution of diamond output. It traces the evolution of administrative forms, from the past Soviet government monopoly over distribution of rough diamond output to a current arrangement in which Yakut-Sakha retains 20 percent of its output of rough gem-quality stones for independent distribution within a broader framework of Russian Federation control.

Russian Bauxite Resources: Current Assessment

The bauxite resource base for the aluminum industry of independent Russia is examined generally in terms of deposit geology and mineralogy, feasibility of processing based on conventional methods, world aluminum markets, and the general economic environment within Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Plans to develop new mines and to expand existing mine production are examined critically in light of aluminum content and impurities in ores, physical conditions at deposits, and competing opportunities for potential outside investors. Important non-bauxite ore sources also are investigated to the extent they represent alternative sources of aluminum supply. Russia and the former USSR traditionally have had to rely either on supplemental bauxite imports or upon the development of its non-bauxite ore deposits. The future depletion of a Urals bauxite ore base in Russia is making it necessary for industry planners to assess the feasibility of developing the North Onega and Middle Timan monohydrate...

PANEL ON PATTERNS OF DISINTEGRATION IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION

A panel of geographers and scholars in related fields assesses the consequences of diverse and far-reaching geographical patterns accompanying the break-up of the USSR. These include patterns of heightened interethnic conflict in support of territorial and cultural claims; accelerated outmigration resulting from ethnic re-stratification in the non-Russian republics; disrupted trade flows and economic protectionism; emerging transborder economic ties; unemployment and changes in employment structure; new administrative arrangements and problems in transportation; new local systems of financing and governance; privatization in agriculture and interruption of food distribution chains; and reorganization and retrenchment of environmental protection activity.

PANEL ON SIBERIA: ECONOMIC AND TERRITORIAL ISSUES

A panel of geographers and other specialists on the Soviet Union examines a range of economic and territorial issues shaping Siberias past, present, and future. These include a history of local particularism and colonial rule imposed by the center; internal contradictions reflecting the regions enormous size and diversity; dynamics of population migration, natural increase, and ethnic composition; investment policy; current economic problems; foreign trade prospects and joint venture activity; environmental degradation; alternative scenarios of the regions future; and the need for multiple regionalization schemes in geographical analysis.

The Manganese Shortfall in Russia

The status of Russias access to manganese—a vital ferroalloy raw material—upon the disintegration of the USSR is examined. Russian manganese reserves are assessed from the perspective of ore quality and quantity in light of the disruption of once-steady supply relationships, current demand for manganese ferroalloys in the Russian steel industry, the capacity (or lack of same) of Russian ferroalloy plants to produce various manganese ferroalloys, the impact of modernization in Russian ferrous metallurgy on manganese consumption, and other factors that could affect Russian manganese demand in the future. 10 references.

PANEL ON THE SOVIET UNION IN THE YEAR 2000

A panel of geographers debates possible future developments in the Soviet Union in regional and environmental policy, water resource management, agriculture, industry, energy, population, urban growth and planning, transportation, and foreign trade. The present emphasis on modernization of existing plant capacity in cities of the western, more heavily settled regions of the USSR seems destined to continue, although it will be constrained by a growing shortage of industrial labor, declining terms of trade and resource oversupply in increasingly competitive export markets, and the continued resistance of Central Asian populations to urbanization and industrial employment.

The Non-Energy Mineral Industries of Post-Soviet Russia

The paper surveys regularities in the organization, economic status, and activities of the non-energy mineral industries in independent Russia. It synthesizes the findings of detailed studies of eight key mineral commodities, as well as general information on other non-energy minerals and on general economic conditions, to derive generalizations believed to be applicable to the sector as a whole. The analysis encompasses such factors as domestic production and consumption, exports, the severing of traditional interrepublican supply linkages, elements of economic reform (e.g., in export licensing, privatization), international tenders, and conservation and secondary recovery. 1 table, 18 references.

Crisis Amid Plenty Revisited: Comments on the Problematic Potential of Russian Oil

Two economic geographers specializing in the mineral resources of the former Soviet Union and Russia discuss a paper on Russian oil published in this journal by a seasoned oberserver of this critical subject since the early 1970s. The authors comment on the behavior of Russian oil companies such as Yukos, Russian economic policy in mid-2004, and the role of foreign companies, capital, and advanced technology. Recalling mistaken estimates of declining Soviet oil output in the late 1970s, they outline factors that suggest a somewhat more optimistic outcome could be possible, but note that the drift toward government control, which runs counter to the oil industrys efficiency, is not a positive sign. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: L71, O13, O18, 27 references.