Laura A. Henry

Russia and the Kyoto Protocol: Seeking an Alignment of Interests and Image

On November 5, 2004, the Russian Federation ratified the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, effectively saving the treaty. Battling domestic interests, in which a majority of pro-Kyoto voices were countered by a small but powerful minority of Kyoto opponents, had little influence on the decision due to the centralized institutional environment in Russia which allows the President great autonomy in foreign policy. President Putin ratified the treaty because Russia would likely gain leverage in other international negotiations and contribute to an image of itself as a good member of the club of advanced industrialized states. He delayed ratification to clarify evidence about gains versus losses from Kyoto provisions and to secure concessions from other Kyoto ratifiers in other international negotiations. Existing implementation efforts are slow but indicate that Russias strategy will emphasize maximizing profits through treaty mechanisms over maximizing emissions reductions.

Between transnationalism and state power: the development of Russia's post-Soviet environmental movement

Transnational linkages are generally considered advantageous for environmental activists who face an unsympathetic government at home. Since the early 1990s, Russias environmentalists have developed a number of transnational ties that have increased their leverage over the Russian government. However, transnational support interacts with domestic constraints on mobilisation in unpredictable ways, generating obstacles as well as opportunities. The recentralisation of state power in Russia has presented environmentalists with a dilemma as they attempt to engage constructively with state bodies that prioritise security and economic growth and have little tolerance for autonomous public mobilisation or transnationalism. A comparison of environmental mobilisation on the extraction of petroleum resources, climate change and forestry illustrates the power and limits of transnational influence on Russias environmental movement in a context of renewed state authority and economic globalisation. Thus far, Russian environmentalists have found it easier to achieve rhetorical change than institutional change in environmental governance; institutional change appears most likely when environmental and economic goals coincide.

Redefining Citizenship in Russia: Political and Social Rights

Putin and Medvedev have created new models of citizenship while reforming the welfare state. The impact of the global financial crisis raises the question of what might happen if the state cannot fulfill its part of the bargain.

Russia’s Climate Policy: International Bargaining and Domestic Modernisation

Abstract This article accounts for the gap between Russia’s weak initial implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and its more active engagement in climate policy during the Medvedev presidency. We examine the intersection of climate policy and broader efforts to modernise Russia’s economy, drawing attention to synergies between domestic and international politics. We argue that international factors alone do not explain the change in climate policy as they have remained relatively constant. Instead, greater attention toward climate policy results from efforts to introduce new technologies and increase energy efficiency, spurred by the recent financial crisis and a shift in domestic policy priorities associated with the Medvedev presidency. The authors would like to thank Steinar Andresen, Kathryn Harrison, James Richter and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. Any errors are the responsibility of the authors. The research for this article took the form of detailed comparative analysis of Russian government statements and policy documents on climate change and energy efficiency from 2000 through to 2010, Russian and international media analysis of government positions, official statements of Russian delegations to UN conferences on climate change, and (for the Kyoto ratification period) author interviews with responsible officials in the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Rosgidromet Agency, Ecological Committee of the Russian State Duma, and a number of Russian and international environmental NGOs and think tanks in June–August 2005.

Corporate Social Responsibility and the Oil Industry in the Russian Arctic: Global Norms and Neo-Paternalism

Abstract Examining the oil and gas industry in the Russian Arctic, this article investigates the gap between corporate social responsibility (CSR) as articulated in corporate offices and implemented at the local level. In Russia, global CSR norms interact with weak formal institutions and the strong informal expectations of state officials and local communities that companies bear responsibility for welfare and infrastructure. As a result, the concept of citizens as ‘stakeholders’ is underdeveloped. Instead, local residents remain subjects within a neo-paternalist system of governance that mimics some elements of the Soviet past. Compensation for damages to indigenous peoples has blurred legal obligations and the voluntary nature of CSR. However, the CSR in the region is constantly developing and formal methods of compensation may assist in clarifying the scope and practice of CSR.

Managed citizenship: global forest governance and democracy in Russian communities

In this study, we examine the political implications of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification and its requirements for participatory governance by focusing on three case studies in Russia and drawing upon qualitative research data from 2002 to 2014. We argue that one of the unintended by-products of forest certification is the advancement of a specific type of citizenship – what we refer to as ‘managed citizenship.’ In managed citizenship, local communities are empowered by new rights endowed to them by a global governance generating network (GGN), such as the FSC. Through the GGN, local stakeholders may become involved in long-term initiatives that provide new opportunities to participate in democratic governance. However, citizens’ involvement is cultivated, directed, and circumscribed by actors from outside the communities, such as environmental and certification experts who educate local residents about their stakeholder status. We also find that the persistent weakness of social interests, as opposed to environmental, within the FSC and the effects of economic instability and weak democracy domestically contribute to the challenges of engaging local communities.

The state of environmental protection in the Russian Federation: a review of the post-Soviet era

Abstract In the 25 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, sweeping political, economic, and social changes have profoundly influenced environmental protection in Russia, the world’s largest country and one of global importance with respect to natural resources, biodiversity conservation, wilderness preservation, and climate change mitigation. This paper reviews the state of the environment by assessing post-Soviet era changes to legislation, government regulatory institutions, and civil society. A gulf exists between Russia’s formal environmental laws and state agency capacity and interest in enforcing them. This stems, in part, from repeated bureaucratic reorganizations that have progressively eroded environmental institutions. The Russian environmental movement, which blossomed during Gorbachev’s reforms in the late 1980s, struggled in the 1990s to mobilize the broader public due to economic hardship and political instability. Since then, the Putin administration has labeled many environmental groups “anti-Russian” and used aggressive tactics such as raiding NGO offices, intimidating journalists, and instituting severe legislative measures to quash advocacy and dissent. Post-Soviet environmental successes have been relatively few, with expansion of the protected area system and forest certification notable exceptions. These successes can partially be attributed to efforts by large environmental organizations, but expansion of certification and corporate social responsibility is also tied to Russian business interests dependent on natural resource export to global markets increasingly sensitive to environmental concerns. The paper concludes by illustrating how corruption, poor enforcement, and the muzzling of civil society render the state incapable of resolving arguably its most significant environmental challenge: illegal and unregulated resource use.

Oil Extraction and Benefit Sharing in an Illiberal Context: The Nenets and Komi-Izhemtsi Indigenous Peoples in the Russian Arctic

ABSTRACT How can indigenous communities in illiberal regimes benefit from oil production? This paper compares the experience of two indigenous peoples in the Russian Arctic, the Nenets and the Komi-Izhemtsi, in their quest for environmental protection and the development of benefit-sharing arrangements with Lukoil, a Russian oil company. The Nenets people, recognized by the Russian state as indigenous, are marginalized political actors who identified a route to receiving compensation for loss of land and damage to the environment as well as economic benefits under the auspices of Russian law and Lukoil’s corporate policies. In contrast, the Komi-Izhemtsi, despite indigenous status in global institutions including the United Nations and the Arctic Council, are unrecognized as indigenous domestically and initially received no compensation. Their path to benefit sharing was more challenging as they partnered with local nongovernmental organizations and global environmentalists to pressure Lukoil to sign a benefit-sharing agreement. Ultimately, the comparison illustrates how transnational partnerships can empower indigenous people to gain benefits from natural resource exploitation even in illiberal political systems.

Strategies of Environmental NGOs in the Context of the Law on Foreign Agents: Games with Formality

This article analyzes how the law on foreign agents has been interpreted and implemented by the Russian authorities and examines NGOs’ diverse strategies of adaptation in response to the foreign agent label. We offer a typology of NGO responses to the law, illustrating how NGOs adjust to this new organizational environment. We have identified four major strategies among environmental NGOs designated as foreign agents. First, an NGO may attempt to follow the law formally, often returning foreign funding. Second, an NGO may simulate formal compliance, using informal practices to bypass the law and continue its work. Third, an NGO may adopt an exit strategy by abandoning its legal registration to operate informally. Fourth, an NGO can operate from abroad, using access to international institutions. The choice of strategy depends on the available resources, the level of involvement in international networks, the specialization of NGOs, and the configuration of forces at the regional level. Pressures from the new national laws have led NGOs to embrace informality over formal structures and rules. Informal strategies include receiving only in-kind support from abroad, not registering the organization, using nonregistered associations of NGOs to make public statements, or sharing resources between a registered NGO and a nonregistered NGO if one is in jeopardy of being declared a foreign agent. Thus, the foreign agent law can stimulate the paradoxical situation in which the state’s efforts to formalize its relationship to NGOs results the deinstitutionalization of the NGO sector, as groups increasingly use informal strategies to achieve their goals. The study is based on a combination of qualitative methods. We collected 19 interviews with experts from NGOs dealing with environmental protection. We also analyzed websites of environmental NGOs and mass-media publications concerning the problem of foreign agents. All collected materials were transcribed and analyzed using thematic and axial coding. Data triangulation was carried out by correlating information from different sources. Article in Russian. DOI: 10.25285/2078-1938-2017-9-3-18-43

Civil Society under the Law ‘On Foreign Agents’: NGO Strategies and Network Transformation

Abstract This essay analyses how the ‘foreign agent’ law has been interpreted and implemented by the Russian authorities and examines diverse NGO survival strategies in response to the ‘foreign agent’ label. The foreign agent law has disrupted and transformed resource mobilisation strategies and transnational NGO networks. Based on qualitative research on environmental NGOs, we offer a typology of NGO responses to the foreign agent law, providing examples to show how the organisations attempt to ensure their survival.