Bolotova, Alla | Russia | IFZ | Interdisziplinäres Forschungszentrum für Technik, Arbeit und Kultur

Fellow at IAS-STS: 2003/2004

Alla Bolotova was born in Kovdor, Murmansk region, Russia. She studied environmental geochemistry at the State University of St. Petersburg and graduated in 1998. She also completed a Master’s programme in sociology at the European University at St. Petersburg. She has been a PhD student at the Department of Sociology and Political Science there since 1999. The title of her thesis is "The environmental movement in Russia: the Politics of Everyday Life". She has received support from the Henrich Böll Foundation (Young Scientists Programme, 1998-2000) for her dissertation project.

From February to May 2002 she was a Fellow at the Alexander Institute, Helsinki University (TEMPUS exchange programme). She has worked as an associate researcher at the Centre for Independent Social Research (Environmental Sociology Group), St. Petersburg since 1997.

Her main research interests are: environmental sociology, environmental history, sociology of social movements, and sociology of everyday life.

Project at IAS-STS: Social Constructions of Nature: Soviet Geologists as Professional "Conquerors of Nature"

The swift and dramatic change in the social order of Soviet Russia, which took place after the revolution in 1917, brought with it a radical shift in the character of interactions between society and the natural environment. The idea of the conquest of nature became one of the mottoes of the Soviet government. The ideological conquest of nature was enhanced not only by economic mechanisms, but also by the state. It was characteristic that not only science and technology were used in order to conquer nature in the Soviet Union, in this respect, the government itself cultivated the enthusiasm of the "Soviet people". The main idea of this research project is to trace the development of "the conquest of nature" ideology in the Soviet Union based on the case study of the community of geologists. "Soviet geologists" were of significant strategic importance for Soviet power in that they paved the way to natural resources. In the 1960s the profession of geologist reached cult status in the Soviet society. The character was often used in movies, literature, paintings, personifying at the same time courage and both "closeness to nature" and “power over nature”.

The main objective of this research is to analyse the social constructions of 'nature' and 'natural' which developed in the community of geologists and the formally existing (and historically changing) ideas in the society about this profession. For this purpose I set the following aims: 1) reconstructing the image of the profession of geologist in the Soviet Union (focusing on his relation to nature) and following its historic development; 2) analysing discourses about (and practices of interacting with) nature in the community of geologists. Investigations include the historical analyses of geological surveys in the USSR, analyses of interviews, autobiographies of professional geologists, and materials pertaining to geology field expeditions. Interviews will be made with geologists who worked in geological field expeditions in Soviet times. I am also analysing movies and fiction of the Soviet period, in which geologists are presented as central figures. I believe that the historical-sociological study of society-nature borders and social constructions of nature is very important for understanding the ways in which modern-day Russians interact with and relate to nature depending on the context of Russian/Soviet history.

Selected Publications

Bolotova A. Environmental Commune: Everyday Activism. In: Ecological settlements in Russia and USA. Ed. By M. Sokolov, V. Voronkov. Centre for Independent Social Research. Vol. 10. (forcoming).

Bolotova A. and Vorobyev D. 2002. The Socio-Economic Context of Environmental Issues in Mill Towns. Local Case Study: Svetogorsk Pulp and Paper Mill. In: Kortelainen J., Kotilainen J. (eds.) Ecological Modernization in Russia. Karelian Institute, Joensuu. Pp. 97-108

Bolotova A. 2002. Environmental Policy and Everyday Life. Journal: Obshestvennie nauki I sovremennost' (Social science and modernity), Nr. 1 (in Russian).

Bolotova A. 2002. Ecological settlements: Between City and Village. Propagation of new cultural codes in modern Russia. Journal sociologii I social'noi antropologii (Journal of sociology and social anthropology), Nr. 1 (in Russian)

Bolotova A., Tysiachniouk M. and Vorob'ev D. 1999. Analysis and Classification of Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations in St. Petersburg. In: Environmental Movement in Russia. Ed. by E. Zdravomyslova and M. Tysiachniouk. Centre for Independent Social Research. Vol. 6. pp. 13-33 (in Russian).

Tysiachniouk M. & Bolotova A. 1999. Environmental Activism in the St. Petersburg Region. In: Towards a Sustainable Future: Environmental Activism in Russia and the United States. Selected Readings. Ed. by M. Tysiachniouk and G. McCarthy, St. Petersburg, pp. 191-209.