Song of the Forest: Russian Forestry and Stalinist Environmentalism, 1905-1953

The Soviets are often viewed as insatiable industrialists who saw nature as a force to be tamed and exploited. Song of the Forest counters this assumption, uncovering significant evidence of Soviet conservation efforts in forestry, particularly under Josef Stalin. In his compelling study, Stephen Brain profiles the leading Soviet-era conservationists, agencies, and administrators, and their efforts to formulate forest policy despite powerful ideological differences. By the revolution of 1905, modern Russian forestry science had evolved in the work of Georgii Morozov, whose “stand” theory looked to native species, soil types, and geographical conditions for the regeneration of forests. After their rise to power, the Bolsheviks followed German methods, then considered the most advanced in the world, for clear-cutting and replanting of marketable tree types in “artificial forests”. Later, Stalin’s Five Year Plan required vast amounts of timber for industrialisation. Radicals proposed “flying management,” a rotating system where large tracts of virgin forest would be clear-cut, while others lay fallow. Opponents favoured a conservative regenerating approach, and ultimately triumphed. Another radical turn came with the Great Stalin Plan for the Transformation of Nature, implemented in 1948. Narrow “belts” of new forest planted on the vast Russian steppe would block drying winds, cool temperatures, retain moisture, and increase crop production. Unfortunately, planters were following the misguided methods of the notorious Trofim Lysenko, and the resulting yields were abysmal. So many foresters resorted to the older methods extolled by Morozov, and found that they worked. Despite Lysenko, agency infighting, and an indifferent peasant workforce, Stalin-era managers created the world’s largest forest preserve. Additionally, they won many environmental concessions from industrial interests. The visionary teachings of Morozov found new life, and the forest’s song did not fall upon deaf ears.