Dialogue between the authorities and society in the process of solving the environmental issues of the North of Western Siberia in the 20th century. The research potential of regional archives

Abstract

The development of the North of Western Siberia was one of the key tasks of the Soviet state throughout the 20^th century. At the same time, the main actor and driving force was the state. It quickly became clear that it was impossible to integrate that region into the country’s economy without a detailed study of its natural resources and possibilities for their use. Still, the active phase of the development of the North of Western Siberia fell on the second half of the 20^th century and was primarily associated with the discovery of the richest reserves of hydrocarbon raw materials. Their large-scale development aggravated environmental problematics in the region. In this regard, the main purpose of the article is to analyze the possible research potential that regional archives have when studying the features of the dialogue between the authorities and society to solve the environmental issues of the North of Western Siberia. The novelty of the proposed work is that for the first time a comprehensive analysis of the available funds and documents on the ecological history of the North of Western Siberia is being carried out. As a result of the study, the authors found that the sources available in the regional archives contain valuable information that helps to understand how the Soviet environmental policy was implemented in one of the most industrialized regions of the country, its features and mechanisms of functioning. It helps to characterize the main actors of Human and Nature interaction in the region.