There are currently 64 national parks in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. Together they cover approximately .
Overview
Until the 1960s only nature reserves and ''
zakaznik
Zakaznik (russian: зака́зник, зака́зники, transliterated: ''zakaznik, zakazniki''; uk, singular: заказни́к or зака́зник; plural: заказники́ or зака́зники, transliterated: ''zakaznyk'', ''zak ...
s'' existed in the Soviet Union, so international experience in creating a form of protected areas intended for tourists to relax and teach them to take care of nature was very important. In 1961, Soviet geographers, headed by
Innokenti Gerasimov, director of the Institute of Geography, USSR Academy of Sciences, visited the United States. This trip was an introduction to the USA experience in environmental protection and Soviet scientists visited the
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...
and the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, w ...
.
After the trip, Innokenti Gerasimov returned to the idea of creating nature parks in the USSR, in 1965 he proposed the creation of a Baikal nature park. A similar natural park was also designed in the Lake Seliger area on the Valdai Hills. In 1966, the newspaper
Komsomolskaya Pravda published an article by Innokenti Gerasimov and Vladimir Preobrazhensky, which discussed the need to create a system of natural parks in the USSR. Natural parks were not just thought of as places for tourists to relax, but also as places to protect animals and plants in areas that park tourists would not be allowed to visit without a guide.
The oldest parks in Russia are
Sochinsky and
Losiny Ostrov
Losiny Ostrov National Park (russian: Национальный парк "Лосиный Остров", literally - '' Elk (Moose) Island'') is the second oldest national park of Russia (after Sochi National Park). It is located in Moscow and ...
(1983);
Samarskaya Luka (1984);
Mariy Chodra (1985);
Bashkiriya,
Prielbrusye,
Pribaykalsky, and
Zabaykalsky (1986).
[Russian Nature Press]
According to the law on the
protected areas of Russia
Protected areas of Russia, (official Russian title: russian: Особо охраняемые природные территории, literally "Specially Protected Natural Areas"), is governed by the corresponding 1995 law of the Russian Federatio ...
, national parks are areas of land and water devoted to nature protection, ecological education, and scientific research. They contain sites of particular ecological, historical and aesthetic value. Regulated tourism is permitted.
["About Special Protected Nature Areas"]
a Russian Federation federal law of March 14, 1995.[Biodiversity Conservation Centre Moscow]
The area of each park is divided into zones according to various functions. There should be a strictly protected area managed as a
zapovednik
Zapovednik (russian: заповедник, plural , from the Russian , 'sacred, prohibited from disturbance, committed o protect committed o heritage; ) is an established term on the territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area which ...
, and also recreational and buffer zones in which economic activity is allowed, such as tourism, traditional land use, and benign forms of agriculture and forestry. The strictly protected function is sometimes fulfilled by a neighbouring official zapovednik; for instance
Barguzin Zapovednikadjoins Zabaykalsky National Park on the east side of
Lake Baikal.
In 2001
Vodlozersky National Park received
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Biosphere Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
status, followed by
Smolenskoye Poozerye and
Ugra National Park
Ugra National Park (russian: Национальный парк Угра) is a national park in central Russia, located in Kaluga Oblast, in the valley of the Ugra River. It was established on 10 February 1997 to protect typical landscapes of Centr ...
in 2002, and two others (
Valdaysky and
Kenozersky) in 2004.
The national parks are currently the responsibility of the
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Russia).
List of national parks of Russia
See also
*
Protected areas of Russia
Protected areas of Russia, (official Russian title: russian: Особо охраняемые природные территории, literally "Specially Protected Natural Areas"), is governed by the corresponding 1995 law of the Russian Federatio ...
*
Nature Reserves (Zapovedniks) of Russia
Footnotes
External links
Biodiversity Conservation Center/Tsentr dikoy prirody, Moscow: page and map on each park, in Russian.Centre for Russian Nature Conservation/Russian Conservation News.
{{authority control
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
National parks
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...
National parks
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...