Historical analysis of the influence of socialist experiments on the environment (1948 – 1965)

• Main Author: G. M. Chepurda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Publishing House "Grani" 2017-04-01
• Series: Granì
• Subjects: гідробудівництво; заходи; зрошення; захисні лісові насадження; пилові бурі; полезахисні лісосмуги; рішення
• Online Access: https://grani.org.ua/index.php/journal/article/view/908

The influence of socialist experiments on the environment of Ukraine accordingly to the implementation in practice the ideas of the Great plan of nature transformation (1948 – 1965) has been studied in the article from the historical point of view. It has been stated that the quality of the performance of works on irrigation and land drainage was poor, which finally led to a number of problems: flooding of the fertile land, the rebuilding of the shores. It has been found that The Great plan of nature transformation had significant shortcomings, caused mainly by the lack of records and non-understanding of regional peculiarities of steppe ecosystems, excessive small ward of the fulfilment of the planned actions. It has been proven in the article that the most negative ecological consequence of the «nature transformation planwas the development of the irrigation system, which was rather contradictory. Many subjects related to the study of Ukrainian climatic conditions in the Soviet and post-Soviet period have been studied, among them are: the impact on the level of agricultural productivity, the development and practical implementation of the Great plan of nature transformation and the study of economic and environmental consequences of its implementation. The construction of the Kakhovka, Dneprodzerzhinsk, Kremenchug, Kiev hydroelectric power plants led to the forced resettlement of large masses of the rural population from areas, which could be flooded. This action was really huge in its scale and by its negative social consequences. However, despite the achievements, the raised topic has been poorly studied; there are no special summarizing works. This proves the necessity of further research and comprehensive coverage. The features of the organization of the construction of large public irrigation systems in Ukraine in the period after the Second World War, according to the Great plan of nature transformation have been studied. It has been grounded by the article that among the most significant negative environmental consequences of The Great plan of nature transformation are: the transformation of the Dnieper river into system of lakes, which led to the change of the hydrological balance and ecosystems, and inundation of large areas that lost the ability to fulfil their ecological function and economic performance