Volume 38, January 2014, Pages 143–150
Highlights
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- Recent reforms are highly path-dependent and echo developments of previous centuries.
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- The government continues to view forestry as a tool to support political goals.
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- Since Peter I, reforms have been solely top-down and ignored the views of communities.
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- Reforms remain blocked by informal institutions that are not forestry-specific.
Abstract
We
study reforms and institutional changes in Russian forestry from the
time of Peter the Great to the present. Using archival materials and
in-depth interviews with participants of the forest sector, we show the
strong path-dependence of Russian forestry and how post-Soviet
developments echo the reform patterns of previous centuries. The
outcomes of numerous, mostly unsuccessful, forestry initiatives have
been shaped not only by the common perception of forests as widely
available low-value resources, but also by top-down state control,
predominance of political targets over the socio-economic and
environmental needs of local communities, as well as powerful informal
social norms.
Keywords
- Forest;
- Forest policy;
- Russia;
- Institutions;
- Path-dependence
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