EURO-ECO 2007 Hanover 4 - 5 December 2007	Environmental and Engineering Aspects for sustainable living
	European Academy of Natural Sciences, Hanover European Scientific Society, Hanover Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Moscow

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Markhinin V.V.

Our sociological research in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Yugra is devoted to the problems of traditional way of living of the Northern indigenous peoples – Khanty, Mansi, Nenets, and old Russian residents. In this ethnocultural context ecological problems are the object of our attention, too, especially in the view of the fact that the autonomous okrug is the main oil-producing region of Russia.

It is often agreed, that the traditional economy (hunting, fishing, deer farming, berrying, mushroom collection) is basically incompatible in terms of ecology with the activity of oil-and-gas producing industry on the territories of traditional nature management (TTNM) of the Northern indigenous peoples. Our research convinces us that the situation is still not so hopeless.

As a matter of fact, technologically contradictions between the traditional economy and oil-and-gas industry are solvable. Moreover, economically effective functioning of oil-and-gas industry is the condition of the TTNM ecological problems solution. Thus, restoration of oil polluted soil on the TTNM of autonomous okrug gets greater scale in particular with the growth of oil-and-gas production effectiveness.

On the other hand, antagonistic character of the relations of traditional economy and oil-and-gas industry is caused by oligarchic form of ownership, established in the oil-and-gas industry of Russia in the course of neoliberal socio-economic “reforms” in the end of last century.

Oil-and-gas oligarchy, concerned with getting gigantic profit “right here, right now” by any means, is responsible for the extreme deterioration of oil-and-gas industry infrastructure, which causes increased breakdown rate of production and transportation of raw materials, and thereby pollution of the TTNM. It is responsible for concealing ecologically dangerous accidents, for lobbying selfish group interests in legislative authorities. As a result, for example, above-mentioned expanding of cleaning the TTNM from oil pollution is unlikely to keep pace with the scope of recent pollution.

It is true that non-legitimate “power of a few” is still not broken by direct political measures of the official government. But it cannot pass unnoticed that gradually and latently oligarchy in Russia is being eliminated with the help of proper legislative and legal initiatives, fed by the people’s feeling of social justice.

As for the object of our interest, the key part is being played by the struggle of regional and federal legislature establishments for the passing of legal acts, guaranteeing participation of the subjects of traditional economy in the monitoring over ecological consequences of oil-and-gas industrial enterprises activity on the TTNM. In spite of resistance of powerful oligarchic lobby, there are grounds to hope for the success of this struggle. After all, it is impossible to ignore the fact, that indigenous and old resident population conceives the ecological damage done by oil-and-gas industry to the TTNM as the most acute social problem. And what is, perhaps, the most important thing, this ecologic concern of the subjects of traditional economy expresses the common need of the region and the country to have safe ecologic future.