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A History of Russian Forestry and its Leaders

Foreword

"Not by the mind is Russia understood,
Nor is she measured by a common rule;
She has a special stature of her own;
In Russia one can only put his faith. "
(Fedor Tiutchev, 19th century Russian Poet)

"Russian Forests are not only our national property
and pride, but also our national responsibility to
the entire human civilization. "
(Valery Shubin, Chief, Federal Forest Service of Russia, 1997)

To western foresters and others, the forests and forestry of Russia have long been an enigma. Yet as the following chapters describe, the history of Russia's forestry and its leaders is long, rich, and significant. The contributions of Russian forests have for too long been poorly understood and undervalued in the western world.

With this book, we hope readers will gain a sense of appreciation for this magnificent country, its rich history, and some of its past great foresters, scientists, and educators. There is much to learn from others around the world, and with changes taking place in the "new" Russia, we have an opportunity to share with each other in a manner which has not been previously possible.

For foresters in the western world, this historical perspective was available previously only in small pieces and brief vignettes. Yet our past and present problems, and scientific developments have much in common. How can we not benefit by working together, pooling our knowledge and energies to manage and care for the world's forests? What synergies and new innovations will the future bring?

Russian foresters face many problems and opportunities as the Russian transition continues into the future. Will there be difficulties and mistakes? Of course! but can a country with such a proud history of forestry innovators and innovations not find a sound and proper path to the future? Of course it can and will!

It is imperative that forests of Russia are properly and sustainably cared for and managed. This is an issue not only for Russia's future, but also for the peoples of the world. The rich Russian forests play a vital role in the health of planet earth and in providing forest products and amenities necessary for the world's growing population.

Russia is a vast area covering approximately 6.6 million square miles or an area nearly twice as large as the United States. Russian forests comprise 22% of the world's total forests and over half of the world coniferous forest area and world coniferous growing stock.

The following words by Valery Shubin, Chief of the Federal Forest Service of Russia, (Russian Forests, 1997) are wise and show promise that Russia will have forestry leaders, scientists, and educators to meet the challenges of the future and to build on the country's rich history:

This book was written for the non-Russian reader. The reason to write the book was obvious: to acquaint western foresters with the leading figures of Russian forestry and their work. Russian authors have been frustrated by limited opportunities to publish in the West and western foresters have had an unfulfilled curiosity about Russia. An answer to the eternal question faced by Russian authors, how to get published, was found when the Federal Forest Service of Russia, the U.S. Forest Service, and Washington State University began collaborating on several projects. The authors became professional colleagues and friends, and decided to jointly produce this book.

This book is intended for scientists, students, and specialists in the fields of forest ecology, forest use, forest reclamation, forest regulation, forest protection and preservation, and other aspects of forestry. The authors hope the book will also be useful to those interested in forest history and policy development, environmental science and resource use.

We hope this book enlightens, entertains, and opens new doors for communication between Russian and English speaking peoples on the wise use and conservation of soil and vegetation resources that we jointly depend upon for our continued well-being.

The authors express their deep gratitude to Susan Graham and Matvei Finkel of Russian-American Island in Spokane, Washington for translating Russian portions of the manuscript into English, to Dennis Brown, Washington State University, for editorial assistance, and to Marlene Guse of the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University for publication layout and design.

The work was carried out in accordance with an agreement between the Federal Forest Service of Russia and the U.S. Forest Service, and through sponsorship by the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University.

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