Resources, waste and pollution are three key categories in the field of environmental history. Any material may be considered one or more of these at different times and places, depending on the configuration of two characteristics: hazard and utility; these are determined not only by the physical properties of matter but also by social factors – value, knowledge and technology. It is these factors that enable a material to be extracted, used, recycled, or not produced in the first place, therefore shaping societal approaches to and perceptions of these forms of matter.

In recent years, a significant number of works have revealed the role of resources, waste and pollution in the environmental history of Russia, the USSR, and the post-Soviet space. Building on this research, in our workshop we are interested in not only these individual “social forms” of matter and the ways they are constructed or deconstructed, but also in how one form of matter is transformed into another. How can waste become a resource or a previously valuable resource become pollution? Why does the same substance sometimes take different forms in different historical contexts? Do scientific knowledge and technology play a role in these transformations?

Using the territory of the former Russian Empire and the USSR as a spatial framework, we welcome proposals that consider different chronological periods and regions; this will allow comparison between capitalist and socialist approaches to the environment and analysis of the interaction between “center” and “peripheries”. Of particular interest is the history of oil as a resource and pollutant that significantly contributed to the formation of Russian and Soviet environmental policies.

To participate in the workshop, please send a short CV (1-2 pages), a topic, and a 150-300-word abstract to AndreiVinogradov@gmail.com by January 15, 2023. The organizing committee has a limited amount of funds to support participants’ travel and accommodation costs.

The event is supported by the German Research Foundation and Max Weber Foundation.

Conveners:

Andrei Vinogradov, research associate, LMU Munich, AndreiVinogradov@gmail.com,

Prof. Dr. Julia Herzberg, professor for History of East-Central Europe/Russia in the Pre-Modern Period, LMU Munich, Julia.Herzberg@lrz.uni-muenchen.de,

Prof. Dr. Oliver Reisner, Ilia State University, Tbilisi.