Maxim S. Mostovenko

PhD in Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher

Surgut State Pedagogical University

(Surgut, Russia)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-144-153

Abstract. In this article, the author examines the main challenges associated with the protection of water resources of the Irtysh within the boundaries of the Omsk region. The Irtysh River itself is a large and important waterway for the entire territory of Western Siberia and is part of the larger ObIrtysh water system. In 1970s, a system of environmental legislation was formed in the USSR. Regulatory documents adopted at the highest level also touched upon the issues of protecting water resources and the Irtysh River. Local authorities had to monitor the implementation of environmental legislation. For this purpose, permanent commissions for environmental protection appeared under the councils of workers' deputies at all levels, which constantly monitored the state of nature. In addition, in the 1970s, during the active industrial construction of Western Siberia, one of the first Siberian cities with a population of over a million appeared – Omsk. Its industrial development (including the creation of large petrochemical production facilities) could not but affect the ecological state of the Irtysh River flowing through it. In this regard, the main purpose of this article is a comprehensive analysis of the activities of local state authorities to protect the water resources of the Irtysh River. The methodological basis of the study was the concept of environmental history. The source base of the study is the archival funds of the Historical Archive of the Omsk Region (Fund No. R-1088 Economic Committee of the Omsk Region, Fund No. R-437 Omsk Regional Executive Committee, Fund No. R-235 Omsk City Executive Committee, Fund No. R-1411 Omsk Regional Sanitary and Epidemiological Station). The author notes that the presented work has sufficient scientific novelty. The author, on the basis of previously unpublished archival sources, conducts a comprehensive analysis of the activities of local state authorities to protect the water resources of the Irtysh River. As a result, the author concludes that the waters of the Ob-Irtysh basin suffered from complex pollution (oil products, household), and there were also challenges with water purification.
Keywords: environmental history, Western Siberia, Ob-Irtysh basin, Irtysh River, water pollution, water resources protection, permanent nature protection commissions.

Full text of the article (PDF)

For citation: Mostovenko, MS 2025, ‘Challenges of Protecting the Water Resources of the Irtysh River in the 1970s’, Tula Scientific Bulletin. History. Linguistics, issue 2 (22), pp. 144–153, https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-144-153 (in Russ.)

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