Waterkeepers Russia

Currently, there are seven Waterkeeper organizations in the early stages of development in Russia, with Vyatka Riverkeeper as the first Waterkeeper in Russia. These organizations are supported by Waterkeepers Russia in Moscow.

Russia is steeped in history as a nation rich in water supplies in the form of lakes, rivers and underground sources. The country is a treasury of rare fish and marine mammal species, like Beluga and Sturgeon, Salmon and Tench.  Modern Russia is a stunning country more than 17 million square miles in size, with a population of more than 142 million people. 

The world’s largest country, Russia covers 13 percent of the globe; it has the largest mass of forests at more than 800 million hectares.  The beauty and ecological importance of Russia’s waterways rival its epic history.  Nowadays, almost one-third of all the fresh water reserves on earth are located within the Russian Federation.  Six of the world’s twenty longest rivers flow in Russia, and many significant lakes and seas are located within Russian territory.  The Amur River is 4,416 kilometers long; Lake Baikal is the world’s deepest lake, holding nearly 20 percent of the world’s unfrozen freshwater; the Caspian Sea is the world’s largest lake; the Volga River is Europe’s longest river; and the Baltic Sea is the world’s largest brackish water sea.

Threats

Historically, Soviet policies encouraged rapid industrialization, resulting in a legacy of pollution.  Today, Russia is experiencing a new environmental awareness. However, a struggling economy tends to delay most environmental remediation. 

Before the 1990s, Russia’s rivers and lakes were severely degraded by industrial pollution from chemical processes, oil and metal production. There was a slight decrease in pollution following the break up of the Soviet Union, but from 2000 onward, a really bad picture of water pollution has developed due to the extraction industry’s rise and a very poor understanding of environmental protection.