"And apple trees will bloom on Mars", - the youth of the Soviet Union dreamed and believed in the future. But before you take on the conquest of other planets, you should put your own in order. The drought and famine of the 1940s prompted the government of the USSR to think that the nature of the country needed to be controlled and transformed.
Prerequisites for creating a plan
The Great Patriotic War was a heavy blow to the economy of the USSR. Hunger, disease, devastation became its consequences. But before the country had time to recover from the troubles brought by the war, another tragedy struck it, this time of a natural nature - a drought that occurred in 1946 and provoked a new wave of hunger and disease.
In order to prevent such tragedies in the future, in October 1948, the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a resolution with a long and complicated title - “On the plan for field-protective afforestation, the introduction of grass-field crop rotations, the construction of ponds and reservoirs forensuring high sustainable yields in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of the European part of the USSR. Many later this plan is known under a different name - "Stalin's plan for the transformation of nature." That is how he was called in the press and in other media. It has several other short names, such as "The Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature" or "The Great Transformation".
The essence of the project
Stalin's plan for the transformation of nature was a program for the comprehensive regulation of nature and the distribution of natural resources by scientific methods. The program began in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The project was designed for the period from 1945 to 1965, during which it was planned to create several large forest belts in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of the country and an irrigation system.
Developing a plan
The plan conceived by I. V. Stalin and approved by the country's leadership did not appear out of nowhere. Its appearance was preceded by long studies and experiments of scientists. Since 1928, specialists from the Academy of Sciences and other scientific centers of the USSR, students of agricultural universities from all cities and volunteers have been working on the transformation of one of the desert areas in Astrakhan: they planted trees, carried out constant measurements, tried to adapt land unsuitable for plants for the needs of agriculture. It took twenty years for their labor to bear fruit. Trees grown by the hands of scientists and foresters, never seen before in the desert, not only managed to survive on their own, but also began to change the climate and the land.around: 20% cooler thanks to the shade. Water evaporation has changed. An experiment that measured how much precipitation one small pine tree collects during the winter showed that by planting a grove, it is possible to irrigate the earth with several tons of moisture.
Project scope
The scale of landscaping was so great that forest planting was supposed to change the climate over a vast area. It is approximately equal to the area of England, France, Italy, Holland and Belgium combined.
The goal of Stalin's transformation of nature
The main goal was to prevent natural disasters that so often hit the country and harm agriculture - droughts, storms, hurricanes. On a large scale, the goal of Stalin's reforms was climate change throughout the USSR.
Construction of reservoirs, changing riverbeds, planting forests and new plant species should have had a positive impact on the climate of a vast country. Particular attention was paid in the Stalinist plan to the transformation of the nature of the south of the USSR (Ukraine, the Caucasus, Kazakhstan), since these territories had the most fertile lands, and hot southeast winds interfered with agriculture.
Preparing for the Great Transformation
Stalin's reforms were supposed to change the climate in vast areas. To achieve such a ambitious goal, it was necessary to carry out a number of preparatory activities.
In addition to the experiment in the Astrakhan desert, scientists V. V. Dokuchaev, P. A. Kostychev, V. R. Williamsworked on the grassland system of farming. They needed to select grasses and legumes that could be used to sow the soil in need of rest. Plants were selected in such a way that they would not only enrich the tired earth as much as possible, but also be suitable for livestock feed. Thus, the Stalinist plan for the transformation of nature included not only climate change and assistance in crop production, but also the improvement of the situation in relation to the production of meat products.
Agricultural workers have begun to prepare in advance the seeds of trees and shrubs needed to bring the plan to life. The harvested seeds included linden, ash, oak, Tatar maple, yellow acacia - all the trees were worked out in advance by scientists and selected so that together they could make an ideal forest belt. The shrubs were selected in such a way that their fruits attracted the attention of birds - raspberries and currants were especially preferred.
To speed up the greening process, a special ministry has developed machines to plant seven strips of trees at the same time.
In order to work out and implement the plan, the Agrolesproekt Institute was created. Thanks to the work of its specialists, many bold ideas for planting greenery in the USSR were brought to life.
Basic principles of Stalin's plan for the transformation of nature
Despite the fact that the territories of the USSR were really huge, there were general principles with which they approached the change of nature. The following principles were used throughout:
- The forest was planted onfield borders, along the slopes of ravines, the banks of water bodies, as well as in desert and sandy areas to fix sand.
- A different type of fertilizer was selected for each type of plant.
- Irrigation was carried out at the expense of local water sources, ponds and reservoirs were built for this purpose.
Plans of the Stalinist government
It was planned to plant more than 5 thousand kilometers of forest plantations over 15 years (from 1950 to 1965), which would have amounted to more than 100 thousand hectares.
Stalin's plan for the transformation of nature as a severe necessity appeared before the people of the Volga region. The whole history of this region led to such measures - frequent crop failures, droughts and, as a result, famine many times became a real disaster for the Volga people. Therefore, planting trees along the banks of the Volga was carried out in several directions.
Most of the trees were planned to be planted along the banks of the river. Volga: from Saratov to Astrakhan. It was planned to plant 900 km of coastal areas there. From the Volga to Stalingrad, the forest was supposed to cover 170 km. 570 km was to take the forest in the direction of the Volga - Vladimir.
600 km of landings were planned along the watershed in the direction of Penza - Kamensk.
Also, special attention was paid to the Ural and Don rivers. It was planned to plant more than 500 km along the banks of these rivers.
Should have appeared more than 40 thousand reservoirs, which would allow the creation of farms that do not depend on natural conditions on the territory of the entire USSR. According to some estimates, the harvestwhich was planned to be obtained thanks to the implementation of the Stalinist transformation plan, was so large that it could feed half the inhabitants of our planet.
“The plan envisages the creation during 1950-1965. large state forest protective belts with a total length of 5320 km, with a forest plantation area of 112.38 thousand hectares. These lanes will pass: 1) along both banks of the river. Volga from Saratov to Astrakhan - two lanes 100 m wide and 900 km long; 2) by watershed pp. Khopra and Medveditsa, Kalitva and Berezovaya in the direction of Penza - Yekaterinovka - Kamensk (on the Seversky Donets) - three lanes 60 m wide, with a distance between the lanes of 300 m and a length of 600 km; 3) by watershed pp. Ilovlya and Volga in the direction of Kamyshin-Stalingrad - three lanes 60 m wide, with a distance between the lanes of 300 m and a length of 170 km; 4) along the left bank of the river. Volga from Chapaevsk to Vladimirov - four lanes 60 m wide, with a distance between the lanes of 300 m and a length of 580 km; 5) from Stalingrad south to Stepnoy-Cherkessk - four lanes 60 m wide, with a distance between lanes of 300 m and a length of 570 km, although at first it was conceived as a forest belt Kamyshin-Stalingrad-Stepnoy-Cherkessk, but due to certain technical difficulties, it was decided to break into 2 forest belts Kamyshin-Stalingrad along the river. Ilovlya and r. the Volga and Stalingrad itself - Cherkessk and the Green Ring of Stalingrad are a link between them; 6) along the banks of the river. Ural in the direction of Mount Vishnevaya - Chkalov - Uralsk - Caspian Sea - six lanes (three on the right and three on the left bank)60 m wide, with a distance between lanes of 200 m and a length of 1080 km; 7) on both banks of the river. Don from Voronezh to Rostov - two lanes 60 m wide and 920 km long; 8) on both banks of the river. Seversky Donets from Belgorod to the river. Don - two lanes 30 m wide and 500 km long.”
Excerpt from "Stalin's plan for the transformation of nature"
Putting the plan into practice
Of course, Stalin's plan for the transformation of nature was very ambitious. But thanks to the well-coordinated work of many government agencies and several scientific institutions, the first stage of implementation was extremely successful.
Thanks to the work of Agrolesproekt, forests along the Dnieper, Don, Volga and Urals have turned green.
More than 4,000 reservoirs have been created, which has a positive impact on the environment and made it possible to obtain cheap electricity using the power of water. The water accumulated in reservoirs was successfully used to irrigate gardens and fields.
But the plan, designed for 15 years, did not have time to complete, and was curtailed along with the death of Stalin in 1953.
Work on the transformation of nature after Stalin's death
After the death of I. V. Stalin, N. S. Khrushchev came to power. The new head of state did not want to continue the old course in relation to nature and ecology. "Stalin's last blow" - Stalin's plan for the transformation of nature - was rejected by the new government. First, Khrushchev was determined to get rid of the entire Stalinist legacy. Second, the planthe transformation of nature, developed by Stalin, was too long-term, and the new government was aimed at obtaining a quick result. As a result, the country switched to an extensive way of agriculture, and at the direction of Khrushchev, all forces were thrown into the development of new lands. The consequences of this decision were dire. In the early 60s, a catastrophe happened: large-scale soil erosion and crop failures began on the virgin lands. The threat of famine arose again in the country, grain was bought abroad.
Only in the 80s, during the reign of Brezhnev, it was decided to continue working with Stalin's land transformation plan. About 30,000 hectares of forest have been planted.
However, the implementation of the plan came back too late: many forests and reservoirs were abandoned. Due to the large number of dried trees, forests have become a fire hazard. Forest resources cut down or destroyed by fire became an irreparable loss for the environment, as new trees did not have time to take the place of old ones.
Plan Results
Thanks to a series of measures called in the literature "Stalin's plan for the transformation of nature", excellent results were achieved at the first stage of its implementation: grain yields increased by more than 25%, vegetable yields in some places increased by 75%, and herbs – by 200%! All this made it possible to improve the condition of collective farms and the well-being of the inhabitants of villages and villages, and allowed the development of animal husbandry.
By 1951 increasedproduction of meat and fat. Milk production increased by over 60% and egg production by over 200%.
Consequences of Khrushchev's actions
Despite the impressive results, the plan was urgently curtailed at the direction of Khrushchev. Because of this, 570 stations responsible for forest protection were liquidated. All this has caused environmental problems and a food crisis.
By 1962 the prices of dairy products and meat rose sharply.
Current state
Despite Khrushchev's actions, the Stalinist transformation of nature today is still visible and plays a role in agriculture. For example, windbreaks continue to hold back wind and snow. But due to the fact that the plan was forgotten for a long time, and Brezhnev's actions were extremely untimely, the forest belts are in a deplorable state. The planting of trees in forest belts is extremely insignificant. Forests are cut down due to poor condition, destroyed by fires. Part of the forest was destroyed for the sake of mass construction and continues to be destroyed to this day.
“Until 2006, they were part of the structure of the Ministry of Agriculture, and then they were liquidated in status. Having turned out to be a draw, the forest belts began to be intensively cut down for cottage development or in order to obtain timber.”
General Director of the Institute "Rosgiproles" (former "Agrolesproekt") M. B. Voitsekhovsky
Stalin's plan for the transformation of nature in the photo is extremely grandiose and large-scale. Therefore, the works of the Soviet people have not been completely destroyed, but it is not difficult to imagine how the forest belts look today. A program that does not haveanalogues in the world, both in terms of scale and execution, was prematurely curtailed and forgotten. Therefore, even in the 21st century, one can hear the complaint that the crop was destroyed by natural disasters, frost or rain.
