Community Right-to-Know in the Newly Independent States of the Former Soviet Union: Ending the Culture of Secrecy Surrounding the Environmental Crisis
By Katherine M. Harman-Stokes
INTRODUCTION
The legacy of the Soviet empire as created by Joseph Stalin and perpetuated by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from the mid-1920s through the mid-1980s includes an unprecedented environmental crisis which threatens the global environment. Stalin's attempt to quickly and forcefully industrialize the feudalist Soviet Union controlled all other aspects of society, including the environment. Today, the newly independent states (NIS) of the former Soviet Union must address environmental problems such as the radiation poisoning from nuclear energy accidents, nuclear weapons testing and nuclear waste dumping. Additionally, air, water, and other natural resources have been contaminated by decades of toxic emissions, wanton discharges of toxic wastes into waterways, poorly planned river diversion projects, and excessive use of pesticides.
The long-term solutions to the major environmental problems of the NIS will at least require a significant efforts within the NIS and abroad. Given that many NIS environmental difficulties have serious global ramifications, wealthier nations cannot afford to passively allow NIS society to deteriorate. Long-term environmental solutions to these problems will require pollution control measures at least as stringent of the U.S., such as the Clean Air Act and Solid Waste Disposal Act.
In addition to these problems, the NIS faces devastating legacies from its social traditions. Built upon secrecy, fear, and intimidation, Stalin's totalitarian leadership developed a culture devoid of democratic characteristics. Although the Communist Party Central Committee was the country's principal authority, its unanimous decisions demonstrate a lack of republicanism. Laws were often enacted without any enforcement authority, solely to pacify international concerns. The judicial system was infiltrated by Communist Party directives. Central authorities in Moscow controlled factory production, including the inputs, outputs, and prices. Indeed, life at all levels was controlled by the “Five-Year Plan,” which directed the centralized economic activity and set goals for industrial, energy, and military weapon production. The extensive administrative bureaucracy controlled all aspects of Soviet life, including where each of the nearly 250 million citizens lived and worked. During totalitarian rule, officials prohibited fledgling free market development, as evidenced by the millions of peasants ousted for farming their own small plots of land.
Through fear, intimidation, and official pressure to withhold information from the public, a culture of secrecy developed. Today, NIS citizens have a tradition of withholding accurate information from the public and other bureaucrats. Under Soviet rule, many managers with legitimate fears of punishment withheld or falsified manufacturing data or allowed shipments of defective or incomplete goods to disguise failures and attain centrally mandated production goals. A tradition of misinformation developed throughout the government and the party bureaucracy and led the people to distrust “official” information sources. Stalin's legacy is a citizenry without free market traditions, a “rule of law,” a “civil society,” a democratic culture, or even a tradition of public free thought, free choice, or free speech.
Before shaping solutions to the environmental crisis, the NIS must be viewed in the context of its history and other societal problems: a weak judiciary, a struggling economy, a nascent democratic culture, and a legacy of secrecy. While it may take decades and a Marshall Plan-type foreign aid effort to strengthen the ailing states of the NIS, the severity of their environmental crisis demands immediate solutions. At the very least, short-term solutions would heighten public awareness of the existing and potential dangers, risks, and preventative strategies, thus laying the foundations for long-term solutions. The interconnectedness of the economy, the environment, natural resources, and the public health, moreover, strengthens the case for concerted action and highlights the absurdity of the idea of environmental sacrifice in the name of economic prosperity.
Given the NIS needs emergency measures to heal the people and environment, the question remains: What, if anything, can be done now? In addition to carefully revising current laws, devising new ones, and attempting to allocate the massive necessary resources for increasing official environmental law enforcement, the government should enable the citizens to address local hazards and risks, promoting local and more efficient enforcement while protecting their home environments. The easiest means to facilitate citizen action is to provide the public with access to current, credible information about the environment and harmful local activities. Today, more information is available about NIS environmental problems than ever before. In addition, the Russian Parliament enacted general information disclosure legislation in January 1995 which attempts to provide a legal framework for protecting citizens' access to information. Nevertheless, available information is often outdated, unreliable, or otherwise unusable. The totalitarian culture of secrecy, reinforced by contradictions within the new “Information Act,” continue to impede public access to information.
To facilitate political participation and destroy the culture of secrecy surrounding the environmental crisis, environmental information must be accurate, timely, comprehensive, and affordable. Full environmental disclosure will encourage citizens to effectively participate in the political process and make agency and elected officials accountable. In addition, disclosure will strengthen fledgling grassroots environmental groups and promote individual autonomy, which, on a moral level, inspires citizens to become notified of hazards that may affect them. With full disclosure of environmental information, the people will be able to help enforce environmental laws and take initiative to prevent further environmental degradation in their communities.
Part II of this paper illustrates the breadth of the NIS environmental and public health crisis and the extent of NIS natural resources abuse. Part III discusses previous and current environmental protection efforts reviewing official action and noting trends in grassroots environmental movements. Part III also explores the lack of reliable, up-to-date environmental information, the continuing NIS societal restructuring, and how this reinforces trends in activism. Part IV suggests that ensuring public access to information will facilitate environmental protection and stimulate the environmental movement by giving people the information necessary to establish public priorities, hold government officials accountable, and enforce environmental laws through the judicial system. This section also analyzes the “Information Act” and the internal contradictions that undermine its goal of guaranteed access to information. Part IV concludes by proposing the U.S. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRTKA) as an appropriate model for enhancing information disclosure in the NIS. An information disclosure strategy similar to EPCRTKA will provide the people of the NIS with the tools they need to end the culture of secrecy and rationally shape their future.
The legacy of the Soviet empire as created by Joseph Stalin and perpetuated by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from the mid-1920s through the mid-1980s includes an unprecedented environmental crisis which threatens the global environment. Stalin's attempt to quickly and forcefully industrialize the feudalist Soviet Union controlled all other aspects of society, including the environment. Today, the newly independent states (NIS) of the former Soviet Union must address environmental problems such as the radiation poisoning from nuclear energy accidents, nuclear weapons testing and nuclear waste dumping. Additionally, air, water, and other natural resources have been contaminated by decades of toxic emissions, wanton discharges of toxic wastes into waterways, poorly planned river diversion projects, and excessive use of pesticides.
The long-term solutions to the major environmental problems of the NIS will at least require a significant efforts within the NIS and abroad. Given that many NIS environmental difficulties have serious global ramifications, wealthier nations cannot afford to passively allow NIS society to deteriorate. Long-term environmental solutions to these problems will require pollution control measures at least as stringent of the U.S., such as the Clean Air Act and Solid Waste Disposal Act.
In addition to these problems, the NIS faces devastating legacies from its social traditions. Built upon secrecy, fear, and intimidation, Stalin's totalitarian leadership developed a culture devoid of democratic characteristics. Although the Communist Party Central Committee was the country's principal authority, its unanimous decisions demonstrate a lack of republicanism. Laws were often enacted without any enforcement authority, solely to pacify international concerns. The judicial system was infiltrated by Communist Party directives. Central authorities in Moscow controlled factory production, including the inputs, outputs, and prices. Indeed, life at all levels was controlled by the “Five-Year Plan,” which directed the centralized economic activity and set goals for industrial, energy, and military weapon production. The extensive administrative bureaucracy controlled all aspects of Soviet life, including where each of the nearly 250 million citizens lived and worked. During totalitarian rule, officials prohibited fledgling free market development, as evidenced by the millions of peasants ousted for farming their own small plots of land.
Through fear, intimidation, and official pressure to withhold information from the public, a culture of secrecy developed. Today, NIS citizens have a tradition of withholding accurate information from the public and other bureaucrats. Under Soviet rule, many managers with legitimate fears of punishment withheld or falsified manufacturing data or allowed shipments of defective or incomplete goods to disguise failures and attain centrally mandated production goals. A tradition of misinformation developed throughout the government and the party bureaucracy and led the people to distrust “official” information sources. Stalin's legacy is a citizenry without free market traditions, a “rule of law,” a “civil society,” a democratic culture, or even a tradition of public free thought, free choice, or free speech.
Before shaping solutions to the environmental crisis, the NIS must be viewed in the context of its history and other societal problems: a weak judiciary, a struggling economy, a nascent democratic culture, and a legacy of secrecy. While it may take decades and a Marshall Plan-type foreign aid effort to strengthen the ailing states of the NIS, the severity of their environmental crisis demands immediate solutions. At the very least, short-term solutions would heighten public awareness of the existing and potential dangers, risks, and preventative strategies, thus laying the foundations for long-term solutions. The interconnectedness of the economy, the environment, natural resources, and the public health, moreover, strengthens the case for concerted action and highlights the absurdity of the idea of environmental sacrifice in the name of economic prosperity.
Given the NIS needs emergency measures to heal the people and environment, the question remains: What, if anything, can be done now? In addition to carefully revising current laws, devising new ones, and attempting to allocate the massive necessary resources for increasing official environmental law enforcement, the government should enable the citizens to address local hazards and risks, promoting local and more efficient enforcement while protecting their home environments. The easiest means to facilitate citizen action is to provide the public with access to current, credible information about the environment and harmful local activities. Today, more information is available about NIS environmental problems than ever before. In addition, the Russian Parliament enacted general information disclosure legislation in January 1995 which attempts to provide a legal framework for protecting citizens' access to information. Nevertheless, available information is often outdated, unreliable, or otherwise unusable. The totalitarian culture of secrecy, reinforced by contradictions within the new “Information Act,” continue to impede public access to information.
To facilitate political participation and destroy the culture of secrecy surrounding the environmental crisis, environmental information must be accurate, timely, comprehensive, and affordable. Full environmental disclosure will encourage citizens to effectively participate in the political process and make agency and elected officials accountable. In addition, disclosure will strengthen fledgling grassroots environmental groups and promote individual autonomy, which, on a moral level, inspires citizens to become notified of hazards that may affect them. With full disclosure of environmental information, the people will be able to help enforce environmental laws and take initiative to prevent further environmental degradation in their communities.
Part II of this paper illustrates the breadth of the NIS environmental and public health crisis and the extent of NIS natural resources abuse. Part III discusses previous and current environmental protection efforts reviewing official action and noting trends in grassroots environmental movements. Part III also explores the lack of reliable, up-to-date environmental information, the continuing NIS societal restructuring, and how this reinforces trends in activism. Part IV suggests that ensuring public access to information will facilitate environmental protection and stimulate the environmental movement by giving people the information necessary to establish public priorities, hold government officials accountable, and enforce environmental laws through the judicial system. This section also analyzes the “Information Act” and the internal contradictions that undermine its goal of guaranteed access to information. Part IV concludes by proposing the U.S. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRTKA) as an appropriate model for enhancing information disclosure in the NIS. An information disclosure strategy similar to EPCRTKA will provide the people of the NIS with the tools they need to end the culture of secrecy and rationally shape their future.
