<\/p>\n
When people think of the soviet Union or present-day Russia, environmental protection is not the first thing that comes to mind. After all, in its quest for rapid industrialization, the USSR wrecked the environment in many ways<\/a>, from air and water pollution to deforestation to desertification to nuclear meltdowns.<\/p>\n At the same time, when I hear about the measures people are encouraged to take to protect the environment (\u043c\u0435\u0301\u0440\u044b \u043f\u043e \u0437\u0430\u0449\u0438\u0301\u0442\u0435 \u043e\u043a\u0440\u0443\u0436\u0430\u0301\u044e\u0449\u0435\u0439 \u0441\u0440\u0435\u0434\u044b\u0301),\u00a0I often catch myself thinking “This is totally like the USSR.” Perhaps the environmental consciousness (\u0437\u0430\u0431\u043e\u0301\u0442\u0430 \u043e\u0431 \u043e\u043a\u0440\u0443\u0436\u0430\u0301\u044e\u0449\u0435\u0439 \u0441\u0440\u0435\u0434\u0435\u0301) in the Soviet Union was probably motivated by material scarcity and government quotas more than anything else, but there are certainly some practices that could be revived to reduce our impact on the environment.<\/p>\n It’s no secret that the level of consumption (\u0443\u0301\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0435\u043d\u044c \u043f\u043e\u0442\u0440\u0435\u0431\u043b\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0438\u044f) was much lower in the USSR than it is in present-day developed countries. Soviet people were encouraged to look down on material goods<\/a>\u00a0as bourgeois, not to mention the fact, that any imported goods were often hard to get by (“\u0434\u0435\u0444\u0438\u0446\u0438\u0301\u0442”). As a result, things like clothes were often passed down, and people often made their own.<\/p>\n Plastic bags (\u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u044d\u0442\u0438\u043b\u0435\u0301\u043d\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u043f\u0430\u043a\u0435\u0301\u0442\u044b) were virtually unknown in old Russian stores. As a result, people would bring their own bags. An infamous example is the mesh cloth bag known as the \u0430\u0432\u043e\u0301\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0430. People also had reusable plastic egg crates (\u043c\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e\u0440\u0430\u0301\u0437\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u043f\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0442\u043c\u0430\u0301\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u043b\u043e\u0442\u043a\u0438\u0301 \u0434\u043b\u044f \u044f\u0438\u0301\u0446).<\/p>\n When plastic bags came to Russia by\u00a0the 80s, many people embraced them as the more\u00a0convenient option. Even then, people often saved, washed, and reused these bags until they looked quite worn.<\/p>\n Surprisingly, recycling (\u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0431\u043e\u0301\u0442\u043a\u0430 \u043e\u0442\u0445\u043e\u0301\u0434\u043e\u0432) was widespread in the USSR. People collected paper waste (\u043c\u0430\u043a\u0443\u043b\u0430\u0442\u0443\u0301\u0440\u0430) and scrap metal (\u043c\u0435\u0442\u0430\u043b\u043b\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0301\u043c). Bottle return (verb – \u0441\u0434\u0430\u0432\u0430\u0301\u0442\u044c \u0431\u0443\u0442\u044b\u0301\u043b\u043a\u0438) was widely practiced. The motivation for these actions was slightly different than our current environmental awareness.<\/p>\nReduce<\/h2>\n
<\/h2>\n
Reuse<\/h2>\n
Recycle<\/h2>\n