A transformed landscape: the steppes of Ukraine and Russia

The steppes of Ukraine and Russia were once a sea of grass on
rolling plains on which pastoral nomadic peoples grazed their
herds of livestock. From the eighteenth century, the steppes have
been transformed into a major agricultural region. This process
started after the region was annexed to the Russian Empire and
settled by migrants from forested landscapes in central and
northern Russia and Ukraine and also from central Europe. By the
twentieth century, the former steppe landscape had almost
disappeared, save a few remnants protected in nature reserves
(zapovedniki).


In this podcast episode, David Moon, professor of Russian history
at Durham University, UK, talks about his recent visit to the
Ukrainian steppes. In addition to conventional historical
research in archives and libraries in Odessa, he travelled
through the steppes, visited nature reserves, and met scientists
to help him understand how the landscape had been transformed
over time. This episode provides fascinating insights into the
environmental history of the steppes and the way that
environmental historians go about studying the history of
landscapes and environments.