ABSTRACT
The foregoing examination of the Soviet-era experience, and of the situation in the post-Soviet republics, seems to suggest that certain lessons can be inferred from the economic and environmental deterioration that characterized the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the eve of its demise. In the Soviet Union, meeting ever-higher output quotas was virtually the only yardstick of managerial success. Russians and the other former Soviet peoples must learn the difference between adopting a program and actually having an effective program. The standard Soviet practice of setting very strict pollution standards was probably also counterproductive. Industrial, agricultural, and environmental concerns in all of the former Soviet republics have historically relied on the existence of coordinated programs and material trade among all of the fifteen republics. A high level of inter-republic cooperation will be essential if environmental concerns are to be adequately addressed in the post-Soviet period.
