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The ideas of local autonomy and self-government in Russia have rural roots running back to the idealized farming community (obsina) and the first local political assembly (zemstvo) established at the end of the 19th century. Over the past two decades, following seventy years under the rule of an overcentralized state, the issue of local government has returned to national politics. We paradoxically observe a low level of financial and political autonomy for local governments but a high degree of involvement by social actors in local issues. Two case studies focusing on the Northwestern Federal District serve to analyze the behavior of regional administrations and the personal strategies of the social forces that are shaping local democracy in Russia. Although these practices involve power struggles and social as well as environmental issues, they draw attention to a revival of rural areas as a mediating factor in northwestern Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas the EU plays a leading role in the fight against global climactic change, the question of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol has stirred up a surprisingly intense public controversy in post-Soviet Russia. While scientists in industrialized countries are bringing pressure to bear on governments to make them adopt public policies for preventing global risks, the Russian Academy of Sciences is opposed to this. The reasons accounting for this Russian reaction are explained. The development of this controversy is examined from the viewpoint of several social actors persons, groups, institutions involved in it. Light is shed on how global and national issues interlock. The lines of cleavage and nature of the coalitions are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of environmental policy in Hungary still seems to bear the marks of the Communist past. Till 1989, the environment came under consideration in planning only as a sectorial policy and was seen only in terms of nature conservation. The central government and bureaucracy, in charge of policy-making, were rather unwilling to regulate pollution and environmental hazards. By the late 1980s, environmentalist movements were objecting to this situation and challenging the declining regime. Despite its obvious willingness to break with the Communist past, Hungary has still not fully erased all traces of previous political and institutional practices. Environmental policy is still technocratic and centralized. Official institutions are struggling to apply European environmental standards based on sustainable development and local initiatives precisely because the latter are lacking. The Communist era's main legacy seems to be the lack of democratic participation at the local level in environmental (or other) matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 1 May 2004, the European Union underwent its fifth "enlargement' as ten new countries joined. Integrating the eight new members from central and eastern Europe represents an economic challenge, especially in environmental matters. By joining the EU, these countries have had to accept the acquis communautaire and adopt environmental regulations stricter than those already existing there. This bears a price, since industry must be brought up to par with EU standards, in particular with regard to waste management and the installation of appropriate administrative structures. However the introduction of these standards also brings along considerable economic advantages, mainly related to the saving of natural resources, the improvement of productivity thanks to innovation and an increase in market openings; A comparison of the costs and benefits of applying EU environmental standards shows that, in the middle or long run, the benefits will exceed the initial costs. Porter's hypothesis, which emphasizes the advantages of environmental policies, turns out to be true under condition that these policies are integrated as early as possible in economic strategies and are backed up by a precise assessment of a country's environmental and economic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After identifying legacies from the Soviet period that affect the current state of the environment, attention is turned to ecological problems in urban and rural areas. Institutional changes after 1990 and the socioeconomic aspects of environmental questions then come under analysis. The cleavage between urban and rural areas, which already existed under the USSR, has persisted. Lithuania's joining the EU will necessarily have an impact, at present and in the future, on the environment. This impact is evaluated despite the difficulty of assessing events still too near to us. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]