The Reaction of Rural Communities to a National Park: A Case in the Russian Far East

Abstract

This research reveals that the opening of new national park near rural settlements with a  longstanding economic tradition of nature use has influenced social systems and  correspondingly transformed the social practices of the local population. The article is  based on in-depth semi-structured interviews and observations. The material was collected in the field expedition to five villages inside, on the borders of, and outside a national park in  the Russian Far East, which was established about 10–20 years ago (an exact date is  not given to ensure anonymity). During the research, the economic practices of the rural population and  the  challenges they face in view of the opening of the national park were studied. In  practice, local residents do not comprehend the work of the national park as an institution and associate it with Soviet nature management institutions. Secondly, they have come into confrontation with the park as a new social actor and now depend on informal earnings, despite the restrictions imposed
by the national park.