Abstract
Today it is recognised that air pollution and the associated greenhouse effect are global phenomenon which could have dire consequences for the entire world population. However, in the past, especially during the Cold War Era, the Soviet totalitarian regime claimed that pollution was purely a by-product of a free market economy. As the nature of a totalitarian regime restricts both the availability of information associated with pollution problems and the individuals right/ability to acknowledge and protest against environmental degradation, the pollution situation in the Former Soviet Union reached catastrophic levels long before the fall of Communism in 1991. With the demise of the Soviet regime it has become evident that air pollution from various sources, such as heavy industry and a growing transportation base, has been exacerbated by inadequate pollution abatement facilities and the authorities’ desire to overproduce without due consideration to the exploitation of natural resources and the environment in general. When combined with the rapid and secretive Soviet growth of both the civil and military nuclear industries, which have led to extensive airborne radiation contamination, the Former Soviet Union is faced with deteriorating air quality. This will inevitably affect the health of a large proportion of the population. While it is now widely accepted that the Former Soviet Union has severe environmental problems, the financial predicament of each new independent state appears to have ‘indefinitely’ postponed attempts to solve the issues at hand. Although there is a growing awareness of environmental problems, both government structures and the citizens of the Former Soviet Union have to evolve away from the previous totalitarian regime in order to successfully deal with the environmental degradation in their country. As basic survival has become the utmost priority for all concerned during the present economic recession, this is unlikely to occur for many years to come.