“The turn of Siberian rivers to Central Asia”, “Palace of Soviets”, “Manned flight to Mars” … All these are large-scale and ridiculous in their grandeur projects of the USSR that have never been realized. But were they so utopian? In this article we will analyze in detail the Soviet project “Turning of Siberian rivers”. Who, when and why conceived this global adventure?
Changes in river channels
A channel is a lowered, narrow, and elongated plan shape of the relief along which the flow of water and other solid sediments is carried out. River channels can change their shape and direction. Moreover, both in a natural way (as a result of lateral or near-bottom erosion), and as a result of anthropogenic impact.
Man quite actively modifies the drawing of the natural hydrographic network on our planet. This happens through the construction of irrigation and drainage canals, the transfer of part of the runoff to another river. There is also the practice of straightening the channels in separate sections of the watercourse (especially in densely populated and industrial regions). Indirectly, changes in the contours of river channels are affected by massive deforestation, as well as the creation of large reservoirs.
The first artificial channels appeared in the VI millennium BC. e. in Mesopotamia. At the turn of the 3rd and 2nd millenniums in Ancient Egypt, a widely ramified network of irrigation canals was already created, the state of which was directly monitored by the supreme authority.
In the Soviet Union, the massive construction of hydraulic structures began in the post-war period, as part of the Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature. So, from 1945 to 1965, a whole network of main canals with a total length of over 2 thousand kilometers was created in the USSR. The largest among them were:
- Karakum Canal (1445 km).
- North Crimean Canal (405 km).
- White Sea-Baltic Canal (227 km).
- Moscow Canal (128 km).
Great transformation of nature
Long before the idea of turning Siberian rivers into the USSR in the late 40s, the so-called Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature was adopted. It was developed on the initiative of Joseph Stalin himself, so he went down in history also under the name "Stalin". The main reason for its adoption was the mass famine of 1946-1947.
The main goal of this plan was to prevent droughts, dry winds and dust storms by building water bodies and planting forest shelterbelts. First of all, this concerned the southern regions of the great Country of Soviets - the Volga region, Ukraine, and Western Kazakhstan. The program provided for the landing of forest belts with a total length of 5300 kilometers. Many of them, despite gradual degradation, perform their direct functions today.
In addition to planting forest shelter belts, several hydrological initiatives were spelled out in the plan. In particular, two resolutions of the USSR Council of Ministers of 1950:
- “On the transition to a new irrigation system in order to more fully utilize irrigated lands.”
- "On the construction of the Main Turkmen Canal of the Amu Darya - Krasnovodsk."
“Turning of Siberian rivers”: briefly about the project
The idea of transferring northern Siberian waters to more arid southern regions first appeared at the end of the 19th century. However, the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Empire immediately discarded it, so further discussions on this subject were not held. The idea was reanimated again during the Soviet era.
The object of attention of Soviet scientists was the full-flowing river Ob. By creating a huge artificial canal, it was planned to redirect its waters to the arid regions of the Central Asian republics. How it should have looked, see the map below. Taking into account the features of the terrain, the water would have to rise up with the help of several powerful pumps.
Ecologists were immediately worried, announcing the possible catastrophic consequences of turning Siberian rivers. Indeed, in terms of the extent of interference in nature, there have never been analogues to this project in history. One way or another, the grandiose idea approved in 1984 remained on paper. And two years later, the project was completely canceled completely and irrevocably. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, they kept recalling him, but the matter never went beyond words.
Project history
"Nature is unfair!" - lamented the Soviet idealist dreamers of the 1960s. “Take a look at the map of our country, ” they demanded. - How many rivers carry their waters into the dead space of the Arctic Ocean. Carry to uselessly turn them into ice! At the same time, the vast deserts of the southern republics have an extremely great need for fresh water. ” Enthusiasts sacredly believed that man could cope with the mistakes and shortcomings of nature.
The Ukrainian publicist Yakov Demchenko was thinking about turning the Siberian rivers to the south back in 1868. In 1948, the famous geographer Vladimir Obruchev wrote about the same idea to Stalin. But she was not interested in Joseph Vissarionovich. This question was taken seriously only in the mid-60s, when the costs of water supply to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan significantly hit the Soviet treasury.
In 1968, the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU instructed the Academy of Sciences, the State Planning Commission and several other organizations to develop in detail a plan for the rotation of Siberian rivers and inter-basin water transfer in order to regulate the regimes of the Caspian and Aral Seas.
Project criticism
What was the danger of turning Siberian rivers? The photo below shows a map of the North Crimean Canal, a large-scale irrigation and watering system launched in 1971 to supply the arid territories of Crimea and the Kherson region. At its core, it is a similar project. After the launch of the North Crimean Canal, as you know, nothing terrible happened.
Nevertheless, a number of ecologists sounded the alarm in connection with the new plans of the Soviet government. After all, the scale of the projects was not comparable. So, according to Academician Alexei Yablokov, reversing the Siberian rivers will lead to a number of adverse consequences:
- A sharp rise in groundwater along the entire length of the future channel.
- Flooding of settlements and communication lines adjacent to the channel.
- Flooding of significant areas of agricultural and forest land.
- Increasing salinity in the Arctic Ocean.
- Significant regional climate change.
- Changes in power and permafrost regime of an unpredictable nature.
- Violation of the species composition of fauna and flora in areas directly adjacent to the canal.
- The death of individual commercial fish species in the Ob basin.
Goals and objectives of the project
The main purpose of turning Siberian rivers was to redirect the flow of the Ob and Irtysh river systems to the southern regions of the USSR. The project was developed by specialists of the Ministry of Water Economy. To transfer water to the Aral Sea, it was planned to create a whole system of canals and reservoirs.
There were three key tasks for this project:
- Pumping fresh water to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for the irrigation needs of local farmland.
- Water supply of small cities and towns of Chelyabinsk, Omsk and Kurgan regions of Russia.
- Realization of the possibility of shipping on the Kara Sea - Caspian Sea water route.
Project work
In general, over 150 different organizations worked to develop a detailed plan for the southward rotation of Siberian rivers. Among them: 112 research institutes, 48 design and survey services, 32 union ministries, as well as the ministries of nine union republics.
Work on the project lasted for nearly twenty years. During this time, ten thick albums of drawings and maps were created, five dozen volumes with various text materials were prepared. The total estimate of the project, according to the calculations of the USSR State Planning Commission, was estimated at 32.8 billion Soviet rubles. And it was a colossal amount at that time! Meanwhile, it was assumed that the allocated money will pay off in seven years.
In 1976, the first field work began. And they lasted almost ten years. But in 1986, immediately after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, all activities for the implementation of the project were stopped. It is not clear to the end what exactly was the decisive reason for abandoning this grandiose plan: an acute shortage of funds or fear of unpredictable consequences. Do not forget that it was in April 1986 that the Chernobyl disaster occurred, which could also leave its mark on the decision of the authorities on this issue.
Unrealized plans
In the overall structure of the project, two successive stages were distinguished:
- Stage One: Construction of the Siberia-Central Asia Canal.
- Stage two: implementation of the Anti-Irtysh program.
The planned shipping channel “Siberia - Central Asia” was supposed to become a water corridor connecting the Ob River basin with the Aral Sea. Here are the parameters for this failed channel:
- Length - 2550 km.
- Depth - 15 meters.
- Width - from 130 to 300 meters.
- Throughput - 1150 m 3 / s.
What was the essence of the second stage of the project called Anti-Irtysh? It was planned to change the course of the Irtysh (the largest tributary of the Ob), directing its waters back along the Turgai trough in the direction of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya - key waterways of Central Asia. To do this, it was necessary to create a hydroelectric facility, build ten pumping stations and one reservoir.
Project prospects
The idea of turning Siberian rivers more than once returned after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In particular, it was lobbied by the leaders of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and, unexpectedly, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. The latter even wrote a book called Water and Peace. Presenting it in Astana in 2009, he spoke out in support of a possible project to transfer Siberian waters to Central Asia. By the way, theoretically this could solve the problem of the rapidly drying Aral Sea, the contours of which are narrowing every year.
In 2010, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev approached Dmitry Medvedev with an initiative to review the possibility of implementing a global Soviet project. Here is his direct quote: "In the future, Dmitry Anatolyevich, this problem may turn out to be very large, necessary to provide drinking water to the entire Central Asian region." The then president of the Russian Federation replied that Russia is always ready to discuss various options for solving the drought problem, including some old ideas.
It is worth noting that modern estimates of the cost of such a project with all the necessary infrastructure amounted to about $ 40 billion.
River Turns: Other Projects
It is curious that the Soviet Union was not the only one in its plans and attempts to change the hydrographic network of its country. So, a similar project was developed in the United States around the same years. It was called the Central Arizona Canal. The main goal of the venture also came down to supplying the southern states of the USA. The project was actively worked on in the 60s, but then abandoned.
China suffers from water scarcity. In particular, the north-eastern regions of the country. In this regard, Chinese scientists have developed the largest plan in the history of mankind to transfer part of the flow of the Yangtze River to the north. And have already begun to implement it. Until 2050, the Chinese must build three canals with a length of 300 kilometers each. Will they be able to translate their plan into reality - time will tell.
