Russian forest policy in the turmoil of the changing balance of power

This paper presents a study of power relations and the development of forest policy with regards to the commercial use of forests in Russia from the mid 1970s to the present. The main interest lies in describing the changes in power relations influencing the development of forest policy by using a comparative analysis on Russian forest legislation. The main centres of power studied here are the federal authorities, regional and local leaders, and private forest industries. The findings on forest-policy development are reflective of the general political and economic movements in Russia. In the post-communist Russia, the balance of power relations in the forest sector have been in a state of flux. The role of private industries in forest-policy formulation, in spite of unstable ownership issues, is increasing. The lack of coherent national policy encompassing the development of forestry and forest industries has also been characteristic. The absence of clearly formulated policy has hindered and further complicated the debate and the on-going processes attempting to modernise the Russian forest sector and the drafting of the new Forest Code in particular.