The Politicization of Environmental Discourse in Arkhangelsk Region: the Landfill Site at Shies Railroad Station

Abstract

The environmental agenda has proven to be an important factor in political and social protests in Russia across 2018 and 2019. The decision to open a landfill near the Shies station in the Arkhangelsk region strengthened environmental protest throughout Russia, paving the way for discursive changes and actual participation in politics. Nevertheless, the case of the this landfill site cannot be seen an aberration; the state of the environment is not only an object but also a subject of politics in many countries across the world. What makes a social issue take on the features of a political discussion which requires a specific political solution to be made? The aim of this study is to identify the mechanisms behind the politicization of environmental discourse in Russia based on the case of this landfill site in Arkhangelsk region. We will demonstrate how a specific political decision was implemented by the authorities after being made outside of public discussion. The paper will also consider how, among competing discourses, the environmental problem became dominant and then became politicalized among citizens. The empirical basis of the study is 19 semi-structured interviews with residents of the Arkhangelsk region. The research methodology is discourse analysis within the argumentative traction. We will focus solely on argumentative constructions which subjects use to substantiate their position. As a result, in the article we will show that the politicization of discourse and high political mobilization occurred due to three main mechanisms that worked simultaneously: (1) the view that the decision made by the authorities was illegitimate; (2) the view that the whole situation was unfair; and (3) the allocation of blame to certain political actors.