National Park System, Russia

The first national park in Russia was established in 1983. Currently, there are 40 national parks in Russia with a total area of approximately 71,700 km². Russia’s law on protected areas stipulates that national parks are lands or waters that are dedicated to nature conservation, ecological education, and scientific research. These parks should have special ecological, historical, and aesthetic values. The government allows limited development of the tourism industry. Each park is zoned according to different functions, including ‘Strictly Protected Areas’, which are called Zavodnik in Russian. There are also recreational areas and buffer zones that allow economic activities such as tourism and traditional land uses (such as environmentally friendly agroforestry). To fulfil the strict protection function, formal strictly protected areas are often established in regions adjacent to the park. The Zabaysky State Park on the eastern bank of Lake Baikal has a strict Bar-guzin protected...