Environmental responsibility in a transition context: Russian NGO perception and response

In this paper we examine the issue of environmental responsibility in the Russian Federation by engaging in responsibility narratives with environmental nongovernmental organisations (NGOs). We do so to examine in more depth the impact of the deinstitutionalisation of environmental responsibility in Russia throughout the transition period. We find that while NGOs regard the state and other key actors to have abdicated in their responsibility for protecting the natural environment, Russian environmental NGOs appear unable to substitute for these actors. Consequently, the Russian environment remains largely unprotected and thus subject to continuing irresponsibility in the field of environmental protection and pollution control.