Editing Lake Baikal (section)

====Baykalsk Pulp and Paper Mill====
[[File:Bajkal'sk paper.jpg|thumb|left|Baykalsk Pulp and Paper Mill in 2008, 5 years before its 2013 closure]]
The [[Baykalsk Pulp and Paper Mill]] was constructed in 1966, directly on the shoreline of Lake Baikal. The plant bleached paper using [[chlorine]] and discharged waste directly into Lake Baikal. The decision to construct the plant on Lake Baikal resulted in strong protests from Soviet scientists; according to them, the ultra-pure water of the lake was a significant resource and should have been used for innovative chemical production (for instance, the production of high-quality viscose for the aeronautics and space industries). The Soviet scientists felt that it was irrational to change Lake Baikal's water quality by beginning paper production on the shore. It was their position that it was also necessary to preserve endemic species of local biota, and to maintain the area around Lake Baikal as a recreation zone.<ref>Sobisevich A. V., Snytko V. A. [https://www.academia.edu/35660969 Some aspects of nature protection in the scientific heritage of academician Innokentiy Gerasimov] // Acta Geographica Silesiana. 2018. Vol. 29, # 1. pp. 55–60.</ref> However, the objections of the Soviet scientists faced opposition from the industrial lobby and only after decades of protest, the plant was closed in November 2008 due to unprofitability.<ref>{{cite news|author=Tom Parfitt in Moscow |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/nov/12/pollution-water-russia-deripaska |title=Russia Water Pollution |work=The Guardian |date= 12 November 2008|access-date=2 January 2012 |location=London}}</ref><ref name=test>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacredland.org |title=Sacred Land Film Project, Lake Baikal |publisher=Sacredland.org |access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref>

On 4 January 2010, production was resumed. On 13 January 2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin introduced changes in legislation legalising the operation of the plant; this action brought about a wave of protests from ecologists and local residents.<ref name=Levy-IHT-11092010>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/world/europe/12raids.html?_r=2&ref=europe|title=Russia Uses Microsoft to Suppress Dissent|author=Clifford J. Levy|work=International Herald Tribune|date=11 September 2010|access-date=10 December 2011}}</ref> These changes were based on the determination Prime Minister Putin made through a visual verification of Lake Baikal's condition from a miniature submarine, where he said: "I could see with my own eyes – and scientists can confirm – Baikal is in good condition and there is practically no pollution".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126609485 |title=Russians Debate Fate of Lake: Jobs Or Environment? |publisher=Npr.org |date=10 May 2010 |access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref> Despite this, in September 2013, the mill underwent a final bankruptcy, with the last 800 workers slated to lose their jobs by 28 December 2013.<ref>[http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/30/21547148-tide-of-discontent-sweeps-through-russias-struggling-rust-belt Tide of discontent sweeps through Russia's struggling 'rust belt' – NBC News] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215174302/http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/30/21547148-tide-of-discontent-sweeps-through-russias-struggling-rust-belt |date=15 December 2013 }}. Worldnews.nbcnews.com (30 November 2013). Retrieved on 15 May 2014.</ref> The mill has since shut down, though its reservoirs of [[lignin]] sludge remain an environmental hazard.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Panin |first1=Alexander |title=Polluting Baikal Paper Mill Finally Shuts Down |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2013/10/13/polluting-baikal-paper-mill-finally-shuts-down-a28543 |access-date=13 August 2022 |work=The Moscow Times |date=13 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Khurshudyan |first1=Isabelle |title=This Siberian town lost everything when the mill closed. It's now struggling to find a future. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/13/russia-industrial-mill-closed-siberia/ |access-date=13 August 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=13 May 2021}}</ref>