Urban Gardening in St Petersburg, Russia

Environmental activism in post-sovietRussia used to be the country’s most dynamic and effective forms of socialactivism. In contemporary Russia, however, activists face severe obstacles inpromoting green issues. The SaintPetersburg Urban Gardening Club, founded as early as 1993, is stillstruggling with the authorities’ acknowledgments of its important work.  

St Petersburg rooftop.Image source.

Philipp Brugner from the Austrian radio broadcasting dérive – Radio für Stadtforschung produced an interesting comment on the urban farming initiative in the second largest city in Russia:  Urban gardening in St Petersburg often is afight for survival. With 5 million inhabitants plus approximately anothermillion illegal inhabitants, St Petersburg is the northernmost megacity of theplanet. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, St Petersburg has been a boom townfor jobseekers mainly due to its numerous construction projects. Nowadays thecity is facing huge problems as a direct consequence to its boom. The citygovernment is focusing on its own prestige with building projects like the Othka Center instead oftackling its socials problems: half of the population is living below povertylevel, 6000 people are homeless and 1600 children are living on the streets ofthe tsar city. Furthermore the city is facing enormous ecological problems,where air pollution and insufficient garbage disposal are only the mostapparent.

This is the setting the Urban GardeningClub (UGC) has to face. The history of urban gardening in St Petersburg datesback to the late 19^th century when rural aristocrats moved to thecity maintaining their rural lifestyle. During the time of the Soviet Uniononly retired and disabled persons were allowed to fulfil agriculturaloccupation for their own use. Gradually the rules had been relaxed and at leastat the urban fringes gardens for personal use could have been maintained, adevelopment known as the Russian dachafarming. After the collapse of the USSR, cultivating land has been a directresult of the following years of crisis. Many could have only survived throughproducing their own food.

Raised-bed gardening for horticultural therapy. St. Petersburg's Prostheses Center during the summer of 1996. Source.

Rooftop garden on top of a  school in 1996. Source.

The UGC’s first project suggested using theroofs of buildings as croplands for socially deprived groups, due to the trickyclimate obviously a very challenging endeavour. The big advantage was that theroof grown fruits and vegetables were less polluted with heavy metals thancrops from the ground. Further projects involved cultivating the roofs of cityprison with involvements of the inmates, or cooperating with primary schools and the St Petersburg Prostheses Centre. 

Alla Sokol at one of the UGC's rooftop gardens against the backtrop ot the St Petersburg cityscape. Source.

Although the city government has recognizedthe value of the initiatives of the club, Alla Sokol, founder of the UGC,points out that the government frequently obstructs new rooftop gardenprojects, since it is very difficult to obtain the licence for using therooftop as farmland. Especially in Russia, rooftop gardening has a hugepotential, as many people in larger cities live in buildings with huge sturdyrooftops constructed to bear the heaviest snow load. But many apartment blocks stillbelong to the government. Moreover, in blocks with only homeowners, usually thestaircases and the roofs stay the property of the government. Therefore it isvital for the success of the movement that the government is highly involved.

Furthermore the controls of the produce andcomposting plants of the institute of hygiene hinder the proliferation of themovement. Often they attest polluted crops although, as Sokol explains, thetests the UGC has commissioned, attest that the vegetables from the roof gardensare much less polluted than those that are grown on the ground.  Within these controls, Sokol senses justanother administrative barrier.

Although low income, reduction ofpurchasing power, and high prices force people into subsistence agriculture inSt Petersburg, urban farming has not proliferated over the city yet. Many stillprefer the long way to the countryside, to cultivate their dacha. 

Russian dacha. Source.

Article and interview with Alla Sokol via dérive – Radio für Stadtforschung, an Austrianradio broadcasting.