ANNOTATION: Decades of Soviet mismanagement resulted in the catastrophic pollution of land, air, rivers, and seacoasts. Air pollution is especially a problem in the Urals and Kuznetsk (where vast populations are exposed to hazardous emissions from metal-processing plants) as well as in the Volga and Moscow regions. In 1992 Russia had the world's third-highest level of industrial carbon dioxide emissions, which totaled 2.1 billion metric tons, a per capita level of 14.11 metric tons. However, in 1996 the total dropped to 1.5 billion metric tons and in 2000 the total was about 1.4 billion metric tons...

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ANNOTATION: ssia has several soil and vegetation zones, each with its characteristic flora and fauna. Northernmost is the so-called arctic desert zone, which includes most of the islands of the Arctic Ocean and the seacoast of the Taymyr Peninsula. These areas are characterized by the almost complete absence of plant cover; only mosses and lichens are to be found. Birds and mammals associated with the sea (sea calf, seal, and walrus) are typical of this zone...

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