Center for European Studies

3312 Turlington

Christine Le Jeune, Ph.D. student, Anthropology

The North Caucasus is a region of high biodiversity. Its mountain systems are a valuable natural resource, but they are especially vulnerable to human impact. The region’s abundant natural attractions have drawn tourists since the nineteenth century. At the same time, Russian governance of the North Caucasus has a complicated and troubled history. The geographical challenges, harsh environmental conditions, and high cultural diversity of the North Caucasus mountain territories have often rendered state institutions ineffective and have hindered the reach of the Russian state in these areas. The geography of mountainous areas in the North Caucasus also presents a challenge for economic development. Since 2010, the Russian central government has pursued the development of tourism as part of an official plan for the region’s economic development and as a means toward solving the region’s persistent issues of unemployment, depopulation, and social problems.

I examine the social-ecological dynamics of tourism destinations in the North Caucasus. I am interested in how the promotion of tourism as a mode for socioeconomic development aligns with the ability to preserve the rich biodiversity of the region’s environmentally vulnerable mountain systems and protected areas.