This article explores interactions between the chemical industry, the environment, and Russian provincial society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, using the example of the Kokshan chemical works, in the Elabuga District, Viatka Province, Russian Empire (today Mendeleevsk District, Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation). The plant’s location facilitated its rapid development due to a number of factors, including a cheap labour force, the availability of raw materials, and the absence of local competition. However, the factory’s development came in conjunction with the deterioration of the environment and subsequent health problems for employees and the surrounding population. Conflicts connected with the Kokshan works illustrate differences between this case and similar examples in Russia and Europe. In Viatka Province, the local community remained mostly silent regarding these issues, and made no demands for improving sanitary control and working conditions or reducing pollution; rather, it was distant activists who personally suffered no harm who intervened in the interest of social justice. The history of the company reflects the contrast between the transfer of European technological innovations to Russia and laborious efforts to increase national wealth on the one hand, and the exploitation of the environment and endangerment of workers’ health on the other.

中文翻译：

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化学工业、环境和俄罗斯省级社会：Kokshan 化学工厂的案例（1850-1925）

本文以俄罗斯帝国维亚特卡省埃拉布加区（今共和国门捷列夫斯克区）的 Kokshan 化工厂为例，探讨了 19 世纪末和 20 世纪初化学工业、环境和俄罗斯省级社会之间的相互作用。鞑靼斯坦，俄罗斯联邦）。由于劳动力廉价、原材料供应充足以及缺乏本地竞争等多种因素，该工厂的地理位置促进了其快速发展。然而，工厂的发展伴随着环境的恶化以及随之而来的员工和周边人口的健康问题。与 Kokshan 作品相关的冲突说明了这个案例与俄罗斯和欧洲的类似例子之间的差异。在维亚特卡省，当地社区对这些问题大多保持沉默，没有提出改善卫生控制和工作条件或减少污染的要求；相反，为了社会正义的利益而进行干预的是那些个人没有受到伤害的遥远的活动家。公司的历史反映了一方面将欧洲技术创新转移到俄罗斯与为增加国家财富而付出的艰苦努力之间的对比，另一方面则是对环境的剥削和对工人健康的危害。