The Life of Permafrost: A History of Frozen Earth in Russian and Soviet Science

by Pey-Yi Chu

In the Anthropocene, the thawing of frozen earth due to global warming has drawn worldwide attention to permafrost. Contemporary scientists define permafrost as ground that maintains a negative temperature for at least two years. But where did this particular conception of permafrost originate, and what alternatives existed? The Life of Permafrost provides an intellectual history of permafrost, placing the phenomenon squarely in the political, social, and material context of Russian and Soviet science. Pey-Yi Chu shows that understandings of frozen earth were shaped by two key experiences in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. On one hand, the colonization and industrialization of Siberia nourished an engineering perspective on frozen earth that viewed the phenomenon as an aggregate physical ground. On the other, a Russian and Soviet tradition of systems thinking encouraged approaching frozen earth as a process, condition, and space tied to planetary exchanges of energy and matter. Aided by the US militarization of the Arctic during the Cold War, the engineering view of frozen earth as an obstacle to construction became dominant. The Life of Permafrost tells the fascinating story of how permafrost came to acquire life as Russian and Soviet scientists studied, named, and defined it.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 4, 2021

Reviews

[Floris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pey-Yi Chu is a historian of science and environment at Pomona College, specialising on the Russian Empire and Soviet Union. Her main conceptual aim in The Life of Permafrost is to historicise and pluralise the meaning of permafrost, showing how it had a “life” of its own, and how throughout that life people have conceptualised it in different ways. In practical terms, that involves telling a history of Russian and Soviet frozen earth science from the nineteenth century to the 1950s. The main focus of the narrative lies on the definitions and redefinitions of frozen earth during this period, not so much on specific scientific studies themselves.

The chapters proceed in roughly chronological order, each focusing on a different scientific practices with respect to frozen earth. Chapter 1 (Mapping) focuses on the exploration history of Siberia, particularly the German and Russian natural-historical expeditions during which frozen earth was found, described, and of course mapped. Chapter 2 (Building) situates frozen-earth knowledge in the context of massive infrastructure projects (such as building railways) in the late nineteenth century. For engineers, it was a material substance to be understood and accounted for in their work. Chapter 3 (Defining) centres around a debate between two Soviet scientists who represented opposite ends of the debate concerning whether permafrost was a material itself or a space. (This was probably my favourite chapter, being very engagingly written but also analytically sharp). Chapter 4 (Adapting) looks at the way Soviet scientists in the 1930s sought to protect themselves from persecution by emphasising their struggle with and conquering of permafrost, whilst concretely being quite concerned with preserving and caring for it. Chapter 5 (Translating) introduces the American realm and the debates that were triggered there when Russian terms were translated into English during the 1940s, but also describes how those debates continued apace within the Soviet Union in the 1950s. This one has very quotable lines.

If you treat the book on its own terms Chu fulfils her aim very well. Her account is rich in detail about the specifics of recurring debates regarding frozen earth, and she situates these very clearly in relevant contexts, pointing out how socio-political, agricultural and economic, or interpersonal factors affected the nature of these debates. She is able to do this by clearly drawing from extensive archival research in Russia – something that should not be taken for granted at all these days (how often will we see it post-2022?). I was also impressed by how strong her Epilogue was. It provides a nice discussion of why terminology matters today, and the role that history (and historians) plays in terminological discussions. History, for instance, shouldn’t be looked towards to legitimise ideas in the present; and just because a definition is ad hoc doesn’t make it invalid. Great takeaways, even beyond the case of frozen earth.

Chu’s execution (and probably the editing) isn’t always as clean as it could be. Several passages felt repetitive, particularly the ones where she points out how one or the other actor conceptualised frozen ground as a space, a condition, a process, or as a material. Her biological metaphor of a “living” permafrost also didn’t do much for me, and could have been left out without affecting her argument much. Still, I’m glad this book exists, as it provides a much-needed counterbalance to the (excellent) ice-heavy literature that is already out there.

[Katrina Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is and will become a really important read for any professional who deals with permafrost. It is a very through walk through the history of the development of the term and the circumstances at the time.
I do agree with a previous reviewer though, that the book was very dry. I also felt many times as if I was reading the same information restated over and over again. I would have rated it 3 stars if it was not information that is very applicable to my work in the last year.

[GreyAtlas · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing was just, cold. No pun intended. It did not read easily, more like a journal article than a book. Also, far too much argument over defining permafrost. Just, a unique concept but not done as reader-friendly as it could have been. Pictures other than scientific graphs would have been nice.

[LaanSiBB]

Great book reflecting the political culture of environmental studies. The communist way of processing "nature" should be considered a great supplement of discussing capitalism as an ideology, defined and historicised.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating, especially the chapter 'defining' which sets out how soviet scientists used the permafrost debate to settlw institutional and political scores.