PROTECTION OF FAUNA IN U.S.S.R.—DEMENTIEV 487 
greatest possible improvement of habitat, especially in relation to nu- 
trition and feeding. 
Finally, the fauna is being actively enriched through introduction 
and reintroduction. Animal species new to the fauna of the U.S.S.R. 
are brought in, and species with a low population or of local distribu- 
tion are increased and dispersed. <Acclimatization ranges from the 
protection of birdlife by means of artificial nesting sites to the intro- 
duction of new types of food for fish. 
Special prohibitive measures are used in animal protection. Game 
animals that are low in numbers may be taken only in limited and 
fixed quantities with a special permit. For many species, complete 
protection has been established for a specific period. 
Finally, absolute protection is maintained in some cases. This in- 
cludes the national park system on one hand, the absolute prohibition 
of the capture of certain animals on the other. 
Such are the general principles of fauna protection in the U.S.S.R. 
Various organizations administer nature protection in the U.S.S.R. 
The protection of our waters and fish depends upon the Management 
of Water and Fish of the Ministry of Fisheries and its subordinate 
services. Problems of water and air pollution are regulated by the 
General Sanitary Survey and by the local inspections of the Ministry 
of Health. Hunting is controlled by the Management of National 
Parks and Hunting of the Ministry of Agriculture, by the Manage- 
ments of National Parks and Hunting in connection with the coun- 
cils of ministers of the Soviet republics, and their local representatives. 
The protection of our forests is carried out by the General Manage- 
ment of Forests of the Ministry of Agriculture. The “dead” resources 
are protected by the Ministry of Geology. For the solution of 
scientific problems of nature protection, for the coordination of activi- 
ties in this field, the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. established 
a special committee in March 1955, composed of members of the 
Academy and other scientists, as well as representatives of interested 
official institutions. Similar committees were created by the Acad- 
emies of Sciences of the majority of the Soviet republics. 
Education in nature protection is carried on by schools and by 
young naturalists’ groups (for example in the form of “bird days,” 
“forest weeks,” etc.), as well as by societies for nature protection. 
The oldest among these societies, the Russian Society for the Protec- 
tion of Nature, was started in 1924. It now includes provincial 
affiliates. This group has contributed greatly to the solution of many 
questions of nature conservation. Other scientific societies (the 
Geographical Society of the U.S.S.R., the Moscow Naturalists’ So- 
ciety) participate also in work having nature protection as its goal. 
Finally, the system is carried on by the activity of numerous hunt- 
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