Guest lecture: Draining the Pripet Marshes in interwar Poland

For the Guest Lecture, we will have Professor Slawomir Lotyzs from the Institute for the History of Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. Professor Lotyzs has long studied the Pripet marshes, which originally covered the lowlands of Poland and much of Belarus. They were about half the size of Finland, forming one of the largest wetlands in Europe.

The Pripet Marshes have been in the headlines more widely, mainly because of crises. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is located in the marshland. The area has also been a major obstacle to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Professor Lotyzs will focus his presentation on the peacetime development of the marshes under the title “Draining the Pripet Marshes in interwar Poland”. The presentation is based on his recently published landmark book on the environmental and social history of the Pripet Marshes.

The second presentation of the day will be given by Laura Puolamäki, PhD, who has studied the transformation of the landscape of the Aitoneva Mires in Kihniö from a natural landscape to an industrial landscape and a significant cultural heritage site.
The event will take place in the August Hall in the main lobby of the University Centre. Admission is free and the event will start with coffee at 9.00.