Springer The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia (Encyclopedia of Seas)

“The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia” is the second one in the new series of encyclo- dias about the seas of the former Soviet Union published by Springer-Verlag. The ?rst volume – “The Aral Sea Encyclopedia” was published by Springer in 2009. The series will be continued by “The Black Sea Encyclopedia” in 2010. Today the Caspian Sea is known to readers thanks to its oil and gas resources, sturgeon and caviar, signi?cant sea-level variations, socio-economic and political problems. The Caucasus and Central Asia (http://eurodialogue. org/?les/fckeditor_?les/Caspian-s- map2. png) vii viii Introduction For more than 250 years the Caspian Sea was shared by two states: Russia (the Soviet Union) and Persia (Iran). After the disintegration of the USSR in 1992, the new independent states of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have radically changed the political and economic situation in the region. In addition to Russia and Iran, who had determined the situation on the Caspian for a long period, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan are now interested parties, beginning a new stage in the historical development of the Caspian region. This increase in the number of the Caspian legal entities from two to ?ve has given rise to a whole tangle of geopolitical, economic, international legal, ethnic and environmental problems, each of which demands its own approach and settlement mechanism. Review From the reviews:“This encyclopedia provides broad coverage of the Caspian Sea and surrounding region. … The region is known best for its valuable natural resources, including oil, gas, sturgeon, and black caviar. … Entries are arranged in alphabetical order. A chronology of historical events concludes the volume. … Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers.” (G. P. Clement, Choice, Vol. 48 (5), January, 2011)“The book contains a great deal of useful and accurate information about a very significant region. … There is much useful information here and … this book will have a place in specialist or major reference collections.” (Stuart James, Reference Reviews, Vol. 25 (6), 2011) From the Back Cover The Caspian Sea is a unique natural feature, the world’s largest landlocked water body. Historically the Caspian was one of the key zones where the interests of great powers such as Russia, Britain and Persia clashed. And the reason was and still is the oil – the "black gold" of the Caspian and also the natural riches of the sea, its other gold – the sturgeons with their black caviar.With this encyclopedia attempt to relate the Caspian story via an objective approach to the past and present of the sea where even today many geopolitical, economic, social and environmental issues are focused. These issues are vital not only to the Caspian countries, but other countries of the world as well.The encyclopedia contains about 1500 articles and terms providing descriptions of geographical features, cities, ports, transport routes, main oil and gas fields, aqueous biological resources, international treaties, national and international programs, research institutions, historical and archeological monuments, activities of prominent scientists, researchers, travelers, military commanders, oil industrialists and traders who had relation to the Caspian Sea.In addition this book gives the chronology of the most important events that became milestones in the history of the Caspian region development for more than 300 years, spanning a period from the times of Peter the Great till the present. About the Author Prof. Igor S. Zonn is the General Director of Engineering Scientific-Production Center for Water Economy, Reclamation and Ecology in Moscow, Russia. His research has focused on the case studies about desert development, desertification, reclamation and water management in the arid lands, on regional climate change, socio-economic and environmental problems of the Aral, Cas