Кеңес Одағының бұрынғы аумақтарындағы қорғалатын табиғат аймақтары

Type of protected area in former Soviet countries

Zapovednik is an established term on the territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area which is kept "forever wild". It is the highest degree of environmental protection for the assigned areas, which are strictly protected and access to the public is restricted.

The literal English translation of zapovednik is "nature sanctuary" (like animal sanctuary); however, in practice, zapovedniks sometimes have to do with the protection of things other than nature and can incorporate historical cultural, historical–archaeological, and other types of cultural or natural heritage. They also function as important sites for historical research and education and so are comparable to the Sites of Special Scientific Interest as found in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. The term zapovednik, which refers to the reserve, staff and infrastructure, was used in the former Soviet Union and is still in use in the Russian Federation and in some of the other former Soviet republics. Many reserves have areas with different degrees of protection; sometimes grazing is permitted to a certain extent. Other types of protected areas include national nature parks, zakazniks (referring to "state game reserve" because a limited amount of hunting is allowed there), nature monuments (often individual trees, geological exposures, or other small areas), etc. Some zapovedniks are recognized as biosphere reserves (or sanctuaries). In Russia there are 101 zapovedniks covering about , or about 1.4% of the country's total area. They include everything from isolated patches of steppe to large tracts of Siberia and the Arctic, and range in size from Galich'ya Gora at 2.31 km2 (570 acres) to the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve at The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources oversees 99 of the zapovedniks. The exception is Il'menskiy, which is administered by the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Galich'ya Gora, administered by Voronezh State University.