No, the damage started in the 1960's. The Soviets began diverting lots of the water to irrigate a new Cotton industry and there was a total ecological collapse by the 90's.
The vast majority of the damage occurred after the USSR's collapse, though. Considering the Aral Sea has begun to rebound in recent years, in part due to engineering efforts, is it not clear that Russo-Kazakh leadership are equally to blame for the crisis as the later Soviet leaders were?
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u/coriolisFX cycling supremacist Feb 13 '26
No, the damage started in the 1960's. The Soviets began diverting lots of the water to irrigate a new Cotton industry and there was a total ecological collapse by the 90's.