The Soviet Union once hunted endangered whales to the brink of extinction

13 million people go whale-watching every year, marveling at the sight of the largest animals ever to exist. A century ago, few people saw a whale. In the 20th century, several species were almost wiped out by massive industrial-scale hunting.

Humans have wreaked havoc on the ocean, but also how they can change course. In my new book, Red Leviathan: The Secret History of Soviet Whaling, I describe how the Soviet Union was central both to this deadly industry and to scientific research.

From wood to steel and bad to worse

At the beginning of the 20th century, it was thought that whales might get a reprieve. The era of whaling from sailboats depicted in Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick" almost wiped out slow, fat species like right and bowhead whales.

The US whalers sailed into every corner of the world's oceans in the 1800s. The tsarist officials watched in horror as the Americans slaughtered whales.

The use of whale oil as a fuel began in the 1870's. The industry seemed to be near its end with few catchable whales left. New markets were discovered by whalers. Through hydrogenation, a chemical process that can be used to turn liquid oils into solid or semi-solid fat, manufacturers were able to transform smelly whale products into odorless margarine.

The stern slipway which allowed whale carcasses to be processed on board ships was invented by Norwegians around the same time. Along with diesel engines and steel hull, these technologies allowed whalers to target previously untouched species.

Late to the party, late to leave

In the 1920s and 30s, Norwegian, British, and Japanese whalers cut through whale populations on a scale that is hard to believe today. Over 63,000 large whales were killed and processed in the year 1937.

After World War II, many governments realized that the survival of some whale species was in danger. The International Whaling Commission was created in order to head off a return to prewar levels of whaling.

The Slava, or Glory, a former Nazi whaleship, was taken over by the USSR in that year. The country played a central role in the most disastrous two decades of whales.