1st Edition

Continuity And Change In Rural Russia A Geographical Perspective

By Gregory Ioffe, Tatyana Nefedova Copyright 1997
    326 Pages
    by Routledge

    327 Pages
    by Routledge

    Contrary to the viewpoint of many Western scholars, the authors of this penetrating analysis argue that private farming is not a viable option in Russia's future. Instead, a convergence of Soviet-style subsidiary farming with traditional and reorganized collective farms is the most plausible path of evolution in most rural areas.Grigory Ioffe and Tatyana Nefedova arrive at this conclusion by a careful examination of ongoing reform efforts in Russian agriculture against the backdrop of European and Russian agrarian history and rural spatial development since the late nineteenth century. The comparisons at the national level are then filled in with consideration of a number of Russian provinces (oblasti) and regions (raiony). Their research reveals the substantial negative impact of rural depopulation on the Russian agrarian economy. Seventy original maps richly complement and support the narrative.

    * In Place of an Introduction * Historical Construction of Russias Inter-Urban Space * Russian Agriculture Early in the 20th Century: Social Peculiarities and Spatial Distinctions * The Evolution of Russian Agriculture, 19601990: Organization and Management Priorities * Agricultural Output and Production Factors Prior to the 1990s * Rural Population Change in 19591989 and Rural Infrastructure * Crisis and Reform in the 1990s: The Economic Aspect * Crisis and Reform in the 1990s: Social Implications * The Chernozem Countryside * The Province of Belgorod * The Non-Chernozem Zone * The Province of Yaroslavl * Polarization of the Rural Activity Space * Urbanites in the Countryside * Re-Settlers: A New Diaspora? * Disappearing Crops: A Case Study of Flax in the Province of Kostroma * Large Mechanized Farms * Conclusion

    Biography

    Gregory Ioffe