Reusova T. V., Strepetova O. A., Balakirev N. A., Novikov M. V., Orlova E. A. Main commercial features of local sable skins // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2024. V.9. №1. P. 124-140.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2024-9-1-124-140

Annotation

To increase the competitiveness of the Russian sable products according to the requirements of the contemporary fur market, we need a comprehensive study of the properties of farmed and commercial sable skins. The article presents the results of the study of the commercial properties of the farmed crossbred sable skins, which determine their quality: height and thickness of hair, length and thickness of different categories of hair, and skin thickness depending on the topographic area. The authors conducted a monitoring of the fur goods sales at the joint international auction of the auction company “Fur Union” and the Baikal auction company “Russian Sable” in Saint Petersburg from February 2022 to September 2023, focusing on the untreated skins of the farmed crossbred sable (males and females) of the third and fifth colors. According to the results, the crossing of females of farmed sable with males of Yakut sable determined the increased uniformity of the skin hair of crossbred sable by topographic area, and the reduced thickness of the upper tier, which made the sable skin hair softer and silkier. The analysis of the auction results showed that the light-colored sable skins have a higher share of sales (68%–72%) and are in steady demand. Thus, the breeding work aimed at improving the quality of the sable skin hair and at increasing the color variability of the crossbred sable will ensure demand for farmed sable skins on the fur market.

Keywords

Skins of farmed sable, properties of skins, auction, monitoring, trade sales.

About the authors

Tatiana V. Reusova, PhD (Technical Sciences), Associate Professor, Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after K. I. Scryabin. Akademika Scryabina St., 23, Moscow, 109472.
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Oksana А. Strepetova, PhD (Technical Sciences), Associate Professor, Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after of K. I. Scryabin. Akademika Scryabina St., 23, Moscow, 109472.
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Nikolai A. Balakirev, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, DSc (Agricultural Sciences), Professor, Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after K. I. Scryabin. Akademika Scryabina St., 23, Moscow, 109472.
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Novikov Mikhail V., PhD (Technical Sciences), Associate Professor, Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after K. I. Scryabin. Akademika Scryabina St., 23, Moscow, 109472.
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Elena A. Orlova, PhD (Agricultural Sciences), Associate Professor, Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after K. I. Scryabin. Akademika Scryabina St., 23, Moscow, 109472.
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Zakharov K. V., Makarova E. A., Konovalov A. M., Lomskov M. A. The influence of regional social-economic factors on the illegal hunting of fur-bearing animals // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2024. V.9. №1. P. 107-123.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2024-9-1-107-123

Annotation

Poaching is a complex phenomenon influenced by a variety of factors, including moral, social, economic and other; therefore, the study of its causes has scientific and practical significance. To identify the influence of social-economic factors on illegal hunting, the authors considered some regions of the Russian Federation, comparing their indicators of social-economic development with the share of illegally hunted ungulates and fur-bearing animals; this share differs significantly by region; ungulates are a more attractive target for poachers. To study the causes of poaching, the authors focused on the following social-economic factors: regional gross domestic product (GDP), incomes of residents, consumer price index for goods and services, population size, the share of villagers and the share of people with the hunting license in the regional population, and road network density. Some reliable factors were identified (the share of people with the hunting license, the share of villagers, incomes of residents and regional GDP), but the resulting models explain a small part of the variance. However, the study confirmed the complex nature of poaching as it failed to explain this phenomenon through a set of seemingly obvious variables, which was done for other countries.

Keywords

Poaching, hunting, social-economic indicators, transport accessibility, Russian regions, fur-bearing animals.

About the authors

Konstantin V. Zakharov, PhD (Biology), Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Ecology and Protection of Nature named after A.G. Bannikov, Faculty of Biotechnology and Ecology, Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after K. I. Skryabin. Akademika Skryabina St., 23, Moscow, 109472.
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Elena A. Makarova, PhD (Biology), Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Ecology and Protection of Nature named after A.G. Bannikov, Faculty of Biotechnology and Ecology, Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after K. I. Skryabin. Akademika Skryabina St., 23, Moscow, 109472.
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Alexander M. Konovalov, PhD (Agricultural Sciences), Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Ecology and Protection of Nature named after A. G. Bannikov, Faculty of Biotechnology and Ecology, Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after K. I. Skryabin. Akademika Skryabina St., 23, Moscow, 109472.
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Mikhail A. Lomskov, PhD (Biology), Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Ecology and Protection of Nature named after A.G. Bannikov, Faculty of Biotechnology and Ecology, Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after K. I. Skryabin. Akademika Skryabina St., 23, Moscow, 109472.
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Balabeykina O. A. The phenomenon of new rural settlements on the example of the Republic of Udmurtia // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2024. V.9. №1. P. 96-106.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2024-9-1-96-106

Annotation

The article aims at presenting a list of new rural settlements in the Republic of Udmurtia, which were founded in the first two decades of the 21st century, and at identifying the features of their social-economic functioning and economic significance. The article is based on the results of the author’s official requests about the liquidation and emergence of new settlements, which were made in November 2023 to the authorities and administration of the Republic of Udmurtia; on the collected legal documents of regional importance, cartographic, scientific, and online sources. Thus, the author identifies quantitative and qualitative characteristics of restored villages in the Republic of Udmurtia, emphasizes the high interest in the liquidated rural settlements, presents a list of new villages which appeared on the site of the previously abolished ones, and describes the economic activity of villagers as predominantly agricultural and agrotourism. The available facts of the restoration of previously abolished villages in the Republic of Udmurtia show this restoration as an isolated phenomenon, but it should be evaluated positively in both economic and social terms.

Keywords

Village, creation of a settlement, Republic of Udmurtia, rural studies, rural area, abolished settlement.

About the author

Olga A. Balabeykina, PhD (Geography), Associate Professor, Department of Regional Economics and Environmental Management, Saint Petersburg State Economic University, Canala Griboedova Nab., 30–32, Letter A, Saint Petersburg, 191023.
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Breslavsky A. S. Suburbs of Ulan-Ude: Practices of citizenship and the “right to the city” // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2024. V.9. №1. P. 75-95.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2024-9-1-75-95

Annotation

The author shows how local residents of the closest suburbs of Ulan-Ude (which grew rapidly in the 2000s — 2010s due to detached houses construction, including dacha non-commercial partnerships (DNP) without basic engineering, housing and social infrastructure) defended their “right to the city” (comfortable environment in suburban residential areas, equal access to urban public goods, etc.). The struggle for this right implied social-political mobilization, awareness and acceptance of personal responsibility for the development of territories, including in the form of territorial public self-government (TPS) that widely developed in Buryatia in the 2010s. However, this struggle was not widespread, all-encompassing, constant and sustainable as local suburban communities remained disunited and united only to solve common problems. The case of Ulan-Ude and its suburbs shows the situational nature of urban citizenship and the continuing fragmentation of urban and suburban communities in their seemingly common strive for the adequate quality of the urban/suburban environment, equal access to public goods and urban resources. The article shows a variety of argumentations for the “right to the city’, which may directly contradict each other, since the ideals embodied in this right often are not perceived by ‘ordinary’ residents. The study is based on the author’s participant observations (from 2011), in-depth interviews with leaders and activists of TPS and DNP in the suburban settlements of Ulan–Ude (2021– 2024), a focus group (January 2024) and media publications.

Keywords

Rural migration, right to the city, Russia, Ulan-Ude, suburbs, citizenship, territorial public self-government.

About the author

Breslavsky Anatoly S., PhD (History), Senior Researcher, Center of Urban Studies, Tyumen State University. Lenina St., 23, Tyumen, 625003.
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Korolev C.M. Casus Pyalmiae: A city dweller and his village // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2023. V.8. №4. P. 152-173.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2023-8-4-152-173

Annotation

On the example of the Karelian village Pyalma, the author considers the construction of the image of the Russian traditional Northern village by former city dwellers. Based on their own ideas about the rural authenticity, they represent rural traditions to urban tourists, whose knowledge of the rural is determined by popular culture and is not supported by practical skills. By comparing the history of Pyalma with other examples of the contemporary public work with natural-cultural heritage in North-West Russia, the author shows that the typification and museumification of traditional rurality in many villages are determined by the individual desire to preserve them and ensure their development by attracting tourists and introducing activities of the ‘economy of impressions’. The author notes that for most ‘seasonal’ residents (local and urban summer residents), the historicity of the place is not as important as the natural-infrastructural features of the village location. Thus, today urban projections of rurality in historical settlements are clearly divided into general and private, commemorative-tourist and personal economic practices, which together form a post-productivist ‘new rurality’ of historical villages in the Russian North.

Keywords

New rurality, rural tourism, Russian village, Russian North, heritage, naturalcultural landscape.

About the author

Cyril M. Korolev, PhD (Philology), Head of the Patria (“Fatherland”) Center for History and Culture. Nab. Obvodnogo Kanala, 15, bldg. 1, lit. A, Saint Petersburg, 190002.
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Averkieva K.V. Rural gentrification: City dwellers in rural areas of Russia’s Non-Chernozem Region // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2023. V.8. №4. P. 137-151.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2023-8-4-137-151

Annotation

Under the long-term rural outflow to cities, urban migration to rural areas, especially of those not changing urban registration or staying in the countryside seasonally, is almost invisible. However, the influx of new residents affects rural areas greatly since city dwellers have rich social capital and other resources to transform the countryside. Foreign researchers suggest the term ‘rural gentrification’ to describe such processes. On the example of the Verkhovazhsky district of the Vologda oblast, the author shows how city dwellers participate in different spheres of the rural economic and social life or introduce new types of activities that could be characterized as sprouts of rural modernization if not for their close connection with the traditional rural life. The paper is based on the field studies conducted from 2019 to 2023, combining in-depth and expert interviews with participant observation. In the villages of the Vaga valley, there are guest houses, a center for wood-fired ceramics, a base for restorers of wooden architecture and other facilities created by city dwellers. At the same time, former city residents work in the rural social infrastructure — schools, cultural centers, shops, administrations, offering rural residents new, urban practices (public lectures, book crossing, separate waste collection, second-hand stores). On the one hand, former city residents contribute to changes in certain aspects of rural life; on the other hand, they adopt elements of rural lifestyle, which is manifested in clothing, everyday practices, and way of thinking.

Keywords

Countryside, migration from the city to the village, rural gentrification, cultural initiatives, Vologda oblast, Non-Chernozem Region.

About the author

Averkieva Kseniya V., PhD (Geography), Associate Professor, Faculty of Geography and Geoinformation Technologies, Higher School of Economics; Senior Researcher, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences. 101000, Moscow, Myasnitskaya str., 20.
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Andreeva J.O. “Fairyland”: Kin’s domain as a place of utopia and experiment // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2023. V.8. №4. P. 121-136.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2023-8-4-121-136

Annotation

The article focuses on kin’s domains — plots of at least one hectare, which became so called since the early 2000s, after the publication of the series of books by Vladimir Megre — Ringing Cedars of Russia. Megre described his meeting with the Siberian hermit Anastasia and her nostalgic stories about the kin’s domain settlements of the Vedic Russia. Readers, inspired by this narrative of the ‘golden age’, tried to create this utopia in different Russian regions — according to the followers, there are more than 500 such settlements. Kin’s domain is usually organized on agricultural land and needs the entire infrastructure, so practical skills, technical knowledge and creativity are valued by the participants. In many ways, such settlements follow the global trend of ecovillages as laboratories of sustainable development, autonomy, harmonious coexistence of man and nature, spiritual development and healing. The author shows how the economic and ideological crisis of the 1990s determined the rise of alternative teachings and the enthusiasm of builders of a bright future. At the same time, many active participants of first ecovillages and kin’s domains followed the Soviet discourse, emphasizing the significance of Soviet morality and creative self-activity. The article is based on the field studies conducted in 2008–2021 in kin’s domain settlements and at the meetings of Anastasians, and on the Internet sources.

Keywords

Kin’s domains, ecovillage, Ringing Cedars, intentional communities, leadership, utopia, experiment, commune, New Age, do-it-yourself.

About the author

Julia O. Andreeva, PhD (History), Independent Researcher. 2-ya liniya Vasilyevskogo ostrova, 53, St.-Petersburg.
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Nefedova T. G. Tatarstan: rural-urban development under the spatial trends of 1990–2020 // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2023. V.8. №4. P. 102-120.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2023-8-4-102-120

Annotation

The article examines the main trends in the economic development of the Republic of Tatarstan from 1990 to 2020 and identifies some consequences of the 2022 sanctions for these trends. The author stresses the role of Tatarstan in the life of European Russia, showing the spatial structure of its settlements and economy. The article outlines the differences in the Tatarstan industrial production, trade and agriculture by district and presents the key trends in their changes over thirty years on maps and figures. The author identifies the features of rural areas under study based on the ethnic composition of their population, distance from cities and economic transformations in agriculture. The author pays special attention to agroholdings that play an important role in the social-economic development of Tatarstan and provides examples from the history of some agroholdings to prove their impact on the economic development of rural areas. However, the role of small business in the development of rural areas is also explained, and the issues of rural development in some areas are examined in detail. The author concludes with a list of main problems in the development of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Keywords

Republic of Tatarstan, settlement, agglomeration, ethnic composition of the population, industry, agriculture, agroholdings, small business.

About the author

Nefedova Tatyana G., DSc (Geography), Chief Researcher, Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Staromonetny per., 29, Moscow, 119017.
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Samburova S.A., Alekseev A.I. Post-Soviet regional center: Urbanization or ruralization? // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2023. V.8. №3. P. 144-184.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2023-8-3-144-184

Annotation

Today, urban-type settlements still have an ‘intermediate’ position between the city and the village, as in the Soviet period. However, the consequences of the 1990s’ crisis and the transition to the market economy have changed the social-economic situation in such settlements. The authors consider Lokot in the Brasovsky district of the Bryansk Region as an example of the peripheral urban-type settlement and describe its changes on the axis of urbanization in the post-Soviet period based on the following indicators: appearance of the village, employment, mobility, migration and lifestyle of its population. Each indicator has undergone transformations of various scale since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but there is no single trend (pro-urban or pro-rural): the appearance of the village and the lifestyle of the local population have become more urban due to the development of the services sector, while employment, mobility and migration, on the contrary, have become more rural primarily due to the closure of the city-forming industrial enterprises, which led to a significant outflow of the able-bodied population to cities. Thus, the multidirectional nature of transformation does not allow to unambiguously define Lokot as a city or a village.

Keywords

Urban-type settlement, city, village, lifestyle, Bryansk Region, socialeconomic transformation.

About the authors

Samburova Svetlana A., Master’s Student, Department of Economic and Social Geography of Russia, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Leninsky Gory, 1, Moscow, 119991, Russia.
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Alekseev Alexander I., DSc (Geography), Professor, Department of Economic and Social Geography of Russia, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Leninsky Gory, 1, Moscow, 119991, Russia. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Arkhipova M.N. Management models of the northern Russian village in the post-perestroika period // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2023. V.8. №3. P. 129-143.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2023-8-3-129-143

Annotation

The article considers the management practices of the North-European Russian villagers in the post-perestroika period. Based on the field data, the author examines the practices of the heads of rural administrations in one district of the Arkhangelsk Region. The main field method were ethnographic interviews with villagers of the Arkhangelsk Region, who used to hold or has held leadership positions in rural administrations. The study shows that many villagers remember the Soviet past with nostalgia, which is explained by its special qualities — ‘stability’, ‘collectivism’, ‘mutual assistance’, ‘confidence in the future’. The author argues that there is some correlation between gender and chosen management models: as a rule, women emphasize the principles of collectivism and mutual assistance, focus on helping the most vulnerable groups in their villages (unemployed, single mothers, etc.); while men prefer administrative resources and personal connections, often ignoring the needs of their fellow villagers. The study showed that in the post-Soviet village, there was a kind of symbiosis of several management models with clear gender differences in their application.

Keywords

North of European Russia, nostalgia, gender, managers, power, mutual assistance, collectivism, perestroika, ‘transit’.

About the author

Arkhipova Maryana N., PhD (History), Senior Researcher, Center for Applied History, Institute of Social Sciences, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration; Senior Lecturer, Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Prosp. Vernadskogo, 82, bldg. 1, Moscow, 119571, Russia.
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