Baskin L. M., Pokrovsky N. E., Nikolaeva U. G. Sociology on foot and from quadcopter. Rural households and village life in the Near North of Russia (on the example of the Kostroma Region) // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2022. V.7. №4. P. 72-108.
DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2022-7-4-72-108
Annotation
Rural settlements in the Russian Near North face multidirectional effects, being at the crossroads of natural and environmental zones, economic and household patterns, and modernization challenges. In the market conditions, the relatively low fertility of non-black-earth soils and harsh winters make agricultural production marginally competitive. The steady centripetal migration of rural residents to cities, population outflow, relatively low life expectancy of the working-age population, accelerated demographic aging and, thus, the centrifugal influx of dacha residents from big cities and gradual transformation of lifestyle — these are the main thematic nodes of the study. The authors analyze macro- and micro-trends in rural life through the settlement patterns, material culture, living conditions and economic practices based on the study of the out-of-town settlement locus along the Unzha River between Manturovo and Makariev (Kostroma Region). The traditional methods — observation, survey and analysis of statistical data — were supplemented by the quadcopter footage of the villages. The authors paid special attention to the architectural and planning typology of houses and to the functional structure of rural estates, which objectively reflect the history of villages and rural lifestyle and the contemporary social-cultural evolution of ‘small territories’ under the social transformation of the Near North.
Keywords
Russian Near North, Kostroma Region, rural settlements, depopulation, deurbanization, rural lifestyle, household practices, rural households, architecture of rural households, quadcopter survey.
About the authors
Baskin Leonid M., DSc (Biology), Leading Researcher, Severtsov Insitute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences. Leninsky Prosp., 33, Moscow, 119071, Russia.
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Pokrovsky Nikita E., DSc (Sociology), Professor, Chair of General Sociology, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Leading Researcher, Institute of Sociology, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences. Myasnitskaya St., 20, Moscow, 101100, Russia.
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Nikolaeva Uliana G., DSc (Economics), Leading Researcher, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Institute of Sociology, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences. Myasnitskaya St., 20, Moscow, 101100, Russia.
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Chuchkalov A. S., Mishchuk S. N., Grelya N. K. Factors of suburban rural areas turning into a depressed region (on the example of the Birobidzhan district in the Jewish Autonomous Region) // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2021. V.6. №4. P. 125-135.
DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2021-6-4-136-163
Annotation
Based on the results of field studies, the authors consider the post-Soviet transformations of the territorial organization of suburban rural areas in the depressed Far Eastern region (Birofeld and Valdheim rural administrations of the Birobidzhan district in the Jewish Autonomous Region). Transformations of rural areas are considered as determined by multidirectional factors divided into “external” (general) and “internal” (local). The article describes an impact on the countryside of such “external” factors as urbanization, changes in the specialization of agriculture and in the administrative-territorial and municipal structure, optimization of social services, changes in rural infrastructure and external institutional conditions for development. When considering the “internal” (local) factors of transformations, the authors identify differences in the social structure of migrants from Birobidzhan to the suburban countryside. The changes in the structure of the rural population by spheres of employment and prevailing sources of income are presented as a result of the combination of factors. Some changes in the lifestyle of the rural population are described. Based on the assessment of the impact of different factors on the depopulation, the authors suggest some management measures. The authors conclude that the Birobidzhan district is a rare Russian example of the agricultural suburban territory in relation to the regional center, of the countryside with a reducing number of functions.
Keywords
Rural areas, depopulation, suburban areas, transformation factors, ruralurban migration, rural employment, rural society, rural settlement, Jewish Autonomous Region, Birobidzhan, subsidiary plots, marginalization.
About the authors
Chuchkalov Alexander S., Master’s Student, Department of Economic and Social Geography of Russia, Lomonosov Moscow State University. 119991, Moscow, Leninskie Gory, 1.
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Mishchuk Svetlana N., PhD (Economics), Senior Researcher, Institute for Demographic Research, Federal Centre for Theoretical and Applied Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 119333, Moscow, Fotieva St., 6, bldg. 1; Senior Researcher, Institute for Complex Analysis of Regional Problems, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 679016, Birobidzhan, Sholem Aleichem St., 4.
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Grelya Nataliya K., Master’s Student, Department of Economic and Social Geography of Russia, Lomonosov Moscow State University. 119991, Moscow, Leninskie Gory, 1.
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Russian Peasant Studies. Scientific journal
Center for Agrarian studies of the Russian Presidental Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)
- Publisher: Delo Publishing, RANEPA
- Editor-in-Chief: Nikulin Alexander
- ISSN 2500-1809 (Print), ISSN 2949-2564 (Online)
- Founded in 2016
- Frequency: four issues per year (March, Jun, September, December)
- Open Access: All volumes and articles can be downloaded for free in the PDF format.
- Author fees: free of chagre
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- Russian registration number: PI FS77-65824 27-May-2016
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