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2026. Vol.11. №1.

Maika Lunevskaya: In search of new rural poetry

Apr 05 2026

Markov A.V. Maika Lunevskaya: In search of new rural poetry // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2026. V.11. №1. P. 187-202.

EDN: OREOXO

Annotation

Maika Lunevskaya is a contemporary Russian poet, artist and musician, whose works connect peasant and post-peasant poetic traditions. She was born in Tambov but spent most of her life in the village of Pervaya Berezovka. Her works embody the “new rurality” — a conscious choice of rural life as a form of aesthetic and existential resistance to urbanization. Her poetry combines folklore motifs, ecological ref lection and digital scenography, creating a unique artistic world at the intersection of peasant tradition and postmodern sensibility. By considering her book Not Enough Memory (2024) in the context of depeasantization theories (Shanin, Vinogradsky and Vinogradskaya) and ecocriticism (Morton), the author shows how Lunevskaya reinterprets the legacy of peasant poetry (Klyuev, Yesenin, Rubtsov). Her poetry is not a return to pastoral idyll but an exploration of rural life as a space of labor, loss and creative survival in the anthropocene. Her poetry, graphics and music imply a dialogue between tradition and the present time. The book Not Enough Memory shows how peasant motifs (nature, cyclical time, folk imagery) are intertwined with ideas of ecological crisis, rural decay and digitalization. Lunevskaya avoids romanticizing rural life, instead presenting it as a space of existential reflection. A distinctive feature of her work is its multimedia nature: poems are accompanied by marker drawings, music (self-composed songs) and visual content on social media — rural life is presented as a performance, which the author describes as a fairground poetics — a fusion of traditional and contemporary art forms. Lunevskaya reinterprets the legacy of peasant poets, freeing it from naivety and exoticization. Her texts are “anti-pastoral”, since nature does not console but silently watches the decline. An ecocritical reading reveals ideas of anthropogenic impact, “nature-as-ruin”, and a non-anthropocentric worldview. Thus, Lunevskaya’s works form a new canon of post-peasant poetry relevant for the era of ecological and cultural transformations.

Keywords

Maika Lunevskaya, post-peasant poetry, contemporary Russian literature, ecocriticism, folklore motifs, anti-pastoral, rural life, multimedia art, existential lyricism, visual poetry, tradition and the present time, fairground poetics.  

About the author

Alexander V. Markov, DSc (Philology), Professor of the Department of Cinema and Contemporary Art, Russian State University for the Humanities. Miusskaya Sq., 6, Moscow, 125047, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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Additional Info

2021. Vol.6. №1.

Life cycles of ecovillages

Apr 28 2021

Kuznetsova E.V. Life cycles of ecovillages . // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2021. V.6. №1. P. 170-179.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2021-6-1-170-179

Annotation

Ecovillages are forms of the ideological community that aims at providing a group of people with an environmentally friendly space for living together. Some kind of the contemporary estate is the most widespread type of ecovillages in Russia. The author considers the key factors affecting the development of such ecovillages and its main stages. The study confirmed the author’s assumption about the certain stages in the ecovillage development and about the factors of its success. In general, villagers have to follow several rules that ensure the successful group dynamics. First, to select members of the settlement very carefully, because this choice has an important impact not only on the economy (experienced settlers understand what resources a person lacks for the development of his estate) but also on communications. Second, to formalize the economic interaction as fast as possible: to ensure a clear process of voting for initiatives and to choose an initiative group responsible for fundraising. Third, to be ready for disappointments and departures of members whose expectations were not met. Fourth, at the first stages of the ecovillage development, to try to implement as many projects as possible in order to unite people and form mini-groups for the comfortable interaction of ecovillagers.

Keywords

Ecovillages, settlements of estates, anastasians, social structure of rural communities, local communities, ruralization, rural life, group dynamics, psychology.

About the author

Elizaveta V. Kuznetsova, Analyst, Design-Training Laboratory for Municipal Administration, National Research University Higher School of Economics. 101000, Moscow, Myasnitskaya St., 20.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 


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Russian Peasant Studies

Peer-reviewed interdisciplinary academic journal in the field of theoretical and empirical peasant studies, rural sociology, economics and social geography. The journal publishes original works on the issues of socio-economic development of agricultural regions of Russia and the world, the history of the peasantry, including its formation and evolution, particularly from philosophical and cultural studies viewpoints. The journal aims at exploring the paths of Russian and international rural development and supporting cooperation of agrarian researchers representing different scientific disciplines. Read more>

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