Vinogradov S.V., Eshchenko Yu.G. Rural population of the Volga-Caspian fishing region in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries: Features of formation, social structure, specific economic activity // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №2. P. 83-102.

EDN: ALJDCV

Annotation

The relevance of the study is determined by the growing food problems in the contemporary world. Food shortage stimulates scientific research, including in the historical perspective. The authors emphasize the importance of the Volga-Caspian fishing region for ensuring Russia’s food security. In the period under study, this region was the largest supplier of fish and fish products to the national food market. But only after the abolition of serfdom and successful transformations in the fishing industry under the 1860s Great Reforms, the Volga-Caspian fishing region became attractive for migrants from other regions. In the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries, fishermen (peasants) were an active force in the development of fish resources in the Volga-Caspian region, since fishing was their main professional activity and source of livelihood. The authors argue that the development model of the Volga-Caspian fishing region contributed to the well-being of its rural population and attracted an increasing number of migrants. However, while encouraging economic activity of fishermen, the state did not take responsibility for health care, education and other social spheres. Many fishing settlements were considered illegal until the early 20th century, and their residents could be evicted from homes at any time.

Keywords

Caspian Sea, Volga-Caspian fishing region, Astrakhan, Volga, rural population, fishermen, fishing, labor migration, trade.

About the authors

Sergey V. Vinogradov, DSC (History), Chief Researcher, Center for the Study of the History of the Lower Volga Region in the Soviet Period; Professor, Department of History, Astrakhan Tatishchev State University. Tatishceva str., 20 Astrakhan, 414056.
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Yuliya G. Eshchenko, PhD (History), Senior Researcher, Center for the Study of the History of the Lower Volga Region in the Soviet Period; Associate Professor, Department of History, Astrakhan Tatishchev State University. Tatishceva str., 20 Astrakhan, 414056.
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Nefedova T.G. Interaction of agriculture and forestry as a way of survival for Eastern districts of the Kostroma Region // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №1. P. 104-122.

EDN: LHJZVX

Annotation

The article considers today’s specifics of the mutual influence of agriculture and forestry in the Kostroma Region as a typical non-black-earth region, in areas remote from large cities. The main factors affecting life in such a region in recent decades have been depopulation in rural areas and small towns and concentration of production of key industries — agriculture and woodworking — in separate specialized large enterprises, while middle-sized enterprises outside cities disappear and small enterprises are forced to combine agriculture and forestry to survive. Meager pensions make the population reduce their personal subsidiary farming due to age restrictions and the lack of assistance from enterprises. Based on the study of three districts in the eastern part of the region, the article describes transformation paths of large, medium-sized and small forestry and agricultural enterprises and households in the 2000s–2020s. The author shows paths of interaction and often symbiosis of agriculture and forestry and methods of people’s adaptation to changing social-economic conditions.

Keywords

Forestry, agriculture, large and small enterprises, rural population, Non-Black Earth Region, Kostroma Region.

About the author

Tatyana G. Nefedova, DSc (Geography), Chief Researcher, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences. Staromonetny Per., 29, bldg. 4, Moscow, 119017, Russia.
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Dorofeev A. F., Belozerova I. A., Krikun E. V., Davityan M. G. Organization of the rural population’s leisure activities as a factor of preservation and development of the rural human capital // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2024. V.9. №4. P. 246-256.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2024-9-4-246-256

Annotation

The article describes the role of leisure activities in the effective development of human capital in rural areas. The article is based on the results of the monitoring study conducted by the survey method to examine the cultural-leisure activities of villagers in the Belgorod district of the Belgorod Region. The culture of leisure in the rural society was assessed according to the three main indicators — institutional, information and sociological. The authors identified the following rural groups depending on cultural-leisure preferences and activities: consumer (50%), spontaneous (18%), limited (17%) and active (15%). According to the features of leisure, seven types of cultural-leisure activities were identified: entertaining (28%), imitative (20%), consumer (19%), conservative (10%), contemplative (9%), cultural-creative (9%) and non-traditional (5%). Despite the declared desire to take an active part in cultural events (83%), only 10% of villagers do participate in them. One of the reasons is the discrepancy between cultural needs and the ability of cultural institutions to satisfy them. The authors note that the effective organization of cultural-leisure activities influences both formation and reproduction of human capital in rural areas. Thus, indicators of the improving quality of life in rural areas are not only modernized production and high wages but also the development of educational and cultural-leisure institutions.

Keywords

Leisure culture, cultural-leisure activities, human capital, rural population, rural territories, rural development, economic efficiency, agrarian policy.

About the authors

Andrey F. Dorofeev, DSc (Economics), Associate Professor, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, Belgorod State Agrarian University named after V.Ya. Gorin. 308503, Belgorog region, pos. Maysky, Vavilova str., 1.
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Irina A. Belozerova, PhD (Philosophy), Associate Professor, Belgorod State Agrarian University named after V.Ya. Gorin. 308503, Belgorog region, pos. Maysky, Vavilova str., 1.
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Elena V. Krikun, PhD (Philosophy), Associate Professor; Belgorod State Agrarian University named after V.Ya. Gorin. 308503, Belgorog region, pos. Maysky, Vavilova str., 1.
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Manushak G. Davityan, PhD (Sociology), Associate Professor; Belgorod State Agrarian University named after V.Ya. Gorin. 308503,Belgorog region, pos. Maysky, Vavilova str., 1.
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Loginov D. M. Russia’s rural population: Subjective well-being and social-economic practices // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2024. V.9. №2. P. 180-196.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2024-9-2-180-196

Annotation

Based on the data of the representative sociological survey conducted by the Institute of Social Analysis and Forecasting in 2023, the author considers indicators of subjective well-being and life practices of Russia’s rural population. The relevance of the suggested analysis is determined by the scale of territorial and settlement differentiation in living standards and by the current social-economic risks of decreasing well-being. The author focuses on various aspects of life satisfaction and on the ideas about their dynamics, consumer and credit-savings behavior and features of rural social interactions. The survey results show a generally favorable situation regarding the villagers’ life satisfaction, but the problem zone is possibilities of getting qualified medical help. In the emotional perspective, two thirds of villagers see opportunities for self-realization, while a half regularly feel anxiety and depression, and every tenth suffers from them the most. The important feature of consumer behavior is that half of rural population is forced to shop at minimum prices. More than half of rural respondents use the Internet for consumer practices, and every fifth does it very actively. Some villagers ensure the acceptable quality of life with credits and savings, and there is a significant group of financial risk. The majority considers as the main source of support their “close social circle” since there are extremely low expectations from institutions — both state and public.

Keywords

Rural population, rural territories, subjective well-being, social well-being, standard of living, quality of life, social-economic behavior, social-economic practices, life satisfaction, consumption, social interactions.

About the author

Dmitry M. Loginov, PhD (Economics), Senior Researcher, Institute of Social Analysis and Forecasting, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Prechistenskaya Nab., 11, bldg. 1, Moscow, 119034, Russia.
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Kartseva M. A., Mkrtchyan N. V., Florinskaya Yu. F. Rural-urban migration in contemporary Russia through the prism of quantitative and qualitative analysis // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2024. V.9. №2. P. 153-179.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2024-9-2-153-179

Annotation

The authors consider the Russian rural-urban migration, focusing on its current trends. The migration loss of rural population has decreased slightly; however, the outflow from rural areas depends on multidirectional processes in suburbs and peripheral villages. According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, rural periphery continues to experience a strong migration decline, while the suburban village rapidly grows due to migration. Based on the microdata of the sociological survey “People, family, society” conducted by the INSAP RANEPA in 2023 and econometric techniques, the authors examined rural-urban migration as related to the labor market and income. The article shows that individual decisions to move from rural to urban areas are rational and economically justified, since such a migration improves one’s position in the labor market, increases wage and per capita income. The identified motives for migration from rural to urban areas and its social-economic drivers were confirmed by a series of in-depth interviews conducted in the summer of 2023.

Keywords

Rural area, rural population, cities, rural-urban migration, employment, wage, income.

About the authors

Marina A. Kartseva, PhD (Economics), Deputy Head of the Institute for Science, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Prosp. Vernadskogo, 82, Moscow, 119571, Russia.
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Nikita V. Mkrtchyan, PhD (Geography), Senior Researcher, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Institute for Science, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Prosp. Vernadskogo, 82, Moscow, 119571, Russia.
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Yulia F. Florinskaya, PhD (Geography), Senior Researcher, Institute for Science, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration; National Research University Higher School of Economics, Prosp. Vernadskogo, 82, Moscow, 119571, Russia.
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Pavlyukevich R.V., Vasyutin I.A. Dynamics of the number of labor resources in the Krasnoyarsk Region agriculture under N.S. Khrushchev’s transformations // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2020. V.5. №4. P. 131-141.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2020-5-4-131-141

Annotation

The article considers the impact of Khrushchev’s reforms on the dynamics of the number of the able-bodied population in rural areas of the Krasnoyarsk Region. During the period under consideration, there were two contradictory trends in the Krasnoyarsk Region. On the one hand, under the virgin-land campaign, there was an inflow of immigrants from other regions of the Soviet Union. According to some researchers, this planned wave of immigrants significantly improved the situation in the Krasnoyarsk Region agriculture and partially solved the problem of shortage of workers, which was determined by the campaign for the introduction of virgin and fallow lands into agricultural circulation. On the other hand, urbanization continued, including the large-scale industrial development of the region, which needed an inflow of the able-bodied population to its cities. As in other regions of the country, the main donor of the able-bodied population for the industry was the village. Thus, Khrushchev’s transformations determined a paradoxical situation: the village was receiving new labor resources and at the same time was losing population that moved to the cities with the industrial facilities. The inflow of new population into the village could not compensate for the loss of labor resources in agriculture.

Keywords

labor resources, modernization, rural population, urban population, Krasnoyarsk Region, N.S. Khrushchev’s reforms

About the authors

Ruslan V. Pavlyukevich, PhD (History), Associate Professor, Department of History and Political Sciences, Krasnoyarsk State Agrarian University. 660012, Krasnoyarsk, Semaphornaya St., 189a.
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Ivan A. Vasyutin, Master's Student, Department of General History, Siberian Federal University. 660041, Krasnoyarsk, Svobodny Pr., 79.
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