Trotsuk I. V. A few methodological notes based on the field observations of rural human capital in the Russia’s Non-Black Earth Region // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2024. V.9. №2. P. 6-19.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2024-9-2-6-19

Annotation

The article presents some methodological considerations on the possibilities and limitations of the qualitative approach (repeated case studies in the specific Russian region) for the sociological assessment of human capital. In the first part of the article, the author considers the Russian tradition of rural studies as combining two analytical ‘optics’ — sociological/ethnographic observations of local realities based on various combinations of qualitative techniques and a strong anthropological/ peasant-studies emphasis with large-scale social surveys aimed at macro-descriptions of agrarian reforms, rural social/human capital and agro-industrial complex under the persistent trends of social-spatial differentiation. In the second part, the author mentions the key possibilities and limitations of case studies for assessing the state and prospects of rural human capital in the most depressed rural region of Russia, focusing on the role of entrepreneurs in formal and informal support of the local rural economy and communities in cooperation with municipal and regional authorities. In the final part, the author emphasizes typologies as the analytical result of rural case studies (especially the repeated ones) and provides examples — ‘types’ of the local agricultural producer relationships with the rural settlement’s authorities and community (as the basis for preserving rural human capital) and ‘types’ of the rural entrepreneurs’ biographical trajectories (as the basis for the generational continuity of this differentiated rural stratum).

Keywords

(Repeated) case study, field research, typology, analytical generalizations, rural entrepreneur, rural human capital, positive and negative trends, local authorities, rural community, formal and informal interaction.

About the author

Trotsuk Irina V., DSc (Sociology), Professor, Sociology Department, RUDN University; Senior Researcher, Center for Agrarian Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration; Intercenter, Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences. 119571, Moscow, Vernadskogo Prosp., 82.
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The article was submitted on 08.02.2024.

Prusikhin O.E., Krutov O.D., Vorobiev M.I., Loktionov K.S., Vepritsky A.A., Alekseev A.I. A multi-scale typology of rural areas under the post-Soviet transformations (on the example of the Tambov Region) // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2023. V.8. №2. P. 64-103.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2023-8-2-64-103

Annotation

Russian countryside is heterogeneous, and in the post-Soviet period, this heterogeneity has increased. Moreover, the image of the countryside in the perception of the authorities and society is far from reality, which leads to the mistakes in the assessment of its condition and prospects. Russian scholars usually study the northern countryside and ethnic republics, while the studies of the Russian steppe regions are less common. The authors consider the factors of the rural territorial differentiation under the post-Soviet transformations in one of the most homogeneous steppe regions — Tambov — at the level of municipal districts and rural settlements. The suggested typology of districts is based on the statistical indicators which reflect changes in the intensity of territorial development in the last thirty years; and the typology of settlements is based on 53 interviews and observations during the expedition to the Michurinsky, Gavrilovsky and Uvarovsky districts in the summer of 2022. The authors conclude that the natural factor still determines the intensity of transformations both directly (higher intensification of crop production in the south) and indirectly (through the settlement and transportation system). The influence of the economic-geographical position (proximity to cities) and of the institutional factor (large investors are interested in unallocated land) is also significant.

Keywords

Post-soviet transformations, rural areas, Tambov Region, changing functions, typology, rural settlements.

About the authors

Prusikhin Oleg E., Master’s Student, Department of Economic and Social Geography of Russia, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University; Leninsky Gory, 1, Moscow, 119991.
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Krutov Oleg D., Master’s Student, Department of Economic and Social Geography of Russia, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University; Leninsky Gory, 1, Moscow, 119991.
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Vorobiev Maxim I., PhD Student, Department of Economic and Social Geography of Russia, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University; Leninsky Gory, 1, Moscow, 119991.
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Loktionov Kirill S., Bachelor’s Student, Department of Economic and Social Geography of Russia, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University; Leninsky Gory, 1, Moscow, 119991.
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Vepritsky Alexander A., Bachelor’s Student, Department of Economic and Social Geography of Russia, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University; Leninsky Gory, 1, Moscow, 119991.
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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.
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