Twenty-five years of Russia’s post-Soviet agriculture: Geographical trends and contradictions

Abstract

Structural and regional changes in Russian agriculture over the past 25 years are analyzed, and the main antagonistic trends in its development are identified. Regional differences in decreasing planted areas are considered, which nevertheless did not hinder increased crop production or its exports. Annual changes in the balances of production and consumption; grain, meat, and milk exports and imports; and regional shifts in the production of key products are analyzed. Herd dynamics of various cattle and poultry species and changes in the ratio of meat-to-milk production at agricultural enterprises, farms, and homesteads are considered. Analysis of production concentration in agroholdings has shown that it facilitates urban food supply, but intensifies the spatial polarization of agriculture. Changes in the production pattern in the aftermath of the crisis and modernization of agriculture are considered in comparison to decreasing employment, the low prestige of agricultural labor, and its underpayment. These have resulted in increased rural unemployment and expanded temporal labor migration (otkhodnichestvo) from country to cities. Temporal labor migration in several regions surrounding the Moscow agglomeration has led to the blockage of agricultural development. Graphs and maps are widely used.