Land Abandonment in Russia

Abstract

Field observations in two regions of European Russia (Kostroma and Samara oblasts) in summer 2010, reinforced by satellite imagery, provide a basis for a team of U.S. and Russian geographers to investigate ongoing changes in agricultural land use since the early 1990s. The authors highlight the contrasting situations in Kostroma (northern European Russia), where agriculture is limited and in retreat beyond relatively small scale operations in suburbia, and Samara (southern European Russia), where agricultural activity appears to be sustainable, albeit on a somewhat less extensive spatial scale than in the past. The comparison suggests that the change from central planning to unregulated market has not been popular, and that crop farming in both regions has better prospects than animal husbandry. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O130, P320, Q150, R140. 1 table, 17 figures, 21 references.

Keywords:

• Russia
• agriculture
• land abandonment
• crop farming
• crop rotation
• animal husbandry
• dairying
• rural depopulation
• central planning
• market reform