Book

The peasants of central Russia

Waveland Press, Inc. • Prospect Heights, Ill. • Published In 1988 • Pages:

By: Dunn, Stephen Porter, Dunn, Ethel.

Abstract

This book describes the post-revolutionary Soviet policies and processes that transformed the Central Russian countryside from traditional peasant to modern industrial agriculture. The discussion focuses on empirical comparison of the economic conditions for two separate communities and periods: Gadyshi (Komsomol’skiy) during the early 1920s, when the new communist-led regime redistributed farmland and reorganized rural villages into new units administered by elected officials; and Viriatino (Viryatino) during the mid-1950s, when the regime completed its reorganization of formerly autonomous or semi-autonomous farming households into party-run socialist communes. Important changes that occurred over the course of those years include the elimination of land-based inequalities, an increase in productivity through adoption of improved agronomic practices, and expanded opportunities for education and salaried employment leading to the out-migration of rural youth to towns. Areas of significant continuity are also documented, including family life, religiosity, folk arts, marriage customs, and other aspects of traditional Russian culture and society.

Region

Europe

Sub Region

Eastern Europe

Document Type

Book

Evaluation

Creator Type

Anthropologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Teferi Abate Adem ; 2018

Field Date

1964

Coverage Date

1920-1966

Coverage Place

Central Russia

Notes

By Stephen P. Dunn and Ethel Dunn

Includes bibliographical references (p. 135-139)

LCSH

Peasants--Soviet Union

Farm life--Soviet Union

Soviet Union--Rural conditions