AGRICULTURAL REFORM IN THE NONCHERNOZEM ZONE: THE CASE OF KOSTROMA OBLAST

Abstract

The author, based on research in the field, describes progress toward agricultural reform in Kostroma Oblast, in Russia's Non-chernozem Zone. Particularly, the relationship of rural demographic structure and land quality to progress toward the establishment of private farms is examined, based on the assumption that farmers' risk-taking behavior and calculations of economic rationality are affected by the character of the rural population and land resources available to it. The contrasts made between legislative intent and reality is instructive for understanding how various aspects of the reform process are proceeding elsewhere, and comparisons are made with oblasts in other parts of Russia.