East meets West: Utilising Western literature to conceptualise post-Soviet agrarian change

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That family farming has not become the dominant agrarian form in post-Soviet countries is now both an accepted fact and puzzle of the post-Soviet period. Drawing on Friedmann's [1980; 1978a; 1978b] work as an example, it is argued that foundational sociology of agriculture literature can provide useful insights into the post-Soviet agricultural transition, raising important issues surrounding the nature of agrarian change processes. These include: the interdependence of collectivised farming and home gardens as a joint form of production, the implications of the technical level of world agricultural production, and the role of informal ties in resisting commoditisation, particularly during periods of economic and political instability.