Shifts in rural population patterns and changes in the agriculture of the central regions of the European U.S.S.R.

Abstract

Unlike most Western countries, the U.S.S.R. is still at the stage of fairly rapid urbanization and rural depopulation. The latter phenomenon is investigated in the context of the non-Black Earth belt of European Russia where it is demonstrated that rural population density now correlates more closely with urbanization levels than it does with the proportion of agricultural land in an area. Reductions in agricultural employment have been accompanied by losses in output and the latter has been minimally influenced by investment policy. Detailed studies undertaken in several regions (oblasts) indicate that territorial contrasts in agricultural productivity have endured in spite of policies meant to ameliorate them, meaning that regional plans have consistently failed to reach their objectives. The conventional Soviet view that increases in agricultural production can be achieved by expanding the area under cultivation and increasing agricultural employment is challenged and it is suggested that only an economic reform which breaks established practices can improve the situation radically.