State of Agriculture in Middle Urals in “Stagnant” Decade (1971—1980): Development or Stagnation?

Abstract

The relevance of the study is due to the enduring theoretical and practical interest shown by Russian society in the historical period studied in the article. The novelty of the study is seen in the fact that the materials from the funds of three regional archives are used in the article. It is emphasized that the decade under study was the peak of the historical period known as “stagnant”, becoming the last relatively prosperous decade in the history of the USSR. It is argued that the 1970s occupy a special place in the history of the former USSR. The authors state that the policy of “détente” provided the country with a certain foreign policy stability. Attention is focused on the fact that the development of stagnation phenomena in the economy of the country and the region in the 1970s are clearly visible when analyzing the state of affairs in the agricultural sector of the economy. It is proved that during the decade under study, as a whole, there was no significant improvement in providing the population of the region with agricultural products. It is concluded that in the region’s agriculture in the 1970s, opposite processes took place: the growth of investment, on the one hand, and the growth of stagnation, on the other.