Subsidiary Household Farming in Russian Regions in the Late 20th–Early 21st Centuries

Abstract

In the post-Soviet period, subsidiary household farming transformed from an “auxiliary” complementary type of activity as understood in Soviet terms into an important form of occupation and source of income for, primarily, residents of rural areas and small towns. However, the dramatic increase in the subsidiary household farms contribution to food production in the 1990s halted at the beginning of the 21st century and subsequently reversed to downturn. The absolute sizes of subsidiary household farming declined more rapidly in Non-Chernozem regions with an aged population as the large Soviet-style agricultural enterprises that fed it were liquidated. Animal husbandry production by subsidiary household farms grew increasingly concentrated in the southern regions of European Russia and Western Siberia. Based on official statistics, the article analyzes the leading factors that governed the regional peculiarities of subsidiary household farming transformation in the post-Soviet period. Its major types are identified, including involvement the dynamics of animal husbandry production, which is the most intensive part of subsidiary household farming.