printContemporary Russian Village:
Current Problems and Their Reflection in Agrarian Sociology
Velikiy P.P.
Leading Researcher, Institute of Agrarian Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saratov, Russia iagpran@mail.ru
Vyalshina A.A.
Cand. Sci. (Sociol.), Head, Laboratory of Social Development of the Agro- Industrial Complex and Rural Territories, Institute of Agrarian Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saratov, Russia. anvyal@mail.ru
Velikiy P.P., Vyalshina A.A. Contemporary Russian Village: Current Problems and Their Reflection in Agrarian Sociology. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2025. No 1. P. 53-69
The article presents an analysis of the research of agricultural scientists, primarily sociologists, on the state of the social living space in the village over the past decade. The article examines the trends in the self-development of the Russian village and the participation of domestic sociologists in their comprehension. The main idea of considering the development of the agricultural sphere is the recognition of the need for a more fundamental connection: social through economics, economics through social. However, there are still gaps in this: the main participants in the production of agricultural products – skilled physical workers – are not included in collaboration with management in the creative development of innovations and do not have participatory functions. Opportunities for upward mobility and career growth are practically nonexistent for them. The article analyzes innovative concepts, methodological approaches of researchers from the main sociological centers of the country, taking into account an increasingly complex social reality and changes in science itself. The authors offer their own views on the fullness with which sociological thought covers and explain the objective contradictions of the modernization of economic and social and cultural connections and relations in the life of the Russian village at the beginning of the 21st century, as well as the ways of its entry onto the trajectory of movement towards a new level of development. Research of rural realities in their dynamics shows that, despite high economic achievements of the agricultural sector as a whole, the level of income of rural residents remained lower than in the city throughout the post-reform period. Self-employment of rural families is limited by the actions of large and super- large agricultural enterprises. The land concentration in rural families increases the high unemployment. Modernization in the village, displacing excess workers, is not correlated with the creation of new jobs. In this regard, the article shows positive practices described in sociological publications. The main attention is paid to those studies in which these problems are solved in a comprehensive manner. The problem of rural population reproduction is becoming especially urgent. Both material and non-material factors influence the choice of life plans by rural youth. Research shows that rural residents, rooted in the rural way of life and engaged in agricultural production, more often than others orient their children towards work in small- scale agricultural production and living in rural areas. An examination of real subgroups within rural society shows that each of the identified groups is defined in the social and structural sense by a specific combination of features. An employee of an agricultural organization and his colleague, who terminated the employment relationship and became the owner of a commercial private farm perform similar labor operations, but are representatives of different social groups. The actual problems to be solved by organizations responsible for the life of the Russian countryside are related to overcoming the uneven availability of channels for ensuring the economic and social well-being of the rural population. Understanding ways to improve the functioning of the agro-industrial complex and rural life is an interdisciplinary task, relevant for research by economists, geographers, historians, psychologists, and social doctors. But despite the differences in theoretical approaches and methodological features, most scientists agree on one thing: Russian village faces challenges that actualize the need for transition to a new development paradigm.
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