The Russian Heartland Revisited - Book Report/Review Example

INTRODUCTION Many developed nations, as well as developing ones, are currently finding themselves faced with challenges of sustainable development and are concentrating on how to resolve such issues (Dando 43). Additionally, many authors and publishers have also come up with books regarding these social issues affecting present day individuals as a way of sensitizing them and creating awareness. While some have chosen to focus on a general concept, others have chosen to concentrate on particular issues and countries affected by the challenges. The End of Peasantry?: The Disintegration of Rural Russia is one such book published by Grigory Ioffe, Tatyana Nefedova and Ilya Zaslavsky (Wehrheim 102). These authors have conducted research devoted to sustainable development. In this particular book, they have represented a spectrum of inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches with regard to economy, ecology and the environment (Isham 67). The book discusses sustainable development as well as the future of society and the environment. Following the report by the World Commission on Environment and Development, the authors have questioned whether there is a special Swedish touch to promoting sustainable development in the society (Trevish 90). ESSAY Geography and the general physical environment are considered to be the important factors determining the way people live their lives (Ioffe, Nefedova, and Zaslavsky 130). Given the size, Russia is a preferable example for geographical studies due to its size, natural resources and variety of the physical environment. The country is also a rather harsh and complex environment where lives of Russians are determined by this particular factor, especially where agricultural activity is concerned. In 1897, many Russian citizens resided in the rural areas where they traditionally depended on agriculture (Isham 69). By 2002, an estimated 38.3 million individuals lived in the Russian countryside. The author of A New Russian Heartland: The Demographic and Economic Dimension, Andrei Trevish (2005), has investigated the impact Russia’s recent economic as well as demographic crises has had on the effective occupation of its national territory (Spulber 14). According to this particular author, effective national territory refers to the major part of Russia that produces a surplus consistently, in relation to its population and which is considered making the most contributions in supporting the country (Bradshaw and Predergrast 141). Demographic issues facing Russia as they impact the health of the country’s population, society, security, and population, are well known and largely discussed. Despite Russia’s unique demographic conditions, analysis carried out in post-Soviet years has sought to fit the country’s demographic heritage to advanced demographic patterns that are the feature for most developed nations (Ioffe et al. 133). Trevish’s book is only relevant in providing the demographic situation of Russia but not relevant in providing the physical environment of the nation. Despite the fact that the population of the country’s urban region is on the increase, most Russians who live in these urban areas were born and raised in rural villages. There are an estimated 16 million rural household farms in Russia. This confirms the fact that agriculture does indeed play a key role in the Russian economy and rural village life (Dando 44). Chapter 6 of The End of Peasantry book mainly focuses on how agriculture has a key responsibility in shaping Russia’s economic and rural village life. The manner in which the characteristics of the physical environment and location of different agricultural areas can make an impact on agricultural production, population and land abandonment, will also be discussed. Russia’s Economy, a book by William A. Dando, captures the essence of Russia’s physical environment as well as the geographical features. In this book, the author begins by stating the fact that Russia is indeed the world’s largest nation as it is twice the size of the USA (Wehrheim 111). He then proceeds to describe Russia’s landscape, which is made up of a number of vegetation zones, from deserts to forests. The types of forests and deserts are also well illustrated. Apparently, there is a certain zone south of the coniferous forests of Russia known for its rich black soil, also called chernozem, which makes the steppe Russia’s main source of grain (Isham 71). According to Lecture Notes of physical geography, steppe is one of the environmental zones that are conducive for agriculture as it has warmer climate compared to the northern side of Russia (Spulber 18). It is not uncommon to observe that those Russians residing in urban areas usually depend on food supplies from their rural-residing relatives. Collective farms in Russia were established in the late 1920s and 1930s and had numerous shared owners, supervised land, farm equipment and cattle. The main purpose of these farms was to create large land holding and to advance in technological agriculture (Bradshaw and Predergrast 142). In the following years, Russia’s collective and state farms produced an estimated 35% of meat and 30% of all milk, where these two modes of farming have since then been considered quite significant to rural village survival (Trevish 91). Characteristics relating to the physical environment of Russia, such as soil type and temperature are significant factors that tend to have an impact on agricultural production. Where temperatures are extreme, there is usually less production from the agricultural lands present, in addition to less density of the rural population residing in such regions (Dando 45). As mentioned in Dando’s book, Russia’s Economy, the southern part of European Russia contains chernozem which is suitable for agricultural activities. On the other hand, the northern part is known as non-chernozem regions, whose features include land containing permafrost or frozen soil together with short growing season of less than 10 weeks (Bradshaw and Predergrast 143). The area of dry steppe in the northern part of Kazakhstan and western Siberia’s southern region is known as virgin land, and this was converted into cropland of about 32 million hectares (Spulber 24). The challenge facing this particular area is annual moisture deficit. However, the best agricultural land for farming in Russia is mixed forest environment as there is surplus of moisture and good quality soil. One of the important factors that impact production of agriculture in Russia is the decrease in number of populations of rural dwellers (Wehrheim 115). In 1959 and 1989, statistics revealed that the number of population in central Russia and Volga area had decreased to about half, whereas farmland had also declined to about 10% (Isham 73). This fact alone is a clear indication that depopulation also tends to have a certain impact on land abandonment of farmland in Russia. Perm and Pskov are good illustrations of regions showing the manner in which environment and accessibility affect cropland contraction (Bradshaw and Predergrast 144). The northern districts of Perm are located at higher latitude as compared to those in Pskov, making the northern parts to have long and harsh winter conditions. Perm also contains environmental marginal land as compared to Pskov. On the other hand, the northern districts of Pskov are located at the same latitude as Perm’s central districts, making the northern districts of Pskov warmer as compared to those of Perm (Trevish 92). In the past, peasant communes were created by rural villagers known as Obshchina (Dando 46). Agriculture was considered a major component of Russia’s economy for many years prior to the early 20th century. The onset of Industrialization did not deter majority of Russians from being peasants working the land. Serfdom was abolished from the country in the 1861 by Alexander II (Spulber 30). This move did not run smoothly as land problems remained a big challenge for the government by the start of the 20th century. The government could not afford to take for granted the loyalty of the peasants as if they lost their support, it was in great trouble. In 1910, there was the issuance of a new land decree stating that all communes, in which no general distribution of land since 1861 took place, were declared dissolved (Trevish 93). Unfortunately, there was still a great deal of poverty in Russia’s countryside which could not be addressed by the land reforms. This is the reason as to why majority of individuals migrated to the urban centers in search of alternative work, leaving older people behind. Production of grain became slow to an extent of forcing the Russian government to import grain in order to feed itself (Isham 75). Despite all these transformations, the peasants still grew for themselves. Additionally, as Russian had an expanding industrial workforce, this situation became a concern. Those residing in urban centers had to spare some time and grow their own food where possible (Wehrheim 117). An estimated 40% of the workers in many parts of Russia possessed their own land where they could grow their own crops despite being in a highly skilled profession. Russia’s economy has in the recent past benefited from the agricultural sector, according to authors of The End of Peasantry?: The Disintegration of Rural Russia. As earlier mentioned, since the 1990s, there had existed 3 kinds of farms in Russia, that is privatized successor of former collective and state farms, individually owned household plots and family farms that emerged with family-type farms development policy (Bradshaw and Predergrast 145). By the turn of the 21st century, agricultural organizations represented approximately 40% of total agricultural output. These organizations are considered to be the main producers of grains in Russia, whereas households are the main producers of vegetables and fruits (Trevish 94). CONCLUSION Agriculture was and still is a chief component of Russia’s economy. In the past, the majority of Russians were peasants who worked on their own land, providing the nation with food. Land issues emerged in the course of years which saw serfdom being abolished in 1861. Land organization commissions were then established and charged with the responsibility of supervising the land reforms after that year. Peasants who took up the chance of owning land were not denied the right to utilize it communally by the entire village. They were also allowed to have whole blocks of land as compared to having just strips, which saw an estimated 170 million peasants own individual land by the turn of the 20th century. The agricultural sector has since then been the reason for Russia’s economic growth especially since urban dwellers also grow their own crops. As Iofe et al. state in their book The End of Peasantry?: The Disintegration of Rural Russia, Russia is expected to continue experiencing higher food demand, especially livestock products, as a result of this economic growth. Works Cited Bradshaw, M. J., and J. Prendergrast. “The Russian Heartland Revisited: An Assessment of Russia’s Transformation.” Eurasian Geography and Economics 46.2 (2005): 83-122. Print. Dando, William A. “Russia’s Economy.” Russia. 2nd Edition. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2003. Print. Ioffe, Grigory, Nefedova, Tatyana, and Ilya Zaslavsky. The End of Peasantry?: The Disintegration of Rural Russia. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh. 2006. Print. Isham, Heyward. Remaking Russia. Aldershot, Hants: M.E. Sharpe. 1995. Print. Spulber, Nicolas. Russia’s Economic Transitions: From Late Tsarism to the New Millenium. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2003. Print. Trevish, Andrei. “A New Russian Heartland: The Demographic and Economic Dimension.” Eurasian Geography and Economics 46.2 (2005): 123 – 155. Print. Wehrheim, Peter. Modeling Russia’s Economy in Transition. Armonk, NY: Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2003. Print. Read More