The Moral Economy Reconsidered This page intentionally left blank The Moral Economy Reconsidered Russia’s Search For Agrarian Capitalism Stephen K. Wegren THEMORALECONOMYRECONSIDERED © Stephen K.Wegren,2005. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2005 978-1-4039-6950-7 All rights reserved.No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2005 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue,New York,N.Y.10010 and Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire,England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St.Martin’s Press,LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States,United Kingdom and other countries.Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-53133-2 ISBN 978-0-230-60113-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230601130 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wegren,Stephen K.,1956– The moral economy reconsidered :Russia’s search for agrarian capitalism / by Stephen K.Wegren. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1.Peasantry—Russia (Federation) 2.Land reform—Russia (Federation) 3.Rural renewal—Russia (Federation) 4.Agriculture— Economic aspects—Russia (Federation) 5.Russia (Federation)— Rural conditions.I.Title. HD1536.R9W44 2005 338.1(cid:2)0947—dc22 2004064917 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd.,Chennai,India. First edition:August 2005 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Oksana and Alina This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Tables ix Preface xi Chapter 1 Russia’s Agrarian Question in Historical and Contemporary Context 1 Chapter 2 Why Peasants Adapt: Origins of Behavioral Change Under Yeltsin 35 Chapter 3 How Peasants Adapt: Large Farms and Farm Managers 61 Chapter 4 How Peasants Adapt: Rural Households 105 Chapter 5 Effects of Adaptation and Sources of Rural Revival 153 Chapter 6 Peasants’ Moral Economy and Implications for Russia’s Agrarian Capitalism 197 Notes 215 Index 264 This page intentionally left blank List of Tables 2.1 Basic indicators of Russian agricultural inputs, 1990–2000 44 2.2 Trends in production capacity by region, European Russia, 1991–1999 45 2.3 Changes in food output by region, European Russia, 1991–1999 46 2.4 Terms of trade for agricultural products, 1992–2000 48 2.5 Policy positions of rural conservatives and liberals during Yeltsin period 56 2.6 Agricultural interests and state policy: USSR and Russia 58 3.1 Distribution of agricultural enterprises by form of organization in January 2000 68 3.2 Internal and external operational changes in large agricultural enterprises 80 3.3 Evaluations of labor discipline following farm reorganization 81 3.4 Adaptive measures by privatized and non-privatized farms in Nizhnii Novgorod and Orel’ Oblasts 83 3.5 Size of livestock herds, 1992–2002 85 3.6 Evaluation of changes in material conditions of farm employees 93 3.7 Attitudes of land buyers, land sellers, and experts toward private ownership of land in Russia 97 3.8 Support for agricultural policy measures 101 3.9 Implementation of state policy measures 102 4.1 Percent of income received as monetary income, urban and rural households, 1997–2002 111 4.2 Construction of rural infrastructure, 1990–2000 114 4.3 Farm workers’ perceptions about their family’s material condition 116 4.4 Rural orientations to market reforms, 1998–2002 116 4.5 Food output from households, 1991–2002 120 4.6 Food sales from households, 1991–2002 126