Post-socialist agricultural cooperatives in Russia: a case study of top-down cooperatives in the Belgorod region |
| |
Authors: | Alexander Kurakin |
| |
Affiliation: | Laboratory for Studies in Economic Sociology, National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), Moscow, Russia |
| |
Abstract: | Through a study of agricultural service cooperatives in Russia’s Belgorod region, this article addresses two gaps in the literature: first, the dearth of empirical studies on cooperatives in post-socialist Russia; second, the lack of attention to top-down cooperatives in the global literature, and the overly negative approach to the topic in the few extant studies. Whereas state attempts to establish agricultural cooperatives in Russia in a top-down fashion have largely failed, such cooperatives have sprung up widely in Belgorod. The article investigates: (1) what influence the (regional) state exerts on the cooperatives, and how that affects their daily functioning and viability; and (2) to what extent such top-down cooperatives might evolve into less state-led forms, such as classic member-driven or business-like cooperatives. |
| |
Keywords: | Cooperatives top-down cooperatives Russia agriculture social capital |
|
|