Abakumov I. B., Nikulin A. M. “And I started exploring this farm…” // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2026. V.11. №3. P. 271-283.

EDN: LVUQHV

Annotation

In the second part of his biographical interview, Igor Borisovich Abakumov concludes his recollections of agrarian reforms in the perestroika era, especially those linked to the emergence of a group of farmers in Russia, and reflects on key events in the late 20th — early 21st centuries. He discusses the phenomenon of the Agrarian Party of Russia and the history of the media-backed National Project for Agricultural Development. Abakumov describes the production of his most renowned television documentaries: one exploring the interplay between the Virgin Lands Campaign and the construction of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and another — a documentary series — focusing on the preservation and development of family economy traditions within the contemporary agricultural economies of some foreign countries. The tension between the personal and the public in Russia’s agrarian development is the central theme in the second part of the interview. 

Keywords

Collective farm (kolkhoz), farmers, agroholdings, Agrarian Party of Russia, National Project, documentary.  

About the authors

Igor B. Abakumov, PhD (Economics), Head of the “Krestyanskie Vedomosti” media group. Savvа Morozov St., 1, Zhelyabino village, Krasnogorsk urban district, 143430, Moscow Region. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Alexander M. Nikulin, PhD (Economics), Head of the Center for Agrarian Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. 119571, Moscow, Vernadskogo Prosp, 82.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.