Ishankhodjaeva Z. R. Labor resources from Uzbekistan in the development  of Russia’s Non-Black Earth Region (1975–1985) // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2026. V.11. №2. P. 100-118.

EDN: OJQHSC

Annotation

The article considers the role of labor resources from Uzbekistan in the development of Russia’s Non-Black Earth Region from 1975 to 1985 based on the materials from the National Archive of Uzbekistan, scientific literature, periodicals and normative-legal acts of the central and republican authorities of the USSR and the Uzbek SSR. The author describes the mechanisms of attracting and employing Uzbek labor resources in the all-Union program for the integrated development of agriculture in the NonBlack Earth Region. The article presents a detailed analysis of documents regulating resettlement, organization of labor and living conditions of Uzbek workers in new regions; of the goals, scope of participation and main directions of economic development within the program; of the problems of resettlers, including difficulties in adapting to the climatic and natural conditions of the Non-Black Earth Region, social and everyday challenges, organizational and managerial shortcomings in the implementation of the project; of such causes of these problems as insufficient local infrastructure, shortcomings in planning and implementing measures for social integration of resettlers, limited attention to their national-cultural features. The study provides a deeper understanding of the interregional migration in the USSR, revealing mechanisms of interaction between republics and regions and explaining social-economic and cultural consequences of the Soviet mobilization campaigns.

Keywords

Cooperation, economy, Non-Black Earth Region, land reclamation, irrigation, integrated development, land reclamation workers, engineers, workers.  

About the author

Zamira R. Ishankhodjaeva, DSc (History), Professor, Department of History of Uzbekistan, Mirzo Ulugbek National University of Uzbekistan. University St., 4, Almazar district, Tashkent, 100174, Uzbekistan.
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Kim Chang Jin. Harvest of joy: A study of the Soviet Uzbekistan Korean millionaire kolkhoz “Politotdel” (1925-1985) // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2026. V.11. №2. P. 81-99.

EDN: MMZZUJ

Annotation

This study is an attempt of understanding the unique nature of the Soviet kolkhoz, which was both an agricultural production unit and a core institution of rural community. The issue of “advanced (or millionaire) kolkhozes” is one of those revealing the limitations and advantages of the Soviet kolkhoz system. Moreover, the experience of “advanced kolkhozes” from the mid-1930s to the 1980s allowed peasants to develop a form of local socialism from below through the “harvest of joy” rather than the “harvest of sorrow”. The “Politotdel” was one of the most famous Korean millionaire kolkhozes not only in Uzbekistan but also in the Soviet Union for about thirty years from the late 1950s. In 1953, when Hwang Man Gum with a strong entrepreneurial spirit was elected its leader, the “Politotdel” reached a turning point and made a leap forward in a short period of time. Its secrets of success were labor discipline ensured by efficient labor organization and fair wages, cultivation of kenaf and cotton as profitable main crops, mechanization (purchase of large agricultural machines after reorganization of MTS — Machine and Tractor Stations), and a solid feed base for livestock (due to the record corn harvest). The “Politotdel” and other Korean millionaire kolkhozes in Central Asia accumulated common assets of the local community in cooperation with rural intellectuals. Kolkhoz leaders, mid-level executives and farmers of the “Politotdel” were not passive individuals who simply obeyed the rules of the state command economy — they were innovators who created the “Soviet-style commons led from below” by peaceful multi-ethnic communities in rural society of Uzbekistan for decades. Through the historical experience of the advanced kolkhoz one can understand those institutional and practical characteristics of the Soviet kolkhoz that are not captured in the general picture of “failed kolkhoz agriculture and rural reality”.

Keywords

Soviet kolkhoz, Korean millionaire kolkhoz, kolkhoz “Politotdel”, duality of kolkhoz, Korean struggle for recognition, commons, multi-ethnic peace community.  

About the author

Kim Chang Jin, DSc (Political Sciences), Professor, SungKongHoe University. Yeon Dongro, Guro Gu, Seoul, Korea.
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Laperdin V. B. The phenomenon of marginality among kolkhoz chairmen  in the Western Siberian Region in the 1930s // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2026. V.11. №2. P. 67-80.

EDN: JTBVSF

Annotation

The article considers an understudied aspect of the social history of the Soviet countryside — the marginal position of kolkhoz (collective-farm) chairmen. Despite their high rank in the kolkhoz hierarchy, two categories of leaders had marginal positions in social structure. The first category consisted of “professionals” appointed by Soviet organizations — successful managers, who had proven their competence on other farms, joined district activists and were sent to rural areas; for them, work in kolkhoz was either a career dead end or a temporary decline in status. The second category consisted of the politically “unreliable” elected by the peasantry and considered by the authorities as alien elements; their career advancement attracted unnecessary attention and often resulted in social failure. The author emphasizes the opposite trajectories of social mobility of these two categories — downward and upward; however, despite different origins of their marginality, both groups shared a marginal position and uncertain status. Although their social trajectories were opposite, both categories faced similar challenges, primarily of external control. The study shows that in the 1930s the kolkhoz chairman position could serve not as a social elevator but as a social trap and reveals a paradox of social mobility in the Soviet countryside — when a formally high kolkhoz status exacerbated marginality rather than facilitated integration into Soviet society.

Keywords

Agrarian history, kolkhozes (collective farms), peasantry, kolkhoz society, adaptation, marginalization, Siberia.  

About the author

Vyacheslav B. Laperdin, PhD (History), Senior Researcher, Institute of History, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Nikolaeva St., 8, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia.
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Savinova T. A. Unknown IRTUR and its Head G.K. Riesenkampf: On the history of the development of Central Asia // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2026. V.11. №2. P. 48-66.

EDN: HMVQLZ

Annotation

The article considers the origins, development, activities and liquidation of one of the first Soviet organizations created by V. I. Lenin’s decrees in 1918 — Directorate of Irrigation Works in Turkestan (IRTUR). The author aims at describing the grandiose tasks set for this institution and its head and the influence of complex historical conditions in Russia in 1914–1920 on their solution. The article focuses on the activities of the technical director and chairman of the IRTUR Board, an outstanding scientist and hydraulic engineer G. K. Riesenkampf, an author of some ambitious irrigation projects, including Golodnostepsky (Riesenkampf’s full biography is given, including the last tragic pages). The work of some of his colleagues in the IRTUR is also mentioned — soil scientist N. A. Dimo, economist B. K. Lodygin and architect F. O. Shekhtel. The article is based on archival documents from institutional funds and personal funds of hydraulic engineers from the Russian State Archive of Economics (RGAE), most of which are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.

Keywords

Irrigation, land reclamation, Hungry Steppe, Turkestan, Department of Land Improvements, B. K. Lodygin, F. O. Shekhtel.  

About the author

Tatyana A. Savinova, PhD (Economics), Head of the Department of Organizational and Planning Work, Russian State Archive of Economics. B. Pirogovskaya St., 17, bldg. 9, Moscow, 119435.
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Potemkina M.N., Kozhukhova E.L. “Garden beds near workshops”: Food self-sufficiency of metallurgical plants (1941–1945) // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2026. V.11. №1. P. 89-112.

EDN: GQSMPZ

Annotation

The article considers the interaction between industrial and agricultural sectors during the Great Patriotic War. The authors focus on the ways in which factories developed subsidiary farms, organized decentralized harvesting, individual and collective gardening, and identify reasons and prerequisites for this type of management, its mechanisms, and the impact of such practices on food supply of the population. On the example of the Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK), a large defense enterprise, the authors consider the organizational measures taken by its management to ensure the sustainable development of agricultural units, evaluating the decisions made and the efficiency of cooperation with the agricultural sector. The authors argue that the government failed to solve the problem of food security before the war. The country’s leadership demanded a transition to food self-sufficiency, so industrial enterprises had to organize independent food production by creating subsidiary farms. The lack of management mechanisms for such activities often led to low efficiency of subsidiary farms unable to have a significant impact on solving the workers’ nutrition problems.

Keywords

Economic history of the USSR, industrial enterprises, labor supply departments, subsidiary farms of enterprises, state farms, the Urals, food supply, decentralized food sources.  

About the authors

Marina N. Potemkina, DSc (History), Professor, Department of World History, Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University. Prosp. Lenina, 38, Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Region, 455000, Russia; Leading Researcher, Center for Economic and Social History, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Prosp. Vernadskogo, 82, Moscow, 119571, Russia.
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Ekaterina L. Kozhukhova, PhD Student, Department of World History, Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University. Prosp. Lenina, 38, Magnitogorsk, 455000, Russia.
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Sharapov S.V. Informal (expolar) economy of the collective-farm village in Western Siberia in 1939–1953 // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2026. V.11. №1. P. 72-88.

EDN: GEDQPV

Annotation

The author applies T. Shanin’s concept of expolar economy to analyze the ways in which the collective-farm village adapted to the new round of the state mobilization policy in 1939–1953. The article presents various ways of craft resources “penetration” (including land, money, labor and draught power, inventory, equipment, machinery, livestock and all kinds of agricultural products) into the informal sector. They were unevenly redistributed among many “recipients” — local government structures, individual officials, non-agricultural enterprises, top management of collective farms, and peasants. The informal economy provided the state with an invaluable service by compensating for the shortcomings of centralized management, eliminating the gaps in the goods exchange between the city and the countryside, thus reducing the severity of food crisis and shortages of goods in both urban and rural areas. Resources outside the state control allowed collective farms to perform social assistance functions that the state did not provide to the peasantry. The collective-farm economy was rooted in the peasant social life. The expolar ties that held the collective-farm society together helped peasants survive under the aggressive mobilization policies of the state. 

Keywords

Collective farms, peasantry, survival, adaptation, agrarian policy, mobilization.  

About the author

Sergey V. Sharapov, PhD (History), Researcher, Institute of History, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Nikolaeva St., 8, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia.
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Lyapin D.A. Soil factor and historical-geographical development of rural settlements in the Central Black-Earth Region in the 17th – early 18th centuries // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2026. V.11. №1. P. 55-71.

EDN: FIHGNB

Annotation

The article considers the location features of rural settlements in the BlackEarth Region in the 17th–18th centuries. The author focuses on the soil factor as affecting villages and hamlets in the formation of the anthropogenic landscape and on the Belgorod, Voronezh, Yeletsky, Kozlovsky and Shatsky uyezds as actively developed by the Russian population. The article is based on the data collected in the studies of rural settlements and compared on the basis of the soil type. By mapping the data, the author identifies the location features of rural settlements within the uyezds. Thus, settlements concentrated near areas with black soil were located on the banks of large and small rivers. In addition to the soil factor, military and water factors are also significant for the development of the anthropogenic landscape. In some uyezds, the military factor played a dominant role for a long time, while the soil composition was secondary. The location of settlements connected to black soil influenced the formation of new uyezds. Each uyezd relied on its own economic base — fertile black soil, which made it possible to support a large army and build military-defensive fortifications. Thus, the soil factor had a great impact on the history of the development of the Black-Earth Region, not only determining its anthropogenic landscape, but also providing food for a large army.

Keywords

Soils, black earth, peasantry, small landowners, rural settlements, historicalgeographical features, economic development, census books, Belgorod uyezd, Voronezh uyezd, Kozlovsky uyezd, Shatsky uyezd.  

About the author

Denis A. Lyapin, DSC (History), Leading Researcher, Bunin Yelets State University. Kommunarov St., 28, Yelets, Lipetsk Region, 399770, Russia. 
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Kanishchev V. V. Scientific legacy of V. P. Danilov and contemporary Peasant Studies in the Tambov Region. On the centenary of the scholar  // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №4. P. 135-145.

EDN: NJDLIU

Annotation

The first part of the article considers V. P. Danilov’s ideas about the history of the peasantry in the Tambov Province, focusing on his collaboration with Tambov historians to compile collections of documents and research articles, especially on the peasant movement in the Tambov Province in 1917–1921, and to study certain rural settlements in the Tambov Region. The second part of the article presents the results of the Tambov historians’ study of the agrarian history of the Tambov Province, presented as a continuation of Danilov’s legacy due to being based on his ideas and the use of information technologies. The electronic database on rural settlements in the Tambov Province confirmed Danilov’s observations about the reasonable consolidation of peasant communes during the egalitarian land redistribution and the long-term survival of settlements consisting of several homesteads. The analysis of historical maps and remote sensing data revealed natural factors that contributed to the preserved independence of certain settlements after repartition. The article also follows Danilov’s call to move from publishing previously unknown documents on the agrarian revolution in Russia to their analysis by describing the electronic database on the peasant movement from the second half of the 19th to the first third of the 20th centuries, highlighting findings of several studies based in this database.

Keywords

Historiography, agrarian history, Tambov Province, rural settlements, peasant communes, protests, information technology.  

About the author

Valery V. Kanishchev, DSc (History), Head of the Laboratory of Social History; Professor, Department of History and Philosophy, Tambov State University named after G. R. Derzhavin. Internatsionalnaya St., 33, Tambov, 392036, Russia.
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Ablazhey N. N., Kositsin M. A. Collective farms and land question: Land alienation and management in flood zones of the Ob and Irtysh hydroelectric power stations in the 1950s // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №4. P. 116-134.

EDN: KGGDXK

Annotation

Based on the materials of the Irtysh and Ob hydroelectric power stations built in the 1950s, the article considers the key aspects of policies and practices of land alienation and compensation for collective farms during hydraulic construction: the regulatory framework of land alienation for state needs and its practice in relation to collective farms; mechanisms of interaction between authorities and departments of different levels on land issue in flood zones; organization and implementation of land alienation and management. The authors provide data on the volume of exemptions and compensations to collective farms in the zones of the Ust-Kamenogorsk, Novosibirsk and Bukhtarma hydroelectric power plants, the construction of which created artificial reservoirs of various volumes and sizes mainly in agricultural areas. The authors identify several land reconstruction scenarios, which usually implied complete or partial compensation at the expense of other categories of state lands. Although the objective of developing hydropower took precedence over agricultural goals, the state provided for a system of measures to maintain the viability of collective farms as the main agricultural producers in flood zones.

Keywords

Hydroelectric power stations, Ob, Irtysh, artificial reservoirs, collective farms, land use, land alienation, compensation, land management.  

About the authors

Natalia N. Ablazhey, DSc (History), Leading Researcher, Institute of History, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Nikolaeva St., 8, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia.
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Maxim A. Kositsin, Junior Researcher, Institute of History, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Nikolaeva St., 8, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia.
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Chemakin A. A. “White Makhnovists”: Peasant rebels in Northern Taurida and Russian Army in 1920 // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №4. P. 92-115.

EDN: JXPIEV

Annotation

The article considers the interaction of the Russian Army of General P. N. Wrangel with Makhnovist detachments in Northern Tavria in the summer and autumn of 1920. Although Wrangel’s contacts with various insurgent groups (gangs) (mentioned in the movie “Wedding in the village of Malinovka”) are known to wider circles of the population, information about the “White Makhnovists” has not been systematized. The author revealed the names of about 15 atamans who went over to the Whites, and provides information about the most important of them (Volodin, Prochan, Grishin, Savchenko, Kravchaty, Ishchenko, Chaly) and Makhnovites who had contacts with the Russian Army (Chernyak), focusing on the number of the “White Makhnovists”, their appearance and symbols; examining the propaganda campaign of the Whites, who printed huge copies of proclamations on behalf of the Makhnovist atamans. The article mentions the betrayal of the majority of the detachments, their defection to the side of the Reds, the Makhnovists’s alliance with them, and the fate of the “White Makhnovists” atamans. The author concludes that, on the one hand, the “White Makhnovists” ensured the Russian Army relative peace in the rear and loyalty of the peasants in Northern Tavria; on the other hand, the very fact of the alliance between the Whites and the “bandits” demonstrated the weakness of the Wrangelists.

Keywords

Civil War, Russian army, “White Makhnovists”, Makhnovshchina, rebels, partisans, Northern Tavria, P. N. Wrangel, N. I. Makhno, V. G. Volodin, N. Chaly, V. F. Belash.  

About the author

Anton A. Chemakin, PhD (History), Associate Professor, Saint Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Neb. 7–9, Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russia. 
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