Return of the Land Question
Major Investments in Russia’s Agriculture
Peter Lindner, Alexander Vorbrugg
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Private-sector interest in agricultural land in Russia has increased rapidly over the past five years. Investors at home and abroad are acquiring land on a grand scale. These purchases bring with them a profound reorganisation of local political economies. Despite privatisation and reform of local self-government, informal arrangements from the Soviet era remain in force to this day. Agricultural enterprises have assumed the tasks of municipal services. Profit-oriented investors are breaking with this practice. This is highly problematic for the residents of the villages and towns. Two case studies show different strategies for dealing with investors.
(Osteuropa 6-8/2012, pp. 325–342)