¹VNIETUSKh – Institute for Economics, Labour and Management in Agriculture, Moscow, Russia. E-mail: bogdanovsky@bk.ru

Abstract

The transition from plan to market during the 1990s radically changed the agricultural employment patterns in Russia. The number of employed in large corporate farms (former kolkhozes and sovkhozes) declined dramatically, and rural labour shifted in large numbers to individual farming, including traditional household plots and emerging peasant farms. Household plots are becoming increasingly polarized between commercially oriented operations, which may employ some hired help, and subsistence operations, which continue to provide a safety net and employment of last resort to the rural population. The article describes the magnitude and the consequences of these transition-related changes and develops some policy recommendations.