Mind and Labor on the Farm in Black-Earth Russia, 1861-1914

Table of Contents:
LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES LIST OF MAPS INTRODUCTION: THE AGRARIAN PROBLEM AS A HISTORY OF WORK A Note on Sources Notes PART I. FARMING THROUGH THE PEASANT’S EYES. THE EVOLUTION OF LABOR, 1861-1914 Methods of Cultivation Sokha Tillage The Tillage Line Distractions Obstacles Soil Relief Corrections Turning Around Why Till? When to Till How Deeply to Till An Agrarian System under Stress Green Fallow and Other Shortcomings Agronomist’s Criticism of Peasant Tillage Harrowing Agronomist’s Criticism The Evolution of Tillage Regimes The Fallow Field The Spring Field Conclusions Agronomist’s Criticism Intesification, or Over-Intensification? The Plow and the Sokha Peasant Reception of the Plow Use of the Plow Types of Plow Growing Grain Sowing When to Sow How Densely to Sow Selection of Seed Grain Covering the Seeds Technological Advance in Sowing: The Seed Drill Reaping Fundamentals of Reaping The Binding and Drying of Grain The Treshing, Winnowing, and Sorting of Grain Threshing Other Threshing Systems Winnowing An Important Crossroads of Technology: The Spade, the Winnowing Machine, and the Sorter Notes PART II. TOWARDS A HISTORY AND UNDERSTANDING OF AGRONOMIC APTITUDE The Peasant Farmer and Soil: The Four Stages of Comprehension Stage 1: Tillage as a Mixed Blessing Stage 2: Working the Surface of the Soil Stage 3: First Steps to Intensify Tillage Stage 4: Theoretical Understanding of Soil Structure Profit Maximizing, Utility Maximizing, or Something Else? Agriculture and the Magico-Religious world View The Ebbing—and Returning—Tides of Ritual and Superstition Intellectual Consequences of the Magico-Religious World Levels of Material Optimizing—Active Experimentation vs.the Passive Accumulation of Experience Self-Reliance and the Overcoming of Traditional Sources of Knowledge Technical vs. Allocative Inefficiency Fatalism The Work Ethic in Rural Russia The Consequences of Cultural Condescension Geography, Climate, and Technological Acumen Language Acquisition, and Childrearing Practices The Unavailability of Schooling and Literacy Conclusion: From Faith in Routine to Belief in Agency The Faith in Routine The Rise of a New Type in the Village Notes PART III. THE THREE-FIELD SYSTEM AND BEYOND Systems of Agriculture, Systems of Farming, Crop Rotations. Delineation of Terms Crop Rotations The Fodder Crisis. Decay of the Three-Field System? The Elements of the Fodder Crisis Winter Fodder Summer Fodder Conclusions and Consequences A System Despised Propashnaia Farming Systems The Organization of the Three-Field System Farm Organization in the Three-Field System: Crop Choices in the Commune Subsistence Framing and Market Forces Market Gardening Root Crops Multi-Field vs. Three-Field Systems Weaknesses of the Propashnaia System Employed Fallow and Improved Three-Field-Based Systems Conclusion Systems with Multi-Year Grasses Four-Field + Grass System Notes PART IV. GOVERNMENT’S SOLUTION TO THE AGRARIAN PROBLEM: THE STOLPYIN REFORM IN TAMBOV What Was the Stolypin Reform? Results and Limitations of the Stolypin Reform The Stolypin Reform in Tambov Peasant Land Organization in Tambov Land Parcelization within Communes The Evolution of Land Parcelization The Disadvantages of Open Fields The Advantages of Open Fields Purported Advantages of Open Fields for Purposes of Farming in Particular Parcelized Holdings vs. Consolidated Plots: Conclusions The Stolypin Reform and the Configuration of Peasant Lands Distant Lands and Inaccessible Lands Land Configuration and Consolidation of Plots The Stolypin Reform in Action The Administration Takes the Initiative The Peasantry’s Response to the Stolypin Reform Acquisitions of Hereditary Title to Land The Formation of Consolidated Plots Peasant Attitudes to Consolidated Plots Agrotechnical Considerations Other Considerations Methods of Forming Consolidated Plots on Allotment Land Farming on the Consolidated Plots A Profile of Consolidators: The 1912 Study of Khutors on State ....

About the Author :
David Kerans is Researcher at the Davis Center for Russian Studies, Harvard University.