New Approaches to Rural Development in Russia

Abstract

As many other countries, Russia suffers from fast depopulation of rural areas and decline of rural economy. For years, the state policy for mitigate negative consequences of these processes was considering agriculture as the main pillar of rural development and most of governmental finding was oriented to its support. Recently, the new state strategy for rural development was formulated, and in 2019 an ambitious national program approved. It assumes different options for rural territories to develop economy and achieve welfare, depending on natural and human resources availability, remoteness and other features. The paper presents a review of the current state of rural areas of the Russian Federation. It focuses on the main issues the countryside faces at the national level and also reveals regional differences in rural development. The study is based mainly on the author’s analysis of national statistical data sources, including the Russian Agricultural census of 2016, and the results of conducted survey. Possible effects of the measures of the new state policy of rural development such as encouraging community-based initiatives and promotion of housing construction through preferential rural mortgage loans programs are analysed. Finally, the authors provide a brief description of impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural development in Russia and attempt to forecast its further implications.