Stephen Wegren

Abstract

This article addresses the orientation of the agricultural policies carried out by the Russian government under Vladimir Putin, since he assumed power in January 2000. It examines the following aspects of agrarian policy: food import policy, agricultural debt policy, policy toward unprofitable farms, and agricultural credit policy. This particular focus begins from the premise that the period of radical reform is over, and agrarian policy is no longer intended to remake the agricultural system. Earlier agrarian policy concentrated on the reorganization of large farms, the privatization of farm land and property, and the attempt to supplant large farms with private family farms. Unlike the convulsive and turbulent agrarian change attempted by Boris Yeltsin, Putin's agrarian policy is pragmatic, consisting of measured steps that are intended to rebuild agricultural production and reduce reliance on food imports.