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Post-socialist agricultural cooperatives in Russia: a case study of top-down cooperatives in the Belgorod region

2017; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 29; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14631377.2016.1267974

1465-3958

Alexander Kurakin, Оане Виссер,

Cooperative Studies and Economics

Through a study of agricultural service cooperatives in Russia's Belgorod region, this article addresses two gaps in the literature: first, the dearth of empirical studies on cooperatives in post-socialist Russia; second, the lack of attention to top-down cooperatives in the global literature, and the overly negative approach to the topic in the few extant studies. Whereas state attempts to establish agricultural cooperatives in Russia in a top-down fashion have largely failed, such cooperatives have sprung up widely in Belgorod. The article investigates: (1) what influence the (regional) state exerts on the cooperatives, and how that affects their daily functioning and viability; and (2) to what extent such top-down cooperatives might evolve into less state-led forms, such as classic member-driven or business-like cooperatives.