Table of Contents

List of Figures; List of Tables; Preface; Chapter 1. Introduction: climate and agriculture in Russia; Chapter 2. The availability and reliability of statistical agricultural data for Russia; 2.1. The pre-revolutionary period (before 1916); 2.2. The post-revolutionary decade (1917-28); 2.3. The Stalin era (1929-53); 2.4. The post-Stalin period (after 1953); 2.5. Summary; Chapter 3. The pre-revolutionary period (1900-16); 3.1. Major developments in agriculture; 3.2. Weather variations and agricultural production; 3.3. Food problems; 3.4. Summary; Chapter 4. The post-revolutionary period (1917-28); 4.1. Major developments in agriculture; 4.2. Weather variations and agricultural production; 4.3. Food problems; 4.4. Summary; Chapter 5. The collectivization of Soviet agriculture (1929-40); 5.1. Major developments in agriculture; 5.2. Weather variations and agricultural production; 5.3. Food problems; 5.4. Summary; Chapter 6. The post-war recovery period (1945-54); 6.1. Major developments in agriculture; 6.2. Weather variations and agricultural production; 6.3. Food problems; 6.4. Summary; Chapter 7. The virgin lands campaign (1955-64); 7.1. Major developments in agriculture; 7.2. Weather variations and agricultural production; 7.3. Food problems; 7.4. Summary; Chapter 8. Period of intensification of the Soviet agriculture (1965-75); 8.1. Major developments in agriculture; 8.2. Weather variations and agricultural production; 8.3. Food problems; 8.4. Summary; Chapter 9. Period of stagnation of the Soviet agriculture (1976-90); 9.1. Major developments in agriculture; 9.2. Weather variations and agricultural production; 9.3. Food problems; 9.4. Summary; Conclusion; Glossary; References.

About the Author

N. Dronin. received his degree in geography from Moscow State University with special studies in river landscapes and his PhD in 1999 with a thesis on the development of the theory of Soviet theoretical geography 1900-1960. He has long been interested in environmental problems and published several articles in central russian papers. He lectures in Moscow State University and is involved in a number of international projects concerning environmental problems in Russia. The current book evolved from work with Kassel University (Germany) on climate change and food security in Russia. E. Bellinger. received his degree in biology from the University of London and his PhD in ecology in 1968. He was a senior lecturer at the University of Manchester (UK) and Director of the Pollution Research Unit until 1995 running a postgraduate course in environmental studies and a number of research projects on watershed and lake management. He was a founding member and head of department of the Dept. Environmental Sciences & Policy at the Central European University, Budapest. He has extensive experience in water and environmental management and has had projects with a number of international organisations including the UN, EBRD and World Bank.

Reviews

"The book's most important contribution is its thorough and systematic overview of climatic changes, year by year, and their impact on the performance of Russian and Soviet agriculture. Given the profound impact of food supply problems at so many critical junctures in Russian and Soviet history, this thorough and rigorous survey deserves to be welcomed by all historians of Russia and the Soviet Union."
*American Historical Review*

"The "intrusion" of two specialists in environmental policies into historical studies of Russia should only be welcomed. Commonly for each chapter, the section on "weather variations and agricultural production," is the most interesting and contains the most new information. In these sections the authors fully exploit their expertise, usually lacking among humanist historians, and uncover technical sources (typically reports published by the Hydrometeorological Service) which are almost destined to be ignored by historians. The authors carefully try to identify to what extent each case of agricultural and food crisis in Soviet history was caused by climatic or political reasons."
*Russian Review*