Post-Agrarianism: An Alternative Perspective for Rural Territories of Central Russia

This article provides a theoretical justification for the concept of post-agrarianism as a promising analytical framework for analyzing the current state and development potential of rural territories in Central Russia. The authors argue that the Russian countryside is undergoing a profound, multifaceted transformation involving the replacement of traditional labor-intensive agriculture with high-tech agricultural holdings, the contraction of agricultural employment, depopulation and aging of the rural population, and the emergence of new non-agricultural forms of using non-urban spaces. The paper systematizes key theoretical approaches to studying post-agrarian changes developed in Russian and international scholarship, including concepts of the “new peasantry,” rurality, de-urbanization, and hybrid rural-urban communities. Special attention is paid to the analytical potential of the “Pokrovsky Matrix,” developed within the framework of the long-term Ugra Project. The Matrix identifies six factors (environmental preference, landscape richness, historical-cultural rootedness, presence of local population, transport accessibility, and stable infocommunications), the combination of which allows for assessing the degree of post-agrarian processes in specific localities. The empirical basis of the article consists of materials from field expeditions conducted in 2024–2025 in the Gorodetsky District of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Belevsky District of the Tula Region, Babaevsky District of the Vologda Region, and Kozelsky District of the Kaluga Region. The research documented diverse post-agrarian practices: the creation of eco-trails and development of tourist infrastructure by national parks and private initiatives, diversification of farms toward agritourism and gastronomic branding, formation of private guesthouses and amusement parks, and cooperation between local entrepreneurs and travel agencies. The authors conclude that post-agrarianism serves as a constructive theoretical-methodological framework allowing for the integration of social, economic, cultural, and environmental aspects of rural development into a single analytical project. In contrast to narrowly sectoral approaches focused exclusively on the efficiency of agricultural production, the post-agrarian lens makes visible phenomena such as the ecological rehabilitation of landscapes, the development of recreational and tourist infrastructure, the formation of hybrid communities of local residents and de-urbanizing urbanites, as well as commemorative practices linked to historical and cultural heritage. The application of this lens opens up possibilities for identifying hidden drivers of development, assessing the effects of implemented state and private initiatives, and substantiating interdisciplinary research on the Russian countryside during its transition to a new “aggregate state.”