The humanities and social science

2011 Issue №12

Bread supply issue and the food independence of the Novgorod land

Abstract

This article deals with the issue of the food supply problems on the territory of the Novgorod land in the 11th-16th centuries. Despite permanent bread budget deficit, Veliky Novgorod managed to maintain political and economic independence and avoid purchasing significant amounts of grain. The reconstruction of a budget of a peasant agricultural farm shows that, in the then conditions, it could not rest solely on own-grown corn and livestock products in the Novgorod land. For centuries, peasant diet included products compensating for the shortage of bread. Such adaptability to environmental conditions helped optimise the life of peasant families and minimise the food budget deficit throughout the Novgorod land.

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Agricultural effectiveness of the villages of the Novgorod and Pskov Provinces belonging to the tsar's family in the first half of the 19th century

Abstract

On the basis of archive sources, this article analyses the development of agriculture by peasants belonging to the tsar’s family in the Novgorod and Pskov provinces. The article offers author's methodology of numerical data processing for an accurate assessment of agricultural effectiveness.

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On endogenous and exogenous factors of Russian modernization

Abstract

This paper considers the dynamics of different scientific opinions on the correlation between endogenous and exogenous factors in the choice of national modernization model. The authors formulate the question about the urgency of searching for the optimum in the choice between general and unique features for the construction of a more efficient modernization model.

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