Black earth, white bread [Elektronische Ressource] a technopolitical history of Russian agriculture and food

Like all facets of daily life, the food that Russian farms produced and citizens ate—or, in some years, didn’t eat—underwent radical shifts in the century between the Bolshevik Revolution and Vladimir Putin’s presidency. The modernization of agriculture during this time is usually understood in terms of advances in farming methods. Susanne A. Wengle’s important interdisciplinary history of Russia’s agriculture and food systems, however, documents a far more complex story of the interactions between political policies, daily cultural practices, and technological improvements. Examining governance, production, consumption, nature, and the ensuing vulnerabilities of the agrifood system, Wengle reveals the intended and unintended consequences of Russian agricultural policies since 1917. Ultimately, __Black Earth, White Bread__ calls attention to Russian technopolitics and how macro systems of government impact life on a daily, quotidian level. Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration, Translation, and Place-Names Introduction: Setting the Table 1. Governance; or, How to Solve the Grain Problem 2. Production 3. Consumption; or, Perestroika of the Quotidian 4. Nature Conclusion: Vulnerabilities Notes Bibliography Index Presents an important interdisciplinary history of Russia’s agriculture and food systems that documents far-reaching changes on farms, along with their effects on ordinary people and for successive political regimes. Introduction: setting the table -- Governance, or, How to solve the grain problem? -- Production -- Consumption, or, The Perestroika of the quotidian -- Nature -- Conclusion: vulnerabilities