- Natalia Mamonova is a Senior Researcher at RURALIS - the Institute of Rural and Regional Research in Trondheim (Norwa... moreNatalia Mamonova is a Senior Researcher at RURALIS - the Institute of Rural and Regional Research in Trondheim (Norway) and a Research Consultant at the University of Notre Dame (USA). Her research focuses on rural politics, right-wing populism, social movements and food sovereignty in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Natalia received her PhD degree from the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University, the Netherlands in 2016. Since then, she worked at the University of Oxford, the New Europe College in Bucharest, the University of Helsinki, and the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies.
Currently, Natalia is working on the project: “Food security, food sovereignty and collective action during the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian and global perspectives” (2023-2026), funded by FORMAS (The Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development)edit
This study depicts various manifestations of what we call 'actually existing' right-wing populism. Based on empirical insights from eastern Germany, Spain, the UK and Ukraine, we explored how nationalist tendencies unfold... more
This study depicts various manifestations of what we call 'actually existing' right-wing populism. Based on empirical insights from eastern Germany, Spain, the UK and Ukraine, we explored how nationalist tendencies unfold in different contexts and what role agriculture and rural imageries play in this process. We analyse contextual factors (rural 'emptiness', socioeconomic inequality, particularities of electoral systems, politics of Europeanization) and citizens' perceptions of social reality (selective memory, subjective experiences of democracy, national redefinition, politics of emotions). We conclude that resistance and alternatives to right-wing populism should be context-specific, grounded in the social fabric and culture of the locale.
Research Interests: Sociology, Anthropology, Peasant Studies, Nationalism, Ukrainian Politics, and 15 moreFood Sovereignty, Spain, United Kingdom, Nostalgia, Ukraine, Germany, Right-Wing Movements, Far right politics, European Common Agricultural Policy, Emptiness, Extreme and Far Right, Historical Studies, Brexit, Deagrarianization, and España vaciada
В докладе рассмотрены основные аспекты функционирования и роль малых форм бизнеса на селе; представлены показатели, характеризующие уровень развития малого бизнеса в рамках сельской территориальной хозяйственной подсистемы; обозначены... more
В докладе рассмотрены основные аспекты функционирования и роль малых форм бизнеса на селе; представлены показатели, характеризующие уровень развития малого бизнеса в рамках сельской территориальной хозяйственной подсистемы; обозначены направления развития малого предпринимательства в условиях импортозамещения.
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The assumption that globally, peasants are against land grabbing is dominant among many rural social movements, NGOs, and scholars empathetic with them. However, this is not always the case. Land grabs affect different rural groups in... more
The assumption that globally, peasants are against land grabbing is dominant among many rural social movements, NGOs, and scholars empathetic with them. However, this is not always the case. Land grabs affect different rural groups in different ways, which creates a variety of reactions to it: from reckless enthusiasm, cautious acceptance, to outright resistance. This paper aims to rethink contemporary assumptions about rural resistance to large-scale land acquisitions. Analysing the context of Ukraine, the author argues that the politics of dispossessed groups depend on terms of inclusion in land deals; adaptive response strategies dominate over resistance; and peasants are more concerned with personal gains from land grabs than with benefits for the whole community.
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Russia has seen a recovery in its agricultural sector since the early 2000s, which can particularly be noticed in the production and exports of wheat, which was at record height in the years 2008-2009. Production of wheat and coarse... more
Russia has seen a recovery in its agricultural sector since the early 2000s, which can particularly be noticed in the production and exports of wheat, which was at record height in the years 2008-2009. Production of wheat and coarse grains in Russia is dominated by large farm enterprises (LFE), which are the successors of the previous kolkhozy and sovkhozy, and currently merging into huge “megafarms” and enterprise conglomerates or “agroholdings”. The latter themselves incorporate a great number of LFEs (Visser, Mamonova and Spoor, 2012). The re-emergence of Russia as a global grain producer is being observed in an increasingly tense global food market, in which food price hikes occurred in 2007-2008 and more recently in 2010-2011, and is seen as potentially crucial. It is suggested that this region will become the new global “bread basket”, in particular because large tracks of land, possibly 40-50 million hectares have been taken out of production since the early 1990s. Re-cultivation of these land reserves could positively contribute to resolving the “food crisis”. It is in this context that these large farm enterprises are increasingly seen in a positive light, suggesting that they are the ones responsible for this grain recovery, and the only way forward to solve the food crisis. In this paper we investigate critically this proposition, asking the question whether it the following “equation” is true:
Russian agroholdings + Financial Capital + Land Grabbing ≡ global “bread basket”?
Russian agroholdings + Financial Capital + Land Grabbing ≡ global “bread basket”?
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This paper aims at conceptualising the re-emerging Russian peasantry by looking at objective characteristics (land use, production mode, and market relations) and subjective ones (peasant identity, land attachment, and cross-generational... more
This paper aims at conceptualising the re-emerging Russian peasantry by looking at objective characteristics (land use, production mode, and market relations) and subjective ones (peasant identity, land attachment, and cross-generational transfer of peasant culture) of the contemporary rural population, involved in individualized agricultural production. We argue that the post-Soviet transition in Russia is causing a re-emergence of the peasantry, albeit in a very fragmented manner. Three types of ‘peasants’ are being distinguished: (1) ‘peasants-against-their-own-will’, who were part of the former collective and state farms, continuing their production on subsidiary household plots; (2) ‘summertime peasants’ of urban origin, who produce on their dachas plots in the weekend and holidays; and (3) subsistence-oriented ‘peasant-farmers’. We conclude that land attachment of the post-Soviet peasantry has still a strong collective component, while peasant identity is weakly developed, as well as cross-generational transfer of peasant values. The re-peasantisation is therefore only partial, with fragmented communities, and a near-absence of social capital, which is necessary to defend rural and peasant communities in the long run.
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Poverty, mass unemployment, social exclusion, and violation of small-holders’ land rights have become the scourge of Russian countryside after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Under such conditions one could expect an outright social... more
Poverty, mass unemployment, social exclusion, and violation of small-holders’ land rights have become the scourge of Russian countryside after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Under such conditions one could expect an outright social resistance and large-scale protests, while Russian rural dwellers seem to show remarkable tolerance and peaceful acceptance of existing deprivation and inequality. The peacefulness and endurance of the post-soviet rural population are often explained by the socialist history and contemporary non-democratic regimes, which create a structure that prevents dissenting expressions. This research looks beyond this common explanation, and aims to understand the so-called post-Soviet rural ‘quietness’ by studying different spaces for contestation. These spaces (social, economic, political and cultural) influence rural dwellers’ perceptions and practices, thereby, their attitude to the existing order and politics of change. By analysing various dimensions of rural everydayness this research explains why the existing socio-economic tensions in rural Russia do not escalate to a civil protest and large-scale mobilisation. This analysis aims to contribute to a better understanding of peasant politics, social relations, and mobilisation practices in the post-socialist context.
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This study depicts various manifestations of what we call 'actually existing' right-wing populism. Based on empirical insights from eastern Germany, Spain, the UK and Ukraine, we explored how nationalist tendencies unfold in different... more
This study depicts various manifestations of what we call 'actually existing' right-wing populism. Based on empirical insights from eastern Germany, Spain, the UK and Ukraine, we explored how nationalist tendencies unfold in different contexts and what role agriculture and rural imageries play in this process. We analyse contextual factors (rural 'emptiness', socioeconomic inequality, particularities of electoral systems, politics of Europeanization) and citizens' perceptions of social reality (selective memory, subjective experiences of democracy, national redefinition, politics of emotions). We conclude that resistance and alternatives to right-wing populism should be context-specific, grounded in the social fabric and culture of the locale.
Research Interests:
This article examines coping strategies and solidarity initiatives in rural Ukraine during the full-scale war with Russia. Based on primary qualitative data conducted remotely, it explores the ability of different food producers to farm... more
This article examines coping strategies and solidarity initiatives in rural Ukraine during the full-scale war with Russia. Based on primary qualitative data conducted remotely, it explores the ability of different food producers to farm in military conditions, their mutual help and reciprocity. The article also discusses farmers' mundane patriotism, the influx of internally displaced persons to the countryside, charitable initiatives of agribusiness, and local conflicts and tensions. It argues that the networks and collective action that emerged during the war accelerated the development of a vibrant rural civil society needed to promote peasant rights and endorse food sovereignty in Ukraine.
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This paper seeks to unravel the political economy of large-scale land acquisitions in post-Soviet Russia. Russia falls neither in the normal category of ‘investor’ countries, nor in the category of ‘target’ countries. Russia has large... more
This paper seeks to unravel the political economy of large-scale land acquisitions in post-Soviet Russia. Russia falls neither in the normal category of ‘investor’ countries, nor in the category of ‘target’ countries. Russia has large ‘land reserves’, since in the 1990s much fertile land was abandoned. We analyse how particular Russia is with regards to the common argument in favour of land acquisitions, namely that land is available, unused or even unpopulated. With rapid economic growth, capital of Russian oligarchs in search of new frontiers, and the 2002 land code allowing land sales, land began to attract investment. Land grabbing expands at a rapid pace and in some cases, it results in dispossession and little or no compensation. This paper describes different land acquisitions strategies and argues that the share-based land rights distribution during the 1990s did not provide security of land tenure to rural dwellers. Emerging rural social movements try to form countervailing powers but with limited success. Rich land owners easily escape the implementation of new laws on controlling underutilized land, while there is a danger that they enable eviction with legal measures of rural dwellers. In this sense Russia appears to be a ‘normal’ case in the land grab debate.
Of all the rural social movements in the world, those in post-socialist Russia are considered to be among the weakest ones. Nevertheless, triggered by the neo-liberal reforms in the countryside, state attention to agriculture, and rising... more
Of all the rural social movements in the world, those in post-socialist Russia are considered to be among the weakest ones. Nevertheless, triggered by the neo-liberal reforms in the countryside, state attention to agriculture, and rising land conflicts, new social movement organisations with a strong political orientation are emerging in Russia today. However, this sudden burst of civil activity raises questions about how genuine and independent the emerged organisations are. Our research shows that many rural movements, agricultural associations, farm unions, and rural political parties lack constituency, are supporting the status quo, and/or actually counterfeits (what we call ‘phantom movement organisations’). With this analysis we aim to explain the nature of social movements in the post-Soviet countryside and offer an original contribution to the theory on and practice of rural social movements.
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RUSSIA HAS SEEN A RECOVERY IN ITS AGRICULTURAL SECTOR since the early 2000s, which can particularly be noticed in the production and exports of wheat, which was at record height in the years 2008-2009. The re-emergence of Russia as a... more
RUSSIA HAS SEEN A RECOVERY IN ITS AGRICULTURAL SECTOR since the early 2000s, which can particularly be noticed in the production and exports of wheat, which was at record height in the years 2008-2009. The re-emergence of Russia as a global grain producer is seen as potentially crucial in an increasingly tense and volatile global food market, in which food price hikes occurred in the periods 2007-2008, 2010-2011, and more recently in the second half of 2012. It is suggested that the country will become the new global “bread basket”, in particular because large tracks of land, possibly 40-50 million hectares have been taken out of production since the early 1990s, and could be re-cultivated. A US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report (Liefert et al 2013, p. 19) projects that Russia’s wheat production will grow by around 25 percent in the period till 2021, with export nearly doubling, and subsequently almost equalling the US as the World’s largest wheat exporter (ibid, p. 21). The expectation is that this could positively contribute to resolving the global “food crisis”.
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This article applies the concept of " naive monarchism " (i.e., the traditional peasant expressions of reverence for the tsar as their benefactor) to study contemporary rural politics in authoritarian Russia. While Russia is not a... more
This article applies the concept of " naive monarchism " (i.e., the traditional peasant expressions of reverence for the tsar as their benefactor) to study contemporary rural politics in authoritarian Russia. While Russia is not a monarchy, and its rural dwellers are not traditional illiterate peasants, the veneration of its leader manifests itself in many rural grievances. I analyze three types of rural politics that have traits of naive monarchism: written petitions to the president, rural pickets and delegations to the Kremlin, and geographical renaming in honor of Vladimir Putin. Grievances, voiced in this way, are rarely subjects of repression from above, as they reinforce presidential authority and the existing order. This raises the question of whether rural dwellers faithfully believe in a benevolent president or intentionally exploit their subordinate position and Putin's image as the present-day tsar. Whether sincere or strategic, these rural politics aim to enforce the existing state commitments. Although they are unable to challenge the status quo, they provide rural dwellers with a means to remedy occasional local injustices.
This special issue aims to understand the rise of right-wing populism in the European countryside, as well as the forms of resistance and the alternatives being built against it. In this short introduction, we briefly present the main... more
This special issue aims to understand the rise of right-wing populism in the European countryside, as well as the forms of resistance and the alternatives being built against it. In this short introduction, we briefly present the main objectives and conceptual position of the special issue and introduce its articles. Each article is discussed here based on its contribution to one of the following themes: (1) analysis of the existing socioeconomic system and power relations that gave rise to right-wing populism in rural Europe; (2) critical examination of the major assumptions about rural support for populist movements; (3) problematic overlap between politics and rhetoric of right-wing populist parties and left-wing (green) parties and agrarian movements; (4) agrarian populism and food sovereignty movement as progressive alternatives to right-wing politics in the European countryside.
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Right-wing populism has gained ground in Europe in recent years, with the greatest support among rural communities. Yet the European countryside remains largely overlooked in debates on the current political crisis and the ways out of it.... more
Right-wing populism has gained ground in Europe in recent years, with the greatest
support among rural communities. Yet the European countryside remains largely
overlooked in debates on the current political crisis and the ways out of it. This article
aims to provide keys for understanding the connection between right-wing populism
and the rural world in Europe. Our analysis unfolds around three main ideas. First,
we argue that the root cause of the spread of right-wing populism is the fundamental,
multidimensional crisis of globalised neoliberal capitalism, particularly pronounced
in Europe’s countryside. Second, we examine what role historical legacies, trajectories
of agrarian change, and other national, regional and local specificities play in shaping
populist movements in different rural areas in Europe. Finally, we discuss the constraints
and possibilities for the emergence of agrarian (populist) movements that may offer
progressive alternatives to right-wing populism in the countryside.
support among rural communities. Yet the European countryside remains largely
overlooked in debates on the current political crisis and the ways out of it. This article
aims to provide keys for understanding the connection between right-wing populism
and the rural world in Europe. Our analysis unfolds around three main ideas. First,
we argue that the root cause of the spread of right-wing populism is the fundamental,
multidimensional crisis of globalised neoliberal capitalism, particularly pronounced
in Europe’s countryside. Second, we examine what role historical legacies, trajectories
of agrarian change, and other national, regional and local specificities play in shaping
populist movements in different rural areas in Europe. Finally, we discuss the constraints
and possibilities for the emergence of agrarian (populist) movements that may offer
progressive alternatives to right-wing populism in the countryside.
Research Interests:
The Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative (ERPI) is a scholar-activist community that aims at understanding the rise of right-wing populism in the rural world, as well as the forms of resistance being built against it. As members of this... more
The Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative (ERPI) is a scholar-activist community that aims at understanding the rise of right-wing populism in the rural world, as well as the forms of resistance being built against it. As members of this network, the authors conducted a mul-ti-country research project on the causes, consequences and cures of right-wing populism in rural Europe. Two main conclusions stem from the results of this project. First, that the root cause of right-wing populism is the fundamental crisis of neoliberal capitalism, which is especially pronounced in the European countryside. Second, that food sovereignty has the potential to mobilize various progressive rural across the continent and act as a counterforce to the spread of right-wing populism.
ERPI (Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative) es una red académico-activista que tiene por objetivo comprender tanto el auge rural del populismo de derechas como las re-sistencias que se alzan frente a él. En tanto que miembros de esta red los autores han llevado a cabo un proyecto de investigación, comparando distintos Estados europeos, que ha arrojado dos conclusiones principales. La primera, que la raíz del crecimiento del populismo autoritario o de derechas debe buscarse en la crisis del capitalis-mo neoliberal y sus profundos efectos sobre el mundo rural europeo. La segunda, que el marco de la soberanía alimentaria es el más propicio para articular coaliciones rurales progresistas ca-paces de hacer frente al auge de este populismo reaccionario. Palabras clave: Mundo rural, Europa, crisis neoliberal, populismo autoritario, soberanía ali-mentaria
ERPI (Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative) es una red académico-activista que tiene por objetivo comprender tanto el auge rural del populismo de derechas como las re-sistencias que se alzan frente a él. En tanto que miembros de esta red los autores han llevado a cabo un proyecto de investigación, comparando distintos Estados europeos, que ha arrojado dos conclusiones principales. La primera, que la raíz del crecimiento del populismo autoritario o de derechas debe buscarse en la crisis del capitalis-mo neoliberal y sus profundos efectos sobre el mundo rural europeo. La segunda, que el marco de la soberanía alimentaria es el más propicio para articular coaliciones rurales progresistas ca-paces de hacer frente al auge de este populismo reaccionario. Palabras clave: Mundo rural, Europa, crisis neoliberal, populismo autoritario, soberanía ali-mentaria