Farmer economy of the Republic of Buryatia: from institutionalization process to present situation

The article describes the process of institutionalization of the farms in the Republic of Buryatia in the 90-s and the influence of post-perestroika reforms on functioning of rural families. The author emphasizes the specific characteristics of traditional nomadic cattle and sheep breeding of the Buryats' and their economic ethnic markers. The author analyzes the institutionalization of farming in the Republic of Buryatia, which realized on the basis of peasant families, living far away from main settlements. On the basis of interviews the author analyzed such issues as the structure of livestock and poultry, types of income, availability of basic food products in a rural family. The author unveils the great potential of smallholders and rural families as the unit of society in the modern context.