Neoliberal agrarian policy in Russia: theory and practice

The study analyzes the consequences of neoliberalism for the state agrarian policy implemented in countries with different levels of development. It focuses on the fact that the effectiveness of agrarian policy directly depends on the level of state support for agrarian producers; the state regulation of agriculture; the existence of a coherent theory-based ideology of agrarian reforms pursuing the national interests. The experience of the most developed countries shows that they export extremely liberal ideas aimed at liberalization, removal of government restrictions and elimination of agricultural subsidies by the international financial institutions. At the same time, their agrarian policy is to enhance the agrarian protectionism when agriculture is the focus of massive state support. The Russian experience in the transition period showed the hopelessness of the agrarian policy imposed by Western experts based on the principles of liberalism which did not comply with the fundamental theoretical and practical principles of Western agrarian policy. The shift in the Russian agrarian policy is caused by the theoretical and practical revision of the state role in regulating the agro-industrial complex.