The Contemporary Historiography of the Russian Peasantry during the «Thaw» Period: Approaches And Main Directions (Late 20th – Early 21st Century)

The article presents an analysis of scholarly works on the history of the Russian peasantry during the period of Khrushchev’s reforms (1953-1964). The authors focus on the conceptual ideas of Soviet historians about the course of agrarian reforms and the standard of living of rural workers. They identify the changes in the main approaches of Soviet historians to the study of agrarian issues, and formulate a conclusion that critical assessments of the country’s agrarian development in studies of the second half of the 1980s and 1990s are currently being revised. The latest research provides a comprehensive analysis of the transformation of the work and life of rural workers in the period of late socialism.