Managing the Land in the Context of New Consumer Demands of Russian Society During the 1960s – 1980s

Abstract

 This article highlights the issue of the formation of consumer demands which had been entrenched in the everyday life and worldview of the masses during the 1950s – 1980s. It is noted that behavioural innovations were associated with the transformation of the Russian public’s ideas about managing the land. It is established here that the modernization of ideals and action strategies was justified by the socio-economic situation of the time as well as marked by the transition from collectivism to individualism, possessiveness, hoarding, abuse and wealth extraction from land resources for personal gain. Further, it is indicated that the level of theft varied depending on the position held; however, this phenomenon occurred among both workers and managers. The author comes to the conclusion that the formation of new standards of Russian reality throughout the entire period under study was accompanied by processes associated with lower motivation to work, unwillingness to contribute to the success of farms, as well as limited material resources, growing monetary differentiation and mental separation between the top management and the workers. Deformations of the traditional agrarian economic mechanism caused changes in self-awareness and value bases of social relations. The reorganization of the rural way of life and the entire social life, of ideological constructs of being and the psychology of citizens, together with the economic dynamics of Soviet society, resulted in class conflicts. The evolution of ideas about the right to use socialist property changed the attitude to things (orientation towards consumerism) and generated a desire for a comfortable life, which, in turn, led to the gradual establishment of private property morality