Adapting capitalism: Household plots, forest resources, and moonlighting in post-Soviet Siberia1

Economic reform in post-Soviet Russia has proceeded unevenly, resulting in broad variation between rural and urban areas. In the case study presented here, I examine how Communism's `economy of favors' has been transformed into a localized quasi-capitalist economy, which predominantly operates outside the national market economy. Using data from two villages in Tunkinskij Raion of the Buriat Republic in Russia, I look at how people at a micro-sociological level have adapted to current economic conditions. In particular I examine the relationships between informal networks and the ability to intensify agricultural production on household plots, to gain access to a variety of forest resources, and to find seasonal, part-time, or one-time work outside the household and the formal labor market. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.