Images of the future village: The opinion of rural farmers of the Non-Black Earth Region

Abstract

The article attempts to fill the gap in the field of rural sociology and answer the question what types of intuitive models of the “image of the future” of the village are formulated today by entrepreneurs (farmers) of the North-West Economic Region of the Non-Black Earth Region of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Non-Black Earth Region). The object of the study was the model of “images of the future” in the village of Non-Black Earth. The subject of the study is the idea of rural entrepreneurs about the “image of the future” of the village of Non-Black Earth, their description of the model of this image. Taking into account the fact that the “image of the future” is a multidimensional and complex metaphorical phenomenon, the authors have compiled a research strategy so that in the course of an expert interview the respondents could model the “image of the future” in the village based on 4 meanings: “image of the past” “The village of Non-Black Earth, the” image of the country “(Russia), the” image of the present “village and, derived from them — the” image of the future “of the village. The survey was conducted using informal expert interviews. The experts were rural entrepreneurs-heads of peasant farms (N = 32, 34–68 years). A generalization of field research materials allowed us to distinguish two types of models of the “image of the future” in the village of Non-Black Earth: the model “kamikazde” and the model “siren”. Time lag models: 50 years. Models of “images of the future” of a “kamikaze” type village were created by pessimistic respondents. Models of “images of the future” in the village of “sirens” were created by optimistic respondents.