Private
plots and markets were the only form of private enterprise tolerated
under the Soviet system, because the authorities realised, subsequent
to collectivisation of agriculture that that was the only way the
people would be fed. It is in Russia's favour that this situation
abides.
In
1999, 35 million small family plots produced 90% of Russia’s
potatoes, 77% of vegetables, 87% of fruits, 59% of meat, 49% of milk
— way to go, people!
9
August, 2009
And
since 1999, it seems things have only gotten better when it comes to
small-scale agriculture in Russia.
A
Russian family by their Dacha, or family plot
In
2003 the Russian President signed into law a further “Private
Garden Plot Act” enabling Russian citizens to receive free of
charge from the state, plots of land in private inheritable
ownership. Sizes of the plots differ by region but are between one
and three hectares each [1 hectare = 2.2 acres]. Produce grown on
these plots is not subject to taxation. A further subsequent law to
facilitate the acquisition of land for gardening was passed in June
2006. (according to a footnote in “Who We Are” by Vladimir Megre,
pg. 42)
What
other country raises so much of their food in such sustainable,
organic, and non-GMO modes of production? While the European Union is
setting the stage for agribusiness takeovers of major market share
from traditional peasant farmers in places like Poland,
Russia seems to be one of the few countries on the global stage
moving so clearly in a sustainable and healthy direction.
And
while organic farming gets a lot of media attention in North America,
the fraction of agricultural land actually under organic cultivation
is miniscule at 0.6%. The EU is a bit better at 4%. In spite of the
minimal land area under organic cultivation, the movement for healthy
agriculture in North America is under increasing siege by government
“regulators”.
So
what’s behind this wonderful new revival of Russian peasant
agriculture? Could it be as simple as one person — Anastasia — a
40-year-old woman from Siberia who befriended a traveling Russian
entrepreneur? Based on material Anastasia gave him, that
entrepreneur, Vladimir Megre, has published nine books which have
become underground best-sellers in Russia.
One
of Anastasia’s imaginations, which Megre describes in considerable
detail, is a future in which more and more people live on small
(one-hectare) homesteads, which she calls Kin’s Domains. There they
cultivate the earth to grow trees and raise vegetables and fruits of
exceptional nutritional value, with enough surplus to sell. Anastasia
imagines a national culture based on simple rural life in
eco-villages like these, in which values of health, love, truth,
freedom and beauty take precedence. Eventually she sees this leading
to a booming business in eco-tourism as people from all over the
world want to come to Russia and catch with their own eyes a glimpse
of what humanity and the world can become.
Anastasia,
however, is not just a simple peasant woman. In fact, she seems to be
something of a spiritual adept, in the ancient Vedic tradition. In
addition to her suggestions for agriculture and nutrition, she shares
with author Vladimir Megre, insights on subjects as diverse as
statecraft and the education of children. The books are an enjoyable
and educational read. Though it’s sometimes tiresome to wade
through Megre’s personal struggles with the material, I don’t
think there’s anything I’ve seen yet that quite compares with
what Anastasia has put before us in these few slim volumes. She
describes her mission as helping people find their way through “the
dark forces’ window of time”. And that’s something we could
sure use some help with. Thanks Anastasia!
Here’s
an excerpt from one report on the Anastasia material from Scott
Fraser, writing for RealitySandwich.com:
Another
Russian family at home in their Dacha
“….Vladimir
Megre, a Siberian entrepreneur, is the author of The Ringing Cedars
Series. The story begins with Vladimir on a commercial trade run
through some remote communities of Siberia. He starts to build an
interest in the economic value of the Siberian cedar, and then
pursues reports of a “ringing cedar,” an anomalous tree that
stores cosmic energies and, after many hundreds of years, begins to
ring. On his journey, Vladimir meets Anastasia, a young woman who has
grown up in the Siberian wilderness. She brings Vladimir back to her
forest glade and shares her advice with him regarding the raising of
children, living a natural lifestyle, and illuminating the spirit of
Creation that rests within every person.
For
Vladimir, living a few days in Anastasia’s world is full of
shocking and mystifying experiences. Humbled by the simple
accommodations of a grass-lined dugout and not even a fire, Vladimir
witnesses the abilities of Anastasia’s visionary “Ray,” as well
as her astonishing somersaults, swings, and soaring through the
forest canopy. Both the wild animals and the plants in her domain are
seemingly tamed, observes Vladimir, as he watches the squirrels bring
her food, the cedars shower her in pollen, and witnesses a show of
acrobatics with the denizen bear!
As
Vladimir’s critical interest in these phenomena grow, Anastasia
stresses the importance of the wisdom she offers, offering the vision
of an emerging culture re-united with Nature. Letting the children
grow up in orchards and gardens full of our love is the key to
reclaiming humanity’s Creator role on earth, and this new Age of
Co-Creation will be realized when we empower our dreams with the
purity of thought that comes from living a natural life.
"A
typical Russian garden" by "uncommon vistas" on Flickr
This
is the story of The Ringing Cedars. Whether one accepts it as fact or
fiction, it is playing a massive role in transforming the culture of
Russia, and in various communities around the world.
Dachniks is
a term for the cottage-gardeners of Russia, and we become very
familiar with their story in reading Anastasia.
Leonid Sharashkin, editor of The Ringing Cedars Series’ English
editions and a doctoral student in Agroforestry, is able to
share with us the
massive impacts of this gardening movement in the larger context of
Russia’s agricultural economy:
“Currently,
with 35 million families (70% of Russia’s population) working 8
million [hectares] of land and producing more than 40% of Russia’s
agricultural output, this is in all likelihood the most extensive
microscale food production practice in any industrially developed
nation.
“According
to official statistics, in 1999 more than 35 million families (105
million people, or 71% of country’s population) owned a dacha or a
subsidiary plot and were cultivating it… The 35 million plots of
these families occupy more than 8 million hectares and provide 92% of
Russia’s harvest of potatoes, 77% of its vegetables, 87% of berries
and fruits, 59.4% of meat, and 49.2% of milk.”
“When
you look at the contribution of gardening to the national economy as
a whole, it’s even more stunning,” Sharashkin said. “In 2004,
gardeners’ output amounted to 51% (by value) of the total
agricultural output of the Russian Federation. This represents 384
billion rubles (approx. US$14 billion!!!), or 2.3% of Russia’s
Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is greater, for example, than the
contribution of the whole of electric power generation industry (317
bn rubles), significantly greater than all of forestry,
wood-processing and pulp and paper industry (180 bn), significantly
greater than the coal (54 bn), natural gas (63 bn) and oil refining
(88 bn) industries taken together. The share of food gardening in
national agriculture has increased from 32% in 1992 to over 50% by
2000.”
Russian
Dacha
“Essentially,
what Russian gardeners do,” he concludes, “is demonstrate that
gardeners can feed the world – and you do not need any GMOs,
industrial farms, or any other technological gimmicks to guarantee
everybody’s got enough food to eat. Bear in mind that Russia only
has 110 days of growing season per year – so in the US, for
example, gardeners’ output could be substantially greater. Today,
however, the area taken up by lawns in the US is two times greater
than that of Russia’s gardens – and it produces nothing but a
multi-billion-dollar lawn care industry.”
Though
the dacha movement
has its roots in Russia’s traditional peasant culture (and more
recently in post-WW2 programs to boost agricultural production) the
Ringing Cedars movement has had its own major contributions since the
release of the books in 1996. A strong focus on planting trees and
using non-timber tree products, permaculture principles like “no-dig”
gardens, and fulfilling a spiritual relationship with the land are
some of the new characteristics among the dachniks who
have been inspired by Anastasia.
As
well, the readers of Anastasia are
also at the heart of a growing Russian eco-village movement. These
are subsistence communities made up of multiple family estates,
normally called “Kin’s Domains,” a term that appears in the
books. Along with each family’s estate of between one and three
hectares, these eco-villages may include community areas with a
school, clinic, theatre, and festival grounds. Before the release of
the Ringing Cedars books, Russia was without an eco-village movement;
but in 2004, a conference of readers had attendants representing more
than 150 eco-villages!
The
spiritual affinity within the communities of the Ringing Cedars
movement lies in their vision of re-establishing “Motherland,” an
eco-culture where every person is fulfilling their role as a Divine
Co-Creator. As readers go deeper into the series, Anastasia begins to
reveal the path back to the state of a Creator Being, teaching about
“The Science of Imagery,” of empowering our creative ability with
pure thought, feelings, and a loving relationship with Nature. She
also shares her stories about the history of the People of Earth, of
the priests who led us into the Occult Age that is just now ending,
and of the Beauty that was found in the gardens and rituals of an
ancient Vedic race.
Anastasia
also gives advice regarding the sowing of seeds, raising bees, and
ideas for setting up a permaculture-style estate. Along with accounts
of kombucha UFOs,
ancestraldolmens (ancient
burial chambers), and supernatural orbs, The Ringing Cedars Series
contains a diverse array of paranormal tales, practical
sustainability, poetic scripture, and cultural vision. For me, the
books are a captivating read of personal, cultural, and spiritual
significance.
Across
Russia, “Garden Plot Acts” legislation is increasingly coming
into effect, entitling each Russian citizen to a piece of land free
from taxation and inheritable though the family line. I read this
message of sovereign title to land for the purpose of spiritual
fulfillment as a hopeful tiding of humanity’s future here on the
planet. As I wander about visiting homesteads, farms, communities,
and seeking the stories to inspire a natural and spiritual life, I
have discovered Anastasia.
It is one of those inspiring stories, and there are many blessings
for us all on the path of Inspired Co-Creation…”
“In
the 1960s the then General Secretary N.S.Khrushchov in compliance
with the agricultural programm in Russia began to grant private
citizens six hundred square meters plot on lease in collective
orchards. Such a plot was called “dacha” (a country house). In
the 1990s dachas turned from a place for rest into a major means of
surviving – people then were more like farmers than amateur
gardeners. For most people a dacha is a place to grow vegetables,
fruit, berries…”
The
economic situation has been slightly changing in the country since
the late 90s. And gradually dachas have been turning into a place for
a rest…
References:
Organic
Farming by Country,
from Wikipedia
“Out
of Russia comes again the hope of the world” — Edgar Cayce
See
this page for more background on Russia’s spiritual mission in our
time.
Ringing
Cedars Press –
American distributor of the Anastasia books in English translation
Lead
picture is from “From
Russia with Love”
Uncommon
Vistas on Flickr,
source for “A Russian Garden” photo (3rd picture)
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