Post-Soviet Transformation of Animal Husbandry in Central Russia According to Statistics, Satellite Images Data and Authors' Observations

The article discusses the main trends in the spatial organization of animal husbandry in the post-Soviet years with the help of a multi-scale study of the regions in the Central Federal District of Russia. The use of Rosstat data for municipal districts, topographic maps, and interpretation of satellite images with different resolutions allowed us to reveal the real picture of organizational and spatial changes in animal husbandry up to the conditions of individual farms. After a catastrophic decline in livestock numbers in the 1990s, animal husbandry is recovering, partially changing its specialization, organizational structure, and localization. If meat production has grew up in recent years, mainly due to pork and poultry, the number of cattle in many areas continues to decline. At the same time, the degree of animal husbandry concentration has increased in comparison with the Soviet time. The selectivity of the sector's restoration makes it spatially focal, leaving vast Non-Chernozem lands abandoned and gradually overgrown with forest. To verify statistical information, ultra-high-resolution remote sensing data on the distribution of livestock farms and its infrastructure and condition are used, with some examples given in diagrams and maps. A comparison of the data from topographic maps of the late 1980s and contemporary satellite images showed that over 4000 farms were abandoned in the regions of the Central Federal District. At the same time, many new modernized enterprises appeared. Maps compiled by municipal districts clearly reflect the current spatial structure of animal husbandry. The spatial organization of large agricultural holdings is studied in more detail using examples.

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