Food Security: Russian Context

The article is devoted to the analysis of the specificity of the Russian interpretation of the universal concept of food security. On the basis of a series of expert interviews with agricultural economists, farmers, representatives of agricultural trade unions, officials at rural administrations and regional ministries, as well as with the help of several secondary data sources, S.Barsukova and C.Dufy show that shifts in the interpretation of this concept reflects the evolution of the authority's attitudes, business' capabilities to lobby and the state of society. According to the authors' conclusion, when choosing ways of ensuring food security, Russia opted for the protectionist approach. The established view of food security means moving towards self-sufficiency. In fact, the debate is about the national specificity in building market economy, about the extent of autonomy in choosing development paths, rather than about ways to feed the population of the country. The reality that incorporates such debates provides food security with interpretations, the legitimization of which is one of the tasks of political mobilization.