In this wide-ranging collection from Professor Steven L. Hoch of Washington State University, various facets of the life of Russia's rural population are examined, from banking crises and infectious diseases to peasant rituals and land reform. In contrast to longstanding interpretations of the Russian peasantry, Hoch's work emphasizes the role of social, epidemiological, and ecological forces in the formation of rural Russian society. Using sources infrequently considered by previous scholars, he assesses the impact of the broad economy on shaping the government polices of emancipation and land reform and the long-term consequences of these policies on peasant material well-being.