Rural Entrepreneurs in Russia and the Ukraine: Origins, Motivations, and Institutional Change

One of the key issues confronting both Russia and the Ukraine during the transformation process is the emergence of economic agents that could operate in a market economy. The origin and motivation of entrepreneurship are fundamental issues for researchers and policy makers. However, a historical hostility toward private business-that in large parts of Russia and the Ukraine predates socialism-combined with a shortage of capital and the skills necessary to engage in the process of business enterprise underline the magnitude of the task of generating entrepreneurial talent. In response, there has been a growing body of literature exploring these questions (Agreev et al. 1995; Green et al. 1996; Shulus 1996; Radaev 1997, 2001; Kusnezova 1999, Luthans et al. 2000; Smallbone and Welter 2001). Not unexpectedly the bulk of this literature drew upon the experience of socio-economic milieus that were at the forefront of the transformation process. These included capital cities and major regional centers, where there was greater opportunity for the realization of entrepreneurial talent than in geographically peripheral and sparsely populated environments. None of the previous works, published in English, address directly the issue of entrepreneurship in a rural setting. One plausible explanation for the neglect of rural entrepreneurs is that rurality does not matter at the early stages of reform. This means that the main constraints in the emergence of entrepreneurs emanate from the magni-