Selskaia Zhizn

(Rural Life), a newspaper of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The origins of Sel’skaia zhizn’ date to the newspaper Bednota (The Poor), which was published from Mar. 27, 1918, to Jan. 31, 1931. On Feb. 1, 1931, Bednota merged with the newspaper Sotsialisticheskoe zemledelie (Socialist Land Cultivation), published from 1929, to form a single newspaper, Sotsialisticheskoe zemledelie. In 1953 the newspaper was renamed Sel’skoe khoziaistvo (Agriculture), and in April 1960 it became a newspaper of the Central Committee of the CPSU and was renamed Sel’skaia zhizn’.

Sel’skaia zhizn’ is published six times a week in Moscow and is matrix printed in 40 cities of the USSR. It deals with the social, economic, and cultural life of the Soviet Union, especially the countryside, and describes the work of rural party organizations. It popularizes scientific achievements and progressive innovations introduced by kolkhozes, sovkhozes, and interfarm production associations, taking into consideration the characteristic features of different regions; it prints varying versions of certain sections, which are intended for circulation in particular natural and economic zones, including Middle Asia, Transcaucasia, Siberia, and the Far East. Sel’skaia zhizn’ devotes attention to problems of the scientific organization of labor and management of production, the strengthening of the material and technical base of agriculture, mechanization, the use of chemicals in agriculture, and land reclamation. A prominent place is allotted to rural culture and everyday life and to conservation. The newspaper also deals with international questions and technology in other socialist countries. Sel’skia zhizn’ has been awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1964) and the Order of Lenin (1971). Circulation, 8 million (1975).