Survey data for 1994-2009 show that in the post-Soviet period the social structure in the Russian countryside has become more fragmented and fluctuating, few professional agricultural specialists remain, unskilled laborers predominate among the blue-collar workers in the sector, and only one in twenty has a qualification. In agricultural production, labor remains an important aspect of the life and activity of villagers, providing them with a means of livelihood. The crisis of rural enterprises, the low rate of labor productivity and pay, self-employment, unemployment, and the shortage of qualified cadres in agriculture are all causing the reproduction of social groups that have inadequate resources. The social structure of the countryside in today's Russia remains largely traditional, and this is restraining the modernization processes of Russian society.