Attempts to Resolve the Food Crisis Aimed at Improving the Material Conditions of the Population in 1917–1920
Keywords:
food crisis, Turkestan, food supply, material conditions, prodrazvyorstkaAbstract
This thesis examines attempts to resolve the food crisis and improve the material conditions of the population in 1917–1920. Particular attention is paid to the causes of food shortages associated with the First World War, the revolutions of 1917, the Civil War, the disruption of transport networks, and the decline of agricultural production. The study analyzes the food policy of the Soviet authorities, including the establishment of state control over food supplies, the introduction of the food dictatorship, compulsory requisitions, and the prodrazvyorstka system. The specific features of the food crisis in Turkestan and measures taken to organize centralized food distribution are also considered. The thesis concludes that although these measures temporarily contributed to supplying cities, the army, and state institutions, they failed to substantially improve the material conditions of the population and aggravated economic difficulties in rural areas.
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