«ONE THOUGHT ONLY OF FOOD…»: ROUTINE PRACTICES OF KURGAN PEOPLE DURING STARVATION OF THE EARLY 1920S
Keywords:
starvation, undernutrition, canteen, substitute good, survival practices, famine reliefAbstract
The article considers routine practices of Kurgan’s people survival during the starvation in 1921–1922. In Kurgan, starvation reached its climax in the spring of 1922, when a third of the urban population went hungry. The remaining residents of Kurgan were in comparatively better conditions due to their salaries and personal subsidiary plots. The salaries of ordinary Kurgan workers and clerks were small, but job loss was critical for people. Vegetable gardens and livestock were of a significant help for many citizens, as well as other things that they could sell and change for food. Substitute goods and carrion of animals and birds became food. Extreme conditions forced the population to change their usual lifestyle. Some people, trying to escape from the starvation, moved to more favourable regions of the country. The rest tried to survive on small wages and scarce food rations; step by step they sold their property, tried to get special cards for canteens, begged, etc. Cards for canteens immediately became the subject of machinations as something valuable. In general, the criminal situation escalated: because of starvation, petty and grand thefts, assaults and murders spread widely. Throughout the interwar period, in the memory of Kurgan people, there was a fear of starvation of 1921–1922. Frequent supply breakdowns were accompanied by worrying rumors and a desire to stock up on something. Standard distribution, hours-long queues became a part of the routine life of Soviet citizens.References
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