The Russian famine of 1921–22, also known as the Povolzhye famine, was a severe famine in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic which began early in the spring of 1921 and lasted through 1922.
This famine killed an estimated 5 million people, primarily affecting the Volga and Ural River regions, and peasants resorted to cannibalism. The famine resulted from the combined effects of economic disturbance because of the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War, exacerbated by rail systems that could not distribute food efficiently.
One of Russia's intermittent droughts in 1921 aggravated the situation to a national catastrophe. Hunger was so severe that it was likely seed-grain would be eaten rather than sown. At one point, relief agencies had to give food to railroad staff to get their supplies moved.
Origins
Before the famine began, Russia had suffered six and a half years of World War I and the Civil Wars of 1918–20, many of the conflicts fought inside Russia. There were an estimated 7–12 million casualties during the Russian Civil War, mostly civilians.Before the famine, all sides in...
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