Russian famine of 1891-2
Encyclopedia
The Russian famine of 1891-2 began along the Volga River
, then spread as far as the Urals
and Black Sea
. The reawakening of Russian Marxism
and populism
is often traced to the public's anger at the Tsarist government's handling of the disaster.
used to feed the horses. Those seelings that weren't killed by frost were blown away along with the topsoil
in an uncommonly windy spring. The summer started as early as April and proved to be a long dry one. The city of Orenburg
for example had no rain for over 100 days. Forests, horses, crops and peasants all began to die, and by the end of 1892 about half a million people were dead, mostly from cholera
epidemics triggered by the famine.
academy in Moscow was Russia's only agricultural school). Russia's primitive railways were not up to redistributing grain. The affected area was a stronghold of communal land distribution so that households had no incentive to improve the land or mechanize, but every incentive to produce as many children as possible (Russia had Europe's highest birth rate).
The main blame was laid at the government, which was discredited by the famine. It refused to use that word: golod
, they called it a poor harvest neurozhai and stopped the papers reporting on it.. The main reason the blame fell on the government was that grain exports were not banned till mid-August and merchants had a month's warning so they could quickly export their reserves. Minister of Finance Ivan Vyshnegradsky
even opposed this late ban. He was seen as the main cause of the disaster as it was his policy to raise consumer taxes to force peasants to sell more grain. Even Russia's capitalists realized the industrialization drive had been too hard on the peasants.
The government also contributed to the famine indirectly by conscripting peasant sons, sending taxmen to seize livestock when grain ran out, and implementing a system of redemption payments as compensation to landlords who had lost their serfs.
Leo Tolstoy
, the most famous volunteer, blamed the Tsar
and the Orthodox Church for the famine. The Orthodox Church actually banned peasants from accepting his charity as they had excommunicated him. The future Tsar Nicholas II headed the relief committee and was a member of the finance committee three months later, while the Tsar and Tsarina raised 5 and 12 million roubles respectively. Alexander III
's sister Grand Duchess Elizabeth also raised money by selling peasant crafts in bazaar
s. Nicholas II said, "A great honor, but little satisfaction ...I must admit I never even suspected it's [finance committee's] existence".
The zemstvo
s got 150 million roubles from the government to buy food, but were only allowed to loan to peasants who could repay them and were therefore the least needy. Starving peasants had to eat raw donated flour and "famine bread", a mixture of moss
, goosefoot, bark
and husks.
In February of 1892, the government bought 30,000 Kirghiz horses so the fields could be plowed.
The government's callousness converted Lenin, Petr Struve and Victor Chernov to Marxism.
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
, then spread as far as the Urals
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
and Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. The reawakening of Russian Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
and populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
is often traced to the public's anger at the Tsarist government's handling of the disaster.
Weather
In 1891 a particularly dry autumn had delayed the planting of the fields. That winter temperatures fell to -31 degrees Celsius, but very little snow fell therefore the seedlings were totally unprotected from the frost. When the Volga river flooded the lack of snow caused the water to freeze, killing more seedlings as well as the fodderFodder
Fodder or animal feed is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin...
used to feed the horses. Those seelings that weren't killed by frost were blown away along with the topsoil
Topsoil
Topsoil is the upper, outermost layer of soil, usually the top to . It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs.-Importance:...
in an uncommonly windy spring. The summer started as early as April and proved to be a long dry one. The city of Orenburg
Orenburg
Orenburg is a city on the Ural River and the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies southeast of Moscow, very close to the border with Kazakhstan. Population: 546,987 ; 549,361 ; Highest point: 154.4 m...
for example had no rain for over 100 days. Forests, horses, crops and peasants all began to die, and by the end of 1892 about half a million people were dead, mostly from cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemics triggered by the famine.
Other causes
Weather alone cannot be blamed as there was enough grain in Russia to feed the starving areas. The peasants used medieval technology like wooden ploughs and sickles. They rarely had modern fertilizers or machinery (the PetrovskyPetrovsky
Petrovsky , Petrovskaya , or Petrovskoye may refer to:-People:*Adolf Petrovsky, Soviet diplomat*Grigory Petrovsky, Ukrainian revolutionary*Ivan Petrovsky, mathematician*Margarita Petrovskaya, Russian astronomer...
academy in Moscow was Russia's only agricultural school). Russia's primitive railways were not up to redistributing grain. The affected area was a stronghold of communal land distribution so that households had no incentive to improve the land or mechanize, but every incentive to produce as many children as possible (Russia had Europe's highest birth rate).
The main blame was laid at the government, which was discredited by the famine. It refused to use that word: golod
Golod
Golod is a Russian surname that may refer to*Evgeny Golod, mathematician**Golod-Shafarevich theorem*Vitali Golod, chess player...
, they called it a poor harvest neurozhai and stopped the papers reporting on it.. The main reason the blame fell on the government was that grain exports were not banned till mid-August and merchants had a month's warning so they could quickly export their reserves. Minister of Finance Ivan Vyshnegradsky
Ivan Vyshnegradsky
Ivan Vyshnegradsky was Russia's Finance minister from 1887-1892.- Past Life :...
even opposed this late ban. He was seen as the main cause of the disaster as it was his policy to raise consumer taxes to force peasants to sell more grain. Even Russia's capitalists realized the industrialization drive had been too hard on the peasants.
The government also contributed to the famine indirectly by conscripting peasant sons, sending taxmen to seize livestock when grain ran out, and implementing a system of redemption payments as compensation to landlords who had lost their serfs.
Relief efforts
On November 17, 1891 the government asked the people to form voluntary anti-famine organizations.Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
, the most famous volunteer, blamed the Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
and the Orthodox Church for the famine. The Orthodox Church actually banned peasants from accepting his charity as they had excommunicated him. The future Tsar Nicholas II headed the relief committee and was a member of the finance committee three months later, while the Tsar and Tsarina raised 5 and 12 million roubles respectively. Alexander III
Alexander III
Alexander III may refer to:*Alexander III of Macedon , also known as Alexander the Great*Alexander , Byzantine Emperor *Pope Alexander III, pope from 1159 to 1181*Alexander III of Scotland , king of Scotland...
's sister Grand Duchess Elizabeth also raised money by selling peasant crafts in bazaar
Bazaar
A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
s. Nicholas II said, "A great honor, but little satisfaction ...I must admit I never even suspected it's [finance committee's] existence".
The zemstvo
Zemstvo
Zemstvo was a form of local government that was instituted during the great liberal reforms performed in Imperial Russia by Alexander II of Russia. The idea of the zemstvo was elaborated by Nikolay Milyutin, and the first zemstvo laws were put into effect in 1864...
s got 150 million roubles from the government to buy food, but were only allowed to loan to peasants who could repay them and were therefore the least needy. Starving peasants had to eat raw donated flour and "famine bread", a mixture of moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
, goosefoot, bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
and husks.
In February of 1892, the government bought 30,000 Kirghiz horses so the fields could be plowed.
The government's callousness converted Lenin, Petr Struve and Victor Chernov to Marxism.
Economic consequences
| Year | Exports of cereals (pood Pood Pood , is a unit of mass equal to 40 funt . It is approximately 16.38 kilograms . It was used in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Pood was first mentioned in a number of documents of the 12th century.... s) |
Balance of trade (Roubles) | Budget revenue (Roubles) | Budget expenditure (Roubles) | Budget balance (Roubles) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 418,503,000 | +285,590,000 | 1,047,373,000 | 1,056,512,000 | -9,139,000 |
| 1891 | 391,411,000 | +335,804,000 | 928,795,000 | 1,115,647,000 | -186,852,000 |
| 1892 | 196,422,000 | +76,036,000 | 1,168,844,000 | 1,125,365,000 | +43,488,000 |
| 1893 | 404,039,000 | +149,601,000 |