Russian famine of 1921–1922

Long ago, many people in Russia were very hungry.

A bad drought meant crops did not grow. Wars also made it hard to find food. Many people got sick during this time.

Kind people from other lands sent help. They sent lots of grain and milk. They even sent warm clothes for children. This help saved many lives. It was a big job to help everyone.

In 1921, a great famine began in Russia.

Many people in the Volga and Ural River regions went hungry. This happened for several reasons. A bad drought meant crops did not grow well. Also, Russia was dealing with the effects of World War I. The Russian Civil War was also happening. During this war, many groups took food from farmers. This left the farmers with very little to eat.

Because of the hunger, many people became very sick. Diseases like cholera and typhus spread quickly.

Many countries worked together to help. Herbert Hoover led an American group called the ARA. They sent ships filled with grain, rice, and milk. They also sent warm clothes to children.

An explorer named Fridtjof Nansen led a European group to help too. These groups set up thousands of kitchens. They fed millions of people every day. This massive effort helped save many lives from the famine.

In 1921, a very serious famine began in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

This hunger crisis lasted until 1922 and mostly hurt people near the Volga and Ural Rivers. Many things caused this tragedy to happen at once. A severe drought meant there was not enough rain for crops. At the same time, Russia was recovering from World War I. The Russian Civil War was also happening across the land. The government also used a policy that took food from farmers. This left the people who grew food with very little to eat.

Because there was so little food, the situation became very desperate. People could not get enough to eat, and many became very sick. Diseases like cholera and typhus spread quickly among the hungry people. Some people even turned to eating things they normally would not. Historians say that thousands of cases of cannibalism were reported. In some places, people even sold human flesh as meat. This happened because there was such an extreme shortage of food. The lack of good roads and trains made it hard to move supplies.

Leaders in Russia asked the world for help during this hard time. In July 1921, Vladimir Lenin and Maxim Gorky wrote a letter. They asked people in Europe and America to send bread and medicine. Many different groups from around the world decided to help. An explorer named Fridtjof Nansen led a large European relief effort. He even won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.

His work helped bring attention to the needs of the Russian people.

An American group called the American Relief Administration, or ARA, did a huge amount of work. Herbert Hoover led this group to send food to Russia. The ARA raised about $78 million from many different sources. They sent 237 ships filled with grain, rice, beans, and milk.

They set up more than 21,000 kitchens to feed people. At one point, they were feeding over 10 million people every single day. They also sent 15 million pounds of medical supplies to help the sick.

Helping the people was a very big and difficult job. Doctors had to work in hospitals that had no heat. Sometimes they even had to perform surgery without medicine to stop pain. Many children were also in danger because they had no warm clothes. Many children only had one garment made from flour sacks. The ARA helped by sending clothing packages to keep them warm. This massive effort helped pull millions of people away from death.

The Russian famine of 1921–1922 was a catastrophic period of starvation in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

It began in the early spring of 1921 and continued through 1922. The crisis primarily impacted the regions near the Volga and Ural Rivers. This famine was not caused by a single event. Instead, it resulted from several overlapping disasters. Severe drought destroyed many crops. At the same time, the country was struggling with the aftermath of World War I. The Russian Civil War, fought from 1918 to 1920, also caused massive instability. These factors combined to create a situation where food was extremely scarce.

Government policies played a significant role in the food shortage. During the Russian Civil War, different groups seized food from farmers to feed their armies. The Bolshevik government used a policy known as war communism. A specific part of this was called prodrazvyorstka, which was the requisitioning of supplies from the peasantry. The government often took these supplies for little or nothing in return. Because of this, many peasants drastically reduced their crop production. This created a cycle of even less food available for the population. Additionally, the rail systems were too inefficient to distribute what little food remained.

The lack of nutrition led to extreme desperation and death. An estimated five million people died during this period. Many people also suffered from outbreaks of diseases like cholera and typhus. The situation became so dire that some people resorted to cannibalism. Historian Orlando Figes reported thousands of cases of this happening. In Samara, ten butcher shops were closed for selling human flesh. In some areas, gangs even captured children to sell their flesh as horse or beef meat. Buyers often did not ask questions because the shortage of meat was so extreme.

In the summer of 1921, Russian leaders reached out to the international community for help. Vladimir Lenin and Maxim Gorky wrote an open letter to the people of Europe and America. They requested bread and medicine to prevent total starvation. This led to a massive global relief effort. A famous Arctic explorer named Fridtjof Nansen led the European response. He worked through the International Committee for Russian Relief (ICRR). Nansen's efforts were so significant that he was awarded the 1922 Nobel Peace Prize.

The largest single contributor to the relief was the American Relief Administration, or ARA. This organization was led by Herbert Hoover, who later became the U.S. President. The ARA raised approximately $78 million from various sources, including the U.S. Congress and the Russian leadership. They used 237 ships to transport massive amounts of supplies. This included over 768 million tons of flour, grain, rice, beans, pork, milk, and sugar. The ARA set up more than 21,000 kitchens across Russia. At the height of the operation, they were feeding more than 10 million people every day.

Medical relief was just as critical as food. The ARA supplied over 16,000 hospitals, which treated more than a million people daily. Doctors faced incredible challenges due to poor infrastructure. Many hospitals were located far from supply bases like Moscow. Roads were often just mud ruts in the prairie. One medical director, Colonel Louis L. Shapiro, even drove 150 miles on tires stuffed with straw. Medical supplies were also sent in massive quantities. The ARA sent 125,000 medical packages, weighing 15 million pounds, to help the sick.

Beyond food and medicine, the population faced a crisis of warmth. Many peasants lacked proper clothing for the approaching winter. Children in orphanages often only had one garment, sometimes made from flour sacks. They frequently lacked shoes or stockings. To address this, Hoover organized a plan to collect and send clothing packages. These came from donations from individuals, businesses, and banks. By the summer of 1923, the relief efforts had largely succeeded. The ARA's contribution was estimated to be twice the total amount given by all other foreign organizations combined. The massive scale of this coordination helped pull millions of people away from the brink of death.