«МЯСНОЙ КРИЗИС» В ИРКУТСКЕ В ГОДЫ ПЕРВОЙ МИРОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ

Abstract

The article considers the causes of the “meat crisis” in Irkutsk during the First World War and the local authorities’ efforts to resolve it. It is shown that the city depended on meat supply from other regions - the Yenisei province, Western Siberia, and Mongolia. The increased purchases in these regions by the military department for the army at the end of 1915 - the beginning of 1916 undermined seriously the food supply of Eastern Siberia cities. Fixed prices introduction in the summer of 1916 was the reason for the increased export of meat by buyers to the European part of the country, where its market value was higher. Against the background of general decline in living standards, the high cost and shortage of one of the staple foods caused serious discontent among Irkutsk people.