Agrarian Economy of Siberia and Emergency Legislation during the Great Patriotic War

Abstract

The article deals with the peculiarities of agricultural development in Siberia during the war. An assessment of the main losses of labor resources and material base of the region is given. The role of emergency laws in the field of labor and the consequences of their application are described. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the government decree on the minimum of collective farm labor and the scope of application of criminal liability for its non-compliance. The significance of the use of Article 61 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR about the failure to fulfill the state burdens is also revealed. The problem of mass starvation during the war years as a consequence of the destruction of the foundations of the agrarian economy is touched upon. It is noted that the famine in the rural areas of Siberia had already spread on the eve of the war, but most widely affected the population of the village in 1943-1944. A number of new historical facts and statistical data characterizing the situation of agriculture and the peasantry in Siberia during the war are introduced into scientific circulation. Concludes that measures of judicial threat did not play a decisive role during the war, and that motivation to work was determined by personal and collective responsibility of rural toilers. Keywords: Great Patriotic War, World War II, agriculture, livestock, Siberia, resources, peasantry, emergency laws.