THE FAMINE OF 1921-1922 IN NORTH KAZAKHSTAN: UNSTUDIED PAGES

Abstract

The article is devoted to the unknown pages of the struggle against hunger in Northern Kazakhstan in 1921-1922 on the example of Akmola and Kostanay provinces. In the article, the author reveals the causes and consequences of the famine of 1921-1922 in Northern Kazakhstan. Here, in comparison with other affected regions, there was a big problem in the issue of food supply due to the large number of livestock deaths and several lean years. The causes of famine in Kazakhstan were the crop failure of 1921, caused by drought and locusts, lack of grain and excessive pumping of it in 1920, as well as the civil war on its territory in 1918-1920. All these reasons and the death of cattle from jute in 1920-1921 led to the utter devastation of agriculture in the republic. The famine in the Kazakh steppe was aggravated as a result of the Bolshevik government policy, when the so-called surplus agricultural products were selected and exported by food detachments, as well as due to radical changes in the economic structure and a reduction in the number of livestock among the Kazakh population. The article analyzes the demographic losses of the region, as well as studies the work of provincial commissions and public international organizations to combat hunger and its consequences.