The USSR food crisis in XX century: the middle of 1950s - the first half of 1960s

Abstract

The article is devoted to nutrition of population in the USSR during governing of N. S. Khrushchev in 1955-1964. It is demonstrated that despite continuation by new regime implementation of administrative command strategy of managing national economy, radical changes in principles, tactics and methods of decision-making led to diametrically opposite, negative results in population food supply carried out earlier in the country by the former Stalinist leadership. Numerous complaints of people about inability to feed the family are presented. The low purchasing possibility of population with simultaneous shortage of products in stores has been proved. It is established that food crisis of the middle of 1950s - early 1960s resulted from imbalance between supply and demand in field of food delivery. The government's ill-conceived measures on opening up virgin lands, elimination of machine tractor stations that were basis of agro-industrial complex, contradictory actions limiting plots of land of peasants, passion for planting corn, increase of agricultural and income taxes from villagers, etc. All this caused problems in nutrition of population. The possibility of falsified data in documents prepared for government on food issues, even classified as secret, is claimed, due to lies prevailing in country and conjuncture atmosphere. The negative assessment of Khrushchev's reforms by population, nostalgia for Stalin's times with constant price cuts and salary increases are indicated. The norms of products needed for balanced diet and real situation with annual consumption per capita in the 1960s are calculated. It is emphasized that in the USSR emergence of workers protests occurred due to increase of state food prices and low wages. The culmination of these processes became shooting by troops in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, of peaceful demonstration suppressed by direct order of Head of state in June 1962. The multiple differences, concealed by the authorities, in prices for basic foodstuffs of Soviet citizens and population in capitalist countries, in favor of the latter. The conclusion ids made that utopia and lies, economic voluntarism were cornerstones of paradigm prevailing in the Khrushchev era, that resulted in food crisis and the half-starved existence of majority of inhabitants of the USSR.