DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2024.1.68710

Abstract: The authors analyze the work of the Soviet government with peasant women in the Yenisei province during the New economic policy. The collection, systematization, summarization of data and construction of the narrative were carried out on the basis of the problem-chronological method. The historical-genetic method is used to analyze the activities of women's departments from 1920 to 1929, the emphasis is placed on the first, most difficult stage of their creation and the beginning of work (until the mid-1920s), when the Soviet government brought the country out of acute political and economic crisis after the Civil War, intervention and war communism. The historical-systemic method made it possible to consider the work of womens' departments to involve women in social production and political life in the context of the changes taking place in the country and the socio-economic conditions of the Yenisei province. Based on the comparative historical method, the tasks and their practical implementation in the field of womens' issues are compared. It is shown that in the conditions of economic devastation after the First World War and the Civil War, famine, and mass epidemics, the harsh tax policy of the Soviet government among the East Siberian peasantry caused an increase in anti-Bolshevik sentiment. Experience of women's departments working with peasant women in the 1920s showed that without solving urgent economic and social problems of society (mass illiteracy, lack of modern industrial sectors, technical backwardness in agriculture, manual labor, low standard of living, etc.), the transformation of womens' position and their involvement in socio-political life were impossible. It became obvious that this kind of large-scale task could only be solved gradually with an increase in the educational level of the population, the qualifications and professional level of women, and the solution of many everyday issues. All these tasks were related to the need to modernize the state's economy.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2023.3.40557

Abstract: The authors investigate the reasons for the shortage and high cost of food in the Yakutsk region during the First World War, as well as the activities of the Regional Food Committee, authorized by the Special Meeting of the Governor R. E. Witte and the City Duma of Yakutsk to prevent a food crisis. The facts and events within the framework of the problem under study are systematized, the narrative is built on the basis of the problem-chronological method. The historical-systemic method made it possible to determine the factors that caused the rise in prices and the emergence of food shortages. The historical-genetic method made it possible to analyze the development of the situation in the food sector in dynamics, to trace its transformation into a crisis state. The authors concluded that the Yakutsk region, which was a special region within the Russian Empire (geographically remote, occupying a vast territory, with an undeveloped transport infrastructure, and at the same time of strategic importance), was dependent on food supplies for food. As a result of the First World War, the physical and economic availability of food and, above all, bread has declined sharply. Administrative regulatory measures of local authorities could not be effective in the context of general negative transformations in the economic sphere. The food crisis came in the third year of the war - in 1916-1917. Since that time, the inhabitants of the region could rely only on local agricultural production, which was extremely unstable.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-868X.2019.9.30691

Abstract: This article explores the problems of food supply of mining community of Lensk-Vitim gold-mining districts during the World War I, as well as the measures taken by the government to resolve them. The author determines the peculiarities of the delivery of food products established by the beginning of the XX century under the influence of geographical position and transport infrastructure. The article demonstrates the impact of procurement activities of the Lensk gold-mining community upon the local market conjuncture, as well as the emerging difficulties such as shortage of delivery from Irkutsk and speculation of traders. It is noted that the administration of the province strived to maintain same rate of gold extraction and was careful to avoid the reoccurrence of the tragic events of 1912. The conclusion is drawn that the authorities were able to avert interruption in supply of the territories and prevent outrage on the part of workers until 1916. The use of narrative method helped to select and interpret the historical facts of the problem under consideration; historical-genetic method allowed identifying the causes that led to difficulties of food supply of mining community of Lensk-Vitim gold-mining district during the wartime; systemic method played an important role in correlating the regional events with the spread of food crisis in the Irkutsk Province. The scientific novelty consists in the fact that based on the archival and published sources the author is first to conduct special research on food supply of the northern gold-mining territories of Eastern Siberia during the World War I, assess the performance of the provincial government, as well as describe the priorities of economic policy of the imperial government in this remote region.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2019.5.30810

Abstract: The article's research subject is the system of government and public structures involved in the regulation of food issues in Eastern Siberia during the years of the First World War (July 1914 - February 1917). The author demonstrates that the food crisis had led to systemic reforms in the administrative sphere - in particular, the creation of special procurement departments with representatives set-up locally. The government's top priority was to supply the army. At the regional level, many issues related to the provision of the population were addressed (restraining inflation, combating speculation, etc.), but the scope of the governors' powers remained the same, which prevented them from acting more effectively. The state's insufficient attention to the food supply of the rear forced the population to self-organize. The efforts of urban municipalities due to legislative restrictions, qualifications, and the deficit of financial resources, in the conditions of the general economic situation prevailing in the country, were counterproductive. The consumer cooperation was also incapable of significantly affecting the food situation. The article's study is based on the historical-systemic approach. The process of forming and developing the work of state and public food institutions is characterized by taking into account their hierarchy and internal relations, directions and forms of activity. The scientific novelty of this study lies in the fact that for the first time an attempt has been made to conduct a comprehensive study of the structure, principles of organization and functioning of food institutions in the provinces of Eastern Siberia, and an assessment is made of the effectiveness of their regulatory impact. The author reveals the factors that determined the specifics of the activity of state and public food structures in the region.