Hunger in the Volga region: photographs taken by foreigners in Russia in the 1920s

The years 1921-1922 became a terrible test for the inhabitants of the Volga region, which not everyone managed to survive. It was at this time that the peak of mass famine occurred during the Civil War in Russia in the territories controlled by the Bolsheviks. The number of victims reached such terrible numbers that the Bolshevik government for the first time had to accept help from the capitalist countries. Foreign journalists who traveled to the Volga region during this period took documentary photographs showing the full extent of that terrifying time.

Capitalist countries help fight hunger.

The main reason for the situation at the beginning of the 20th century was weather conditions. In 1921, the Bolsheviks adopted the decree "On the fight against drought", which became the first government measures.

It is difficult to imagine what the population had to go through.

The state also provided assistance to the victims. In the photo there is a queue for free distribution of food.

The number of street children in 1921 grew rapidly.

Starving people waiting for humanitarian aid from the Soviet government in 1922.

A dining room organized by a foreign organization in the Volga region as a measure to combat mass hunger.

Wagons with American help. Volga region, 1922.

People unload food sent by European organizations for the starving in the Volga region, 1922.

From the first days, members of the Red Cross struggled with the effects of mass starvation.

Orphaned children receive medical care.

Watch the video: Famine in the Volga (April 2024).