Such a phenomenon as a food appraisal, also known by the abbreviated name of food appraisal, took place in Russia from 1919 to 1921. At this time, the government decided to set certain standards for bread and other products that the peasants could store, and they had to sell all surpluses to the state at minimum prices. Food detachments, the committees of the poor and regional councils, which forced the peasants to surrender their supplies, participated in the food surplus.
Impact on the population
The introduction of food surpluses further aggravated the already difficult situation of the common population. Norms of delivery of bread, which were distributed or unfolded as a tribute, very often exceeded the real stocks of residents.
Many peasants made attempts to hide their products, but the food detachments quickly found and even punished the malicious "concealers."
Survey Results
Already during the first year of the food terror and the beginning of the food distribution, about 44.6 million pounds of bread were bought from the population. The second year marked a serious increase in indicators and brought the state 113.9 million pounds. A sharp increase in indicators was provoked by the White invasion, as part of the common population agreed to support the Communists in order to avoid the victory of enemy forces. Therefore, only in November in 1917, about 33.7 million pounds were delivered, but this became possible only thanks to the then functioning food supply apparatus of the Provisional Government, with the help of which the surplus appraisal was carried out.
This phenomenon, the purpose of which was to ensure the armed forces, had a number of drawbacks. The main problem here was poor organization, because of which a considerable part of the collected reserves did not reach their destination on time, but simply deteriorated from time to time. For the needs of the army, 60% of meat and fish, 100% of tobacco and 40% of bread, which were collected from the surplus surplus, were used. Peasants and ordinary workers were forced to starve, while the products they had taken, reaching the big cities, were often plundered and divided into rations.
Why was the surplus appraisal carried out
The determination of limits on the number of products of peasants made it possible to keep workers and employees at least in a half-starved state. Soldiers were a little more fortunate, and under the best conditions there was a state leadership, which was provided with regular meals. The surplus surplus became the reason for the lack of desire among the peasants to work, since the whole crop was still taken from them. This was one of the main factors that led to the complete ruin of agriculture by 1921. Massive uprisings of peasants began throughout the country, demanding the abolition of such procedures.
During this period, the surplus was replaced by a tax deduction, which was the first and most important step for the transition to NEP.
Advantages and disadvantages
Despite the fact that this process was able to relatively stabilize the food situation in the country, it also brought many negative consequences. Officially, the surplus appraisal was introduced on January 11, 1919, at a very difficult period for the Soviet government, when the country needed support.
According to the official version, the peasants were supposed to surrender their surplus products that exceeded the norms established by the government, but did the surplus-appraisal take place? It is quite difficult to establish now, almost a century later, but still some genuine information has been preserved. Sometimes simple peasants were also taken away what was supposed to remain for the personal needs of the population, and the money they were supposed to receive was replaced with various kinds of receipts for which nothing could be purchased. This led to bloodshed, arrests and uprisings. Therefore, from a historical point of view, this is a twofold process.
Facts
- The first stages of the surplus appraisal in the slowly collapsing Russian Empire began in December 1916. But this, like many other initiatives of the government, only contributed to the imminent collapse of the state.
- The interim government, which also resorted to food audits, was able to succeed in replenishing food supplies by collecting 280 million pounds of grain from the planned 650.
- The surplus appropriation system, officially introduced at the beginning of 1919, became part of the food terror of the Bolsheviks during the Civil War, which took place during the time of “war communism”.
- For the Bolsheviks, the surplus appraisal (this has been officially proved) was rather difficult. Its implementation was initially impossible in some territories, so it was carried out only in the central region of the country.
- Initially, the surplus appraisal extended exclusively to grain, but at the end of 1920, measures were already applied to all existing agricultural products.
- Initially, the peasants were going to pay for the collected products, but the delivery of the goods turned out to be practically free, because the money was depreciated and the industry was in complete decline - there was nothing to change.
- Naturally, the peasants did not always agree to voluntarily part with the acquired assets; therefore, there were special armed detachments, committees of the poor and Red Army units.
- When the peasants no longer had the desire or the ability to resist the measures of the government, they began to hide food and grow bread no more than the norm.
- Even taking into account that the food dictatorship led to the deprivation of the peasants, there is no doubt that only the surplus appropriation service could feed the army. This phenomenon also helped to save the urban proletariat.
- In the period from 1918 to 1920, the head of the Russian food detachment was a communist, who later became a member of the Third Reich. It was Roland Freisler.
Total
The food unfolding phenomenon, like many other initiatives introduced by the Bolsheviks, had both a number of advantages and many disadvantages. Despite the fact that this process helped to provide the armed forces with the necessary products, most of the goods simply disappeared, although it was taken from the people who needed them - this is how the surplus appraisal was actually carried out. The year when it began was the point of no return to stability and the beginning of everything that would lead to a serious crisis in the future.