Overcoming the consequences of crop failures and helping victims of famine in the Penza province in the 1860s-1890s.

Abstract

Despite the increased scientific interest in the problem of famine and food security in the Russian Empire in recent years, the topic remains poorly studied on the materials of the Penza province. The subject of the study is the main activities of the authorities and the public in the fight against famine and its consequences in the Penza province in the 1860s and 1890s. The purpose of the work is to identify the effectiveness of a system of local measures aimed at overcoming the consequences of crop failures and helping the hungry. The principles of historicism and objectivity, methods of grouping and generalizing statistical information, system, functional and comparative analysis were used as a methodological basis. According to the provisions of the socio-natural theory of E. S. Kulpin-Gubaidullin, the genesis of the crises of society is considered in the relationship and interdependence with the crises of nature. The author's special contribution to the research of the topic is that new information about the causes of crop failures and famine, as well as specific measures taken by the authorities and society to provide assistance to the affected population, has been introduced and analyzed. Based on the analysis of archival and literary sources, the state and public forms of assistance to victims of famine are systematized, the joint contribution of government agencies and zemstvo self-government bodies to overcoming the consequences of crop failures is determined. The main conclusion of the study is that the local security system had limited damage compensation capabilities and needed extraordinary government support. It can be argued that the implementation of local measures together with general imperial ones turned out to be generally effective: mass starvation deaths in the Penza province were not recorded in any of the lean years.