Demographic situation in Samara province during the famine of 1921–1923

The famine of 1921–1923 covered a huge territory of the country. In the epicenter of famine was Samara province. The hunger had a destructive effect on all aspects of human life, including demographic behavior. The article examines various aspects of the demographic situation that developed in the province: vital statistics, nuptiality and divorce. The complexity of the analysis of demographic processes is due to scarcity of sources. The hunger paralyzed the activities of government bodies, especially in provinces, that led to cessation of the current population accounting. This situation was most acute in rural areas of the province. Most of the information about the demographic situation in the famine-stricken counties is often incomplete or contains large errors in calculating the current population. The article is written on the basis of the documentary material stored in the state archives of Samara oblast. In addition, the article uses the materials of the Swedish Red Cross mission, which operated on the territory of Samara province. Mission staff conducted demographic accounting of the population on the territory of the volosts (rural districts), where the mission opened feeding points, since for the proper organization of nutrition it was necessary to really know the population size and its movement. These materials are extremely important, since there was practically no current accounting of the rural population. Even noting the incompleteness of these materials, their analysis allows us to present the dynamics of the demographic processes taking place in the rural areas of the province. Currently, these materials are stored in the National Archives of Sweden (Riksarkivet) in Stockholm. Statistical bulletins of the Swedish Red Cross mission are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.

famine, population, birth rate, mortality, epidemics, infant mortality, natural population growth, nuptiality, divorce