(from COLLECTION OF MATERIALS of International scientific conference «GREAT FAMINE IN KAZAKHSTAN: TRAGEDY OF THE NATION AND THE LESSONS OF HISTORY») published in Astana, 2012
(from
COLLECTION OF MATERIALS of International scientific conference «GREAT FAMINE
IN KAZAKHSTAN: TRAGEDY OF
THE NATION AND THE LESSONS OF HISTORY») published in Astana, 2012
The article deals with the question of how people
tried to survive the horrors of the Kazakh famine in the years 1932/1933. Due
to collectivization, the ruthless requisitions of livestock and grain as well
as the subjugation of rural elites, the traditional institutions of mutual help
within the Kazakh society were already under severe pressure. When the famine
reached its peak, solidarity among the Kazakhs eroded and struggle for survival
became a conflict between the poor and the desperate. In autumn 1932, the
Soviet state began to provide at least some resources for Kazakhstan to be distributed
among the population. It is argued here that it was crucial for the hungry to get
their share of these. This was only possible by getting access to the local
networks that distributed essential resources, such as grain or cattle. The
main beneficiaries of these distribution processes were often not those people
who were most in need but those who were integrated best in local
redistribution networks. Therefore, the way out of the famine became a
large-scale social conflict over scarce resources.
Dr. Robert Kindler,
sholar of Humboldt University,
Berlin (Germany)
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