Man‐made famines: Some geographical insights from an exploratory study of a millennium of Russian famines

Famines were a regular but unexpected calamity in Russia and in the Soviet Union from A.D. 971 to 1970. An analysis of seventy‐seven famines revealed that famines were not confined to specific natural regions, certain cultural areas, or select racial groups. Famines appeared throughout this millennium in the nation's best agricultural regions. Five famine zones were delimited and mapped for there was order in the diverse locations of famines. Famines tended to cluster temporally as well as geographically, but were not restricted to any zone during a specific time period in this millennium. Certain zones were subjected to many famines during specific time periods, but famines occurred in all zones at the same time period. Four basic famine types were identified, namely Transportation, Political, Cultural and Overpopulation. Droughts were not the primary factor in the creation of situations which eventually led to famines. Though natural factors contributed to famine situations, Russian and Soviet famines were largely man‐made.

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