Our daily bread : socialist distribution and the art of survival in Stalin's Russia, 1927-1941 / by Elena Osokina ; translated and edited by Kate Transchel and Greta Bucher
pt. I. Destruction of the market: 1927-1930. Rationing and famine -- why? ; 1927-1928: first blow to the market, first round of rationing ; 1928-1929: the attack on the market continues ; 1929-1930: dizzy with ... hunger -- pt. II. The inevitability of the market: 1931-1935. The all-Soviet rationing system: the carrot and the stick of the industrialization drive ; The hierarchy of poverty ; Survival strategies and spontaneity of the market -- pt. III. The alliance between distribution and the market: 1936-1941. Approaching the era of "free" trade ; Supply crises: moments of truth for socialist trade ; Business and market in the era of "free" trade -- Instead of a conclusion: On Stalinism and the world experience with state-regulated supply -- Appendix
Summary
Drawing on newly available archival materials including official documents, reports, and personal accounts, this remarkable study presents a detailed picture of the living standards of various social groups in prewar Soviet Russia, and the role of state-controlled distribution of food and goods as a tool of the Stalinist dictatorship. The study offers a new perspective not only on the period of collectivization, industrialization, and terror but also on the regime's most rudimentary method of controlling human behavior and reshaping the social order. In her conclusion the author analyzes the l
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-246) and index