Food Problem in Eastern Siberia Cities during First World War and Its Consideration at Congress of Cities Representatives in April 1916

Abstract

The article is devoted to the activities of municipal self-government bodies of Eastern Siberia aimed at the decision of the food problem during the First world war. The author points out that this problem, including the extensive territories of counties were solving by city government because it there was no Zemstvo in Siberia. It is shown that under conditions of resource scarcity, not having any plan of action, they began to unite around regional committees of the all-Russian Union of cities. It is reported that at the Congress of cities representatives of Eastern Siberia in Irkutsk, April 15-19, 1916 the issue of supplying the population with food was one of the main. It is noted that even the preparatory work for organizing the conference helped to identify the local causes of the scarcity and high cost of goods, to compare the experience with price regulation and the conduct of procurement operations. It is emphasized that the municipalities used participation in the Congress as a way to reconcile the interests, to formulate and express their wishes about those urgent events, which expected from government. The study of how the city has approached the problems of wartime at the regional congresses allows the author to analyze the immediate causes of the fracture in the relationship between government and the public, as well as to draw conclusions about why the food issue gradually acquired political connotations.