Card supply system. Cancellation of the card system in the USSR after the war
The FAS proposed to introduce "food cards" for the poor in connection with the EU and US sanctions. But is it possible to return to the card system, and is the problem with sanctions really taking such a serious turn? On the other hand, maybe food cards should be introduced in Russia in principle, without taking into account different situations in the country?
By the way, the FAS is confident that this measure is permissible within the framework of the so-called WTO "green" box (permitted areas of state support for the agricultural sector), that is, legally, this measure will be completely legal. At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade assures that there is no need to urgently introduce food cards or set price limits for sanctioned groups of goods. Anyway, for now. And in the future, such a need is unlikely to arise ... The Ministry of Industry and Trade conducts daily monitoring of prices for the sanctions group of food products, and does not observe any suspicious phenomena even under a magnifying glass.
"Today, in my opinion, there is no need to do this (the introduction of cards)," the deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation said in an interview with the site, social policy and Veterans Affairs Elena Afanasyeva. But, in general, this problem is not of today. And, probably, in this way, including, some state structures are trying to solve it, because this problem really exists for some segments of the population. But it seems to me that here we need to take a slightly different path, and now we have this opportunity - to develop production, develop jobs, and, finally, simply give people the opportunity to find a job. And to employ those who want to work, because there is a part of the population that simply lives off the fact that they receive unemployment benefits, which is also not entirely correct."
Of course, it is necessary to somehow help the category of poor citizens, the expert believes. But let's say we keep cards. Some special store is needed, or there should be appropriate departments in stores. But we no longer have practically state-owned stores! So, how will this card work? You can enter anything you like, but how will the card be implemented in practice?
"Five years ago there were such folk stores, we called them that. Maybe such stores will be opened again - then this card will start working. But then special control is needed, because I remember the story when they opened stores for veterans, and delivered goods there either expired, or whose expiration date was ending tomorrow. You could buy and eat it only today, because tomorrow it was already unusable, "recalls Elena Afanasyeva.
"I'm sure that this (the introduction of food cards) will not happen," Dr. economic sciences, Professor (specialization "World Economy", "World Integration Processes") Vladimir Mantusov. - As for the WTO green box - here we need to clarify what was meant. First, in agriculture there are three baskets - the so-called red, yellow and green. According to the green box, it is possible, let's say, from the side of the state to take certain measures to improve. These are not measures of a direct, indirect nature, these are measures to improve the agricultural sector, for example, laying power lines, for example, or improving technical support etc., that is, it is not a direct impact of the measure.
Although, in fact, the cards should not cause any fear, because this is a measure to provide for the poor. That's all. This is a kind of non-monetary incentive."
In principle, it is possible to do it differently, the expert believes. For example, to allocate some specific funds in order to index, for example, pensions or the level of wages of the population with low incomes. But you can do it through the card system. Two forms, monetary and, say, card. There is nothing terrible here and nothing new. But, of course, it is best to make the national economy more efficient - and then the number of people living, let's say, at the level that we call "low-income", moved into the category of the population with average incomes. In general, this is what we should strive for, and every national economy should set such tasks for itself, Vladimir Mantusov added.
“Actually, there is nothing so illegal in the FAS proposal. But it seems that they act according to the principle “it’s better to be safe than sorry,” he shared his opinion on this issue member of the International Bar Association, candidate legal sciences Igor Schmidt. - well-known the federal law"On Trade" really gives the right to state regulation of prices, setting their maximum level for a number of socially significant goods, if the price for them rises by 30 percent within a month. Such a rule was introduced into the law in 2010 after an abnormal drought and a sharp rise in prices for buckwheat, but has never been applied in practice.
But even before, state price regulation was applied only once, in 2007, when, as a result of a significant rise in food prices in the world as a whole, retailers and processors signed a memorandum "On freezing prices" for socially significant food products. But it only worked for a few months. It seems to me that by voicing the proposal on cards and specialized regulation of prices for some "sanctioned" goods, the FAS is only, as it were, covering itself from possible troubles. But how will something really happen (although the probability of this is extremely small)? And they have a ready answer: but we, they say, warned ... And the bribes are smooth. From the point of view of officials, it is quite a normal "safety" move."
Well, in conclusion. the site has already reported that on August 7, 2014, Russia imposed a food embargo on the import of meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables from countries that previously supported sanctions against the economy and a number of Russian citizens amid the crisis in Ukraine: the EU, the USA, Australia, Canada, Norway. And the Ministry of Industry and Trade claims that for the period from 8 to 25 August drastic changes retail food prices were not noted. Although there are some fluctuations, of course, they are small.
Recall what a card system is in general. Maybe older people still remember her, but the fact that our young readers have not come across her at all is for sure.
The card system is a system of supplying the population with goods in conditions of shortage. The modern card system appeared in Europe, in countries affected by the First World War. In the 20th century, this system was widely used in the countries of the socialist camp to combat the shortage of goods, and in countries with a market economy - to support the socially unprotected segments of the population. Cards (coupons) established certain norms for the consumption of goods per person per month, so this system was also called normalized distribution.
For the first time food cards ("tessers") were noted back in Ancient Rome. In France, during the period of the Jacobin dictatorship, bread cards were introduced (1793-1797). During World War I, rationed card distribution existed in a number of warring powers, notably the United States and Germany. In the Russian Empire in August 1915, a year after the start of the war, the government of the empire was forced to take a number of non-market measures: a "Special Meeting on Food" was established with the authority to first establish marginal, and then firm purchase prices, to requisition products. Since the spring of 1916, a rationing system for foodstuffs has been introduced in a number of provinces.
As early as March 25, 1917, the Provisional Government introduced a "grain monopoly" (now all bread, all grain became the property of the state) and bread cards. Next was the extension card system distribution: from June 1917, cards are distributed to cereals, in July - to meat, in August - to cow's butter, in September - to eggs, in October - to vegetable oils, in November and December - to confectionery and tea. In 1916, the card system was introduced even in rich neutral Sweden.
The card system was widely used in Soviet Russia. The rationing system for bread was introduced in the USSR in 1929; on January 1, 1935, it was abolished. Simultaneously with the beginning of the free sale of products, a restriction was introduced on the sale of goods to one person. And over time, it decreased.
During the Second World War, the rationed distribution of basic food products was introduced in a number of powers participating in the war: the USSR, Germany, Great Britain, the USA, Canada, Japan and others. After the war, the norms were canceled as the market provided the country with goods. In the USSR, card distribution was introduced in July 1941, canceled in December 1947. In Germany, card distribution (imperial card system) was introduced on September 20, 1939 and consisted of a total of 62 types of cards.
In Great Britain, for example, cards for gasoline were abolished in 1950, for sugar and sweets - in 1953, for meat - in July 1954. In Japan, the card system was abolished in 1949, state control over prices abolished in 1952. In Israel, the card system was introduced in 1949-1952 ("ascetic regime").
In the "stagnant" USSR, they did their best to avoid the official introduction of food cards, hiding them under other "masks": the so-called "orders", "sets", etc. Food stamps in the dying USSR appeared in 1989, that is, in the period preceding the era of private capital. The coupon system became most widespread in 1991-1992, when inflation became noticeable to the population in the form of empty shelves with food, and products began to disappear, both meat and ordinary products that were not in short supply before: sugar, cereals, vegetable oil, etc. .
The essence of the coupon system is that in order to purchase a scarce product, it is necessary not only to pay money, but also to transfer a special coupon that allows the purchase of this product. Vouchers for food and some consumer goods were obtained at the place of registration in the ZhEK (or a hostel for university students). At the place of work (usually in the trade union committee), the distribution of some products and manufactured goods received in kind between enterprises was organized. The reason for the emergence of the coupon system was the shortage of certain consumer goods.
It was difficult to buy this product without a coupon, since it rarely appeared in stores (sales with a coupon were usually carried out from a specialized warehouse). The coupon system has come to naught since the beginning of 1992, due to the "holiday" of prices, which reduced effective demand, and the spread of free trade. For a number of goods in some regions, coupons were kept longer.
By the way, the coupon system for the least protected groups of the population has long been operating in the United States. Grocery cards are a familiar tool for America social support. A grocery coupon is an electronic card replenished monthly by the state from budgetary funds. On average, each person receives $115 a month in food stamps and $255 per family.
In 2013, the number of Americans on food stamps rose to a record 46 million. We can say that in the United States the number of "card holders" is almost equal to the population of Ukraine ...
At the same time, the share of those wishing to receive a food card has grown by a quarter in less than a year, according to a survey by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) distributed on Thursday.
The card system is a system of supplying the population with consumer goods in conditions of shortage. Under this system, in order to purchase a product, one should not only pay money for it, but also present a one-time coupon giving the right to purchase it. Cards (coupons) establish certain norms for the consumption of goods per person per month.
During World War I, rationed card distribution existed in a number of warring powers, including Russian Empire. For the first time in Russia, cards were introduced v 1916 due to the food crisis caused by the war. Then the Provisional Government took advantage of this practice, establishing April 29, 1917 card system in all cities. Grain was distributed exclusively by cards: rye, wheat, spelt, millet, buckwheat, etc.
After October revolution cards reappeared. in August-September 1918 and existed before 1921. When organizing the distribution of food, a "class approach" was practiced.
The cancellation of the card system has occurred in 1921 in connection with the transition to the NEP policy and the flourishing of entrepreneurship.
In 1929 At the end of the NEP, a centralized card system was again introduced in the cities of the country. In April 1929, cards for bread were introduced; by the end of the year, the card system covered all types of food products, and then also affected industrial ones. Cards of the first category were intended for workers who could eat 800 g of bread per day (family members were supposed to have 400 g each). Employees belonged to the second category of supply and received 300 grams of bread per day (and 300 grams for dependents). The third category - the unemployed, the disabled, pensioners - was supposed to receive 200 g each. All housewives under the age of 56 were also deprived of cards: in order to receive food, they had to get a job.
The system lasted the entire period of collectivization and industrialization, until 1935, and covered more than 40 million people.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in 1941 centralized card distribution is reintroduced. Cards for food and some types of industrial goods appeared in Moscow and Leningrad as early as July 1941. Cards were introduced for bread, cereals, sugar, confectionery, butter, shoes, fabrics, garments. By November 1942, they were already circulating in 58 major cities country.
Card distribution of food and industrial goods in the USSR existed until December 1947.
The last wave of rationed distribution in the USSR started in 1983 with the introduction of coupons (coupon system). The essence of the coupon system was that in order to purchase a scarce product, it was necessary not only to pay money, but also to transfer a special coupon authorizing the purchase of this product.
Initially, coupons were issued for some scarce consumer goods, but subsequently coupons were introduced for many food products and some other goods (tobacco, vodka, sausage, soap, tea, cereals, salt, sugar, in some cases bread, mayonnaise, washing powder , lingerie, etc.). In practice, it was often not possible to use coupons, since there were no corresponding goods in stores.
The coupon system began to fade in the early 1990s due to rising prices, inflation (which reduced effective demand) and the spread of free trade (which reduced the deficit). However, coupons were retained for a number of goods. until 1993.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
FOOD STAMPS OF THE RECENT YEARS OF THE USSR
Coupons were issued at different times and by different countries. And the first coupons appeared in ancient Rome. Warrants were issued for the city plebs to receive a certain amount of grain, oil or wine. Bread distributions - were introduced by Gaius Gracchus (153-121 BC), for this, numaria tessers were used, which were bronze coin-like tokens. Among the ancient Romans, tessera is the name of a dice, stamp and token.
Cards, first for bread and then for soap, meat and sugar, were introduced during the Jacobin dictatorship in France (1793-1797). Coupons and cards were in different countries especially during times of war. During the First World War, food distribution was introduced in a number of warring European states, and even in the United States. In Russia, food cards were also introduced under Nicholas II in 1916. After the revolutionary events of 1917 and during the civil war, the coupon system covered the entire country (ill. 1).
Il. 1. Talon "labor ration" 1920, presumably the city of Petrograd.
Later there were tessers (coupons, checks) for kerosene, firewood, water, etc. On our website you can read the article about the water ticket.
Il. 2. USSR. Moscow. Cards for cereals, pasta, sugar, confectionery and bread, 1947
During World War II ration cards were in all European countries, as well as in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, India, Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia and others. And of course, during the Second World War, a rationing system was introduced for groceries and industrial goods in the USSR (ill. 2,3).
Il. 3. USSR. Leningrad. Bread cards and school lunch subscription.
Only on December 13, 1947, the Izvestiya newspaper (USSR) published the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks No. them for memory, so they have survived to our time.You can see that these coupons have remained unused since this date (Fig. 2,3).
I was born in 1964, the year Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev became the leader of the country. And there were no coupons in the country for 19 years. This is how I grew and developed with it. general secretary communist party. In 1980, the Summer Olympic Games were held in Moscow, the capital of the USSR. There was a national upsurge, the population met these games with great enthusiasm. And no one then could have imagined that in a little more than 10 years the Soviet Union would collapse. Leonid Brezhnev died in 1982. I won't discuss economic situation in the country and in the world of that time. During the period of Brezhnev's leadership, there was no particular abundance of food and industrial goods in the country. However, in the mid-1980s, the situation began to deteriorate. At that time, the miniatures of Mikhail Zhvanetsky, as well as the songs of V. Vysotsky, were listened to on tape recordings (he was not shown on television, and he did not speak on the All-Union Radio). So, in one of his miniatures of that period, Zhvanetsky once said that there is a minister of the meat and dairy industry, and he looks good, but there are no meat and dairy products .... I don’t know how it is in your city, but then we had on sale the so-called “Sandwich Butter”. It is difficult to say what it was made of, but it did not freeze in the refrigerator, and when it was spread on a piece of bread, some kind of liquid stood out.
Il. 4. Leningrad. Tea ticket, 1989
Il. 5. Mound. Talon for 500 gr. Myasoproduktov, 1988
The main version then was that margarine was mixed with ordinary butter, and such a product appeared. It tasted ... like margarine mixed with butter. So in our city, the first coupons appeared specifically for butter and meat in 1985. This year I have already studied at the institute. And I remember very well how at one of the lectures on military department major spoke. He was decommissioned from the army to our institute. It was said that he was written off because of epilepsy, and that he even had one seizure during a lecture right at the pulpit. And in the army he served as a political worker. So, at one of his lectures, he told us that the American imperialists and their hirelings are snarling, that a coupon system has been introduced in the country of the Soviets, that there is famine in the country. This is not so, - the teacher continued, the American hawks are silent about the fact that now you can buy good butter with coupons, and not “Sandwich”, as it was before the introduction of coupons! Indeed, there was no famine, but there was a shortage of goods. There was no meat in the stores, but the population's refrigerators were not empty.
Il. 6. Leningrad. Sugar coupons, laundry soap, washing powder, 1989
So, from the mid-1980s, coupons for food were again introduced in the USSR, and then for a number of other essential goods (soap, washing powder, etc.). In different cities coupons were different. There were coupons for butter, meat and meat products, sugar, tea, pasta and confectionery, laundry and toilet soap, washing powder, tobacco and alcohol (Fig. 4,5,6,7,8). Coupons were introduced even in cities such as Leningrad and Moscow, which were always on special provision at that time. Coupons at the beginning were issued on plain paper or thin cardboard, without special means of protection. At best, they had a serial number. And already in the late 80s, early 90s of the twentieth century, they were printed on better quality paper and even with watermarks (Fig. 6,7,8). Such coupons for a number of cities were printed at Goznak (Fig. 7,8).
And it is not by chance that a type of collecting has been formed - tesseristics - collecting coupons (cards, coupons) for receiving specific or limited food, industrial goods or services. 
Il. 7. Moscow. Coupons for tobacco products and vodka. Late 80s - early 90s of the twentieth century.
Il. 8. Food coupons. Late 80s - early 90s of the twentieth century.
We are contemporaries of the history that is happening now and was during our lifetime. And it is always interesting for me to learn history from people who lived in a particular period. See historical events through the subjective prism of a person who was an eyewitness to those events, and not to read dry phrases in historical reference books. I hope that I made a small contribution to this historical process.
All tesserae are from a private collection. Images posted with permission of the owner.
Used sources of information:
1. Makurin A. V. Half a stack for the entrance to the exhibition // Ural Collector. Yekaterinburg. 2003, No. 2. S.24-26.
2. Makurin A.V. Ural heirs of Napoleon...: essays on modern Ural bonistics. Ekaterinburg, publishing house USGU, 2008, 67 p.
3. Makurin A.V. Eh, coupons ... // Collector's shop. Samara. 2002, No. 3 (29). C.3.
4. Rudenko V. Talon for a tesserist // Ural Pathfinder. 1991, No. 1, pp. 78-81.
The reason was the rise in food prices and their acute shortage caused by the increased demand for foodstuffs from the army and their large-scale state procurement (see. Procurement of agricultural products state). The emergence of the rationing system was preceded by the introduction by governors and city councils of prices for essentials in accordance with the circular of the Ministry of the Interior of July 31, 1914. In 1915, price regulation commissions and food departments arose in the cities. Bodies of city self-government launched independent procurement in order to contain the growth of high prices. Harvested goods were sold to the population with minimal margins. This did not bring the expected effect, but only increased the excitement in the market. In the second half of 1915-16, the food administrations of the cities began the normalized distribution of goods according to food cards. As the set of goods sold on cards increased, entire food books appeared in most cities, certifying the right of citizens to receive a certain amount of various goods in city shops every month.
In 1917, the rationing system covered a wide range of goods - sugar, flour, cereals, salt, soap, matches, and more. The range of goods distributed by cards and supply rates could change over time. In 1917, the rural population began to receive sugar and some other goods on cards through cooperative food shops. In rural areas, the ration card system was not widely used during the Civil War. In urban supply, on the contrary, it has become stronger. Vodka, fabrics, shoes were added to the rationed goods. In many cities they supplied manufactory, fish, meat, vegetables, kerosene, firewood, etc. on cards. But the issuance of rationed goods was carried out extremely irregularly. Often the cards were not sold due to a lack of stocks, goods were issued at reduced rates, and others were issued instead of some goods. The card system opened wide opportunities for abuse. According to press reports, not only employees of city shops, but also heads of food administrations responsible for organizing food purchases, were involved in speculation. The population was outraged by the facts when the cards were not sold, and the goods that were not available in the city shops were freely sold on the market at speculative prices. Another reason for dissatisfaction was the very organization of distribution. Consumers received many goods of inadequate quality, their receipt was often associated with standing in long queues. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the population demanded a tightening of the rationing system.
In 1929, in the cities of the USSR, including those located in the eastern regions, a rationed sale of bread and other food products was introduced. The state, artificially maintaining the purchase prices for grain and other types of agricultural products at a low level, provoked a grain crisis in the 1927/28 financial year. Interruptions in the supply of bread in the urban settlements of the Urals, Siberia and Far East appeared already in 1928.
With the introduction of cards, the urban population was divided into 4 categories: the 1st included workers, shareholders of consumer cooperation; in the 2nd - workers who were not members of it; in the 3rd - employees, members of consumer cooperation; in the 4th - children, dependents and everyone else. At higher rates, those who had cards of the 1st category were supplied in the first place. Disenfranchised did not receive cards. Since 1931, the provision of the population according to lists (a special list, lists No. 1, 2, 3) was introduced, in which local authorities included various categories of the population. The division was carried out not only according to the social affiliation of people, but also according to the degree of priority, the importance of their work in the general national economic complex, in the life of society. The established norms for receiving products on cards were supposed to provide the necessary minimum consumption. On the card of a worker included in list No. 1, one could buy 800 g of bread per day, 4.4 kg of meat, 2.5 kg of fish, 3 kg of cereals, 1.5 kg of sugar, 400 g of butter, 10 pcs. eggs per month. But it was by no means always possible to “redeemed” the cards, that is, to redeem products according to these norms. As a rule, there was not enough commodity resources arriving in Siberian cities, the norms of issuance were reduced, and huge queues had to be stood in stores. Often the card expired before it could be redeemed. In 1929-30, cards were introduced not only for food, but also for industrial products of daily demand. It became impossible to freely buy any goods in the state trade system.
Data on the structure of retail trade reflect the low standard of living of the urban population of Siberia in the 1930s. Food purchases accounted for 56-60% of the total trade turnover in 1933–37, including about 1/3 of all food expenditures spent on vodka and other alcoholic beverages. Of the industrial goods, which accounted for 40-44% of the retail turnover, mainly ready-made clothes, shoes, fabrics were bought, furniture purchases accounted for only 0.5%, religious goods - 4%.
The rationed distribution of goods gave rise to a special trading system: closed workers' cooperatives (ZRK), which supplied the collectives of large enterprises or several small ones. Workers and employees at the place of work were attached to the air defense system, where they could buy consumer goods using the so-called fence books. The card system has created fertile ground for various frauds, theft and speculation. Constant checks revealed discrepancies in the number of people attached to the air defense system and actually working at the enterprise, the number of products and cards sold, the inclusion in the special and the 1st list of persons who did not have the right to do so. Goods stolen from rationed trade were sold on the black market. In addition to it, there was a system of commercial trade, in which consumer goods could be bought freely, but at high (2-3 times higher than usual) prices. In a number of Siberian cities, "Torgsin" stores (a system of trade with foreigners where goods were sold for currency or gold) were also opened.
The shortage of goods caused mass discontent, hindered the development of the economy due to a decrease in material incentives, which forced the country's leadership to take measures to improve the supply of the population. From January 1, 1935, cards for bread were canceled, from October 1, 1935 - for meat, fish, potatoes, fats, and sugar. In 1936 cards for manufactured goods were gradually abolished. Instead of dividing trading establishments into commercial and trading by cards, a single trading system is being created again.
Card system during the Second World War
First Great Patriotic War the country's food resources were sharply reduced, which led to the introduction of a rigid system of rationed distribution. From September 1941 to Omsk , Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk , Irkutsk and other large cities, bread and sugar began to be sold on cards. In November, the rationing system was extended to meat and fish products, fats, cereals, pasta, etc. The food supply of the townspeople was carried out in a differentiated manner. 4 groups of cards were established: for workers and engineers, employees, dependents, children under 12 years old. In addition, all workers were divided into 2 categories depending on the importance of their enterprises for the defense of the country. The norm for bread was daily, for other products - monthly. Workers who were supplied according to the 1st category were entitled to 800 g of bread daily, according to the 2nd - 600 g, children and dependents - 400 g each. The norms for other foodstuffs differed more sharply. Workers of large defense plants could purchase 2.2 kg of meat or fish, 1.5 kg of cereals and pasta, 600 g of fat per month. At other enterprises, the work ration weighed much less. Due to the lack of food resources, some products were replaced by others of poorer quality. Instead of meat, offal was given out, sugar was replaced by low-grade caramel, the use of meat and dairy industry waste for food purposes increased: whey, skim milk, buttermilk, offal and bones. In order to save flour, an increase in the moisture content of bread was allowed, various impurities were allowed. Since April 1942, the norms for sugar were reduced, and until the end of the war for workers they did not exceed 400 g per month. In the autumn of 1943, bread rations became easier. Workers who were supplied according to the 1st category began to receive 600-650 g of bread per day, according to the 2nd - 500 g. At the same time, from the autumn of 1942, the management of enterprises was given the right to reward shock workers and Stakhanovists with additional rations. On the contrary, for those who did not fulfill the production task, were late for work or otherwise violated labor discipline, the grain norm was reduced by 200 g.
Despite the harsh wartime laws, various kinds of abuses with the issuance and redemption of cards spread. Part of the grain resources was stolen, sold according to the notes of the leaders. At the beginning of 1942, the control authorities noted the lack of proper order in the expenditure of grain in Novosibirsk region , and especially in Novosibirsk. In January 1942 alone, the overspending of grain in the regional center amounted to 1 thousand tons, in February - 800 tons. Large scale abuses manifested themselves in other cities of the country, which forced the government to create special control and accounting bureaus that accepted coupons and food coupons from trade organizations. cards confirming the sale of rationed products, and also monthly checked the contingents to be supplied.
With the accumulation of food resources, the state has the opportunity to improve the centralized provision of the population with food. During the war years, this was achieved not by raising the norms, but by transferring consumers from one low norm to another, higher one. In the middle of 1942, only two-fifths of the urban population received bread on the basis of ration cards for workers and employees, the rest - according to the norms for dependents and children. By the end of 1944, already half of the townspeople were supplied according to the norms for workers and employees. If in the first quarter of 1943 12% of all workers received additional food, then in the first quarter of 1945 - about 50%. At the same time, the proportion of workers supplied at higher rates in the cities of the Urals and Siberia was one of the highest in the country. During the famine of 1946, the number of people supplied by ration cards was reduced from 87.8 million to 60 million people at the end of 1946. For certain groups of the urban population, mainly for dependents, the norms for issuing bread were cut. At the same time, the funds for the commercial trade in grain were reduced. This decision of the Stalinist leadership caused a sharp increase in mortality during the famine.
Cancel cards
The card system was abolished by a special resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of December 14, 1947, simultaneously with the implementation of a monetary reform of the confiscation type. Some elements of the rationed distribution of consumer goods persisted throughout the entire Soviet period. From time to time, norms were introduced for the sale of scarce goods in one hand, lists at enterprises and institutions for the purchase of goods. The last manifestation of the normalized distribution in the late 1980s. was a system of coupons for the purchase of scarce goods, including food.
Lit.: Bukin S.S. Food problem in the cities of Western Siberia during the Great Patriotic War // Problems of labor and life of the urban population of Siberia (1940-1990s). Novosibirsk, 1992; Isaev V.I. Commune or communal? Changes in the life of Siberian workers during the years of industrialization. Novosibirsk, 1996; Kosykh E.N. Prices in Tomsk in 1917 // Questions of economic history Russia XVIII-XX centuries Tomsk, 1996; Osokina E.A. Behind the facade of "Stalin's abundance": distribution and the market in the supply of the population during the years of industrialization. 1927-1941. M., 1998.
The card system was not a unique discovery of the Soviet Union. Even in ancient China, during disasters, long ropes with the imperial seal were distributed to the population, and the seller deftly snipped off a piece during each purchase.
The system of "rations" and distribution of products existed in Mesopotamia. However, food cards began to be introduced everywhere only during the First World War. Austria-Hungary and Germany thus regulated the demand for meat, sugar, bread, kerosene, France and England - for coal and sugar. In Russia, zemstvo organizations and local governments also introduced cards, one of the most scarce products was sugar - it was massively bought for the production of moonshine, and a significant part of Poland, where sugar factories were located, was occupied by the enemy.
In the 1920s and 1940s, cards would become faithful companions of every inhabitant of the USSR. The largest country in the world in terms of area could eat plenty of ordinary bread only in harvest years. The era of difficulties and hardships taught the inhabitants of the Union to be very careful about food, even textbook crumbs were collected from the table. "Fight for bread Soviet authority gives a peculiar interpretation, highlighting it as one of the forms of class-political struggle,” wrote Nikolai Kondratiev in 1922.
Throughout the country, cards for bakery products were introduced by the beginning of 1929. According to the first category, workers of the defense industry, transport and communications, engineering workers, the top of the army and navy were supplied. They were supposed to have 800 grams of bread a day. Over time, cards began to spread to meat, butter, sugar and cereals. Stalin, in a letter to Molotov, outlined his views on the supply of workers: “Select shock workers at each enterprise and supply them completely and primarily with food and textiles, as well as with housing, providing them with all the rights to insurance in full. Non-strike workers are divided into two categories, into those who work at a given enterprise for at least a year, and those who work for less than a year, and supply the first with food and housing in the second place and in full, the second - in the third place and at a reduced rate. To the account of health insurance, etc. have a conversation with them like this: you have been working at the enterprise for less than a year, you deign to “fly”, - if you please, in case of illness, do not receive a full salary, but, say, 2/3, and those who work for at least a year, let receive a full salary.
The cards finally took root throughout the entire space of the USSR by 1931, when a decree was issued "On the introduction of a unified system for supplying workers according to intake books." L.E. Marinenko notes that the authorities introduced centralized supply under the influence of the principle of "industrial pragmatism", where the size of the ration directly depended on the citizen's contribution to the industrialization of the country. The creation of collective farms, the mass famine of the early 1930s, the construction of huge enterprises became a serious test for the country. But already after the first five-year plan, the situation returned to normal, the planned norms were settled, canteens and restaurants began to open. On January 1, 1935, cards were abolished. The workers were actively involved in the movement of shock workers and Stakhanovites. They were also driven by financial incentives.
The Great Patriotic War. On July 16, 1941, the order of the People's Commissariat of Trade "On the introduction of cards for certain food and industrial goods in the cities of Moscow, Leningrad and in individual cities of the Moscow and Leningrad regions" appears. From now on, food and manufactured goods cards extended to flour, cereals, pasta, meat, butter, sugar, fish, fabrics, soap, shoes, socks. The country's population was divided into four main categories - workers and engineers, employees, dependents, children. Each of them was divided into two more, the first category included persons employed at the most important facilities. For example, in Krasnoyarsk, workers of the 1st and 2nd categories received 800 and 600 grams of bread per day, respectively, employees of the 1st and 2nd categories received 500 and 400 grams each. The norms for issuing products depended on the situation in the city and the availability of certain products - for example, in Astrakhan in 1943, the population, depending on the category, received 600, 500 and 300 grams of bread instead of 800, 600 and 400 grams at normal times.
Moscow and Leningrad workers in July 1941 could count on 2 kilograms of cereals, 2.2 kilograms of meat, 800 grams of fat per month. Products National economy issued on special coupons - workers had at their disposal 125 coupons per month, employees - 100 coupons, children and dependents - 80 each. A meter of fabric "cost" 10 coupons, a pair of shoes - 30, a wool suit - 80, a towel - 5. cards were issued every month, manufactured goods were issued every six months. In case of loss of a set, it was not restored, so the theft of cards was terribly afraid.
By 1943, "letter supply" in three categories - "A", "B" and "C" - was widely used. Officials, journalists, party activists, the leadership of law enforcement agencies ate in the "literary canteens", which allowed them, in addition to hot, to receive an additional 200 grams of bread per day. The cards did not apply to the rural population, except for the intelligentsia and the evacuees. The villagers were mainly supplied with coupons or received grain in kind, and the issue of physical survival became very acute. “Huska, marry a lintenant! The lintenant will get a big card,” say the heroes of Viktor Astafiev’s works. In total, by the end of the war, 74-77 million people were on state supply.
Wages during the Great Patriotic War did not play a significant role, because "commercial" prices were many times higher than the state ones. An ambulance doctor in August 1942 described the market in Malakhovka near Moscow as follows: “The real Sukharevka of the past. What is not here! And live chickens, and sheep, and meat, and greens. Ration cards are also sold right there ... vodka is sold in piles, they give snacks: mushrooms, pieces of herring, pies, etc .; they sell things: jackets from the back, and boots from the legs, and soap, and cigarettes by the piece and in bundles ... A real pandemonium ... Old women stand in a chain and hold teapots with broken spouts, and postcards, and pieces of chocolate and sugar , locks, nails, figurines, curtains ... you can’t list everything. ” The markets fascinated, the products here swirled in a marvelous round dance, but the prices hit both the mind and the pocket very hard.
The rapid mobilization of society allowed Soviet Union win the war with Germany. The fighters returning from the front expected relief, but in some places the situation even worsened. In September 1946, a closed decree of the Council of Ministers and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On savings in the consumption of bread” was issued. Some 27 million people, mostly dependents, were deprived of bread cards. The workers asked themselves: “I myself am attached to the canteen, but what will the children eat?”
Growing prices at catering establishments. So, in the canteens of Pervouralsk, meat goulash used to cost 2 rubles. 10 kopecks, and rose in price to 4 rubles. 30 kop. At the same time, the prices of rationed bread increased, and the distribution rates decreased from 300 to 250 grams for dependents, from 400 to 300 grams for children. A curious incident occurred in Vologda in September 1946: “A war invalid wanted to get bread on ration cards, the seller gave him 1.4 kilograms of bread ... The buyer cursed, threw the bread and said: “What did I fight for? They did not kill me at the front, because here they want to kill not only me, but also my family. Can I live with such a norm with a family of 6 people? The cards stayed in the USSR until 1947. They were abolished in December along with the currency reform. To increase the prestige of the authorities, state retail prices for some groups of goods were reduced by 10-12%.
Pavel Gnilorybov, Moscow historian, Mospeshkom project coordinator
