Our Daily Bread: Socialist Distribution and the Art of Survival in Stalin's Russia, 1927-1941: Socialist Distribution and the Art of Survival in Stalin's Russia, 1927-1941 (New Russian History)

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 long-term impacts of the Stalinist "dictatorship of distribution", from bureaucratization to rural depopulation to the emergence of a distinctive type of black-market economy. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Translators' Note Introduction Part I. Destruction of the Market: 1927-1930 Chapter 1. Rationing and Famine—Why? What Was the Basis of the Relative Prosperity Under NEP? In the Grip of Shortages Chapter 2. 1927-1928: First Blow to the Market, First Round of Rationing The Collapse of the Politburo's Economic Program The Beginning of Widespread Repression Against Private Entrepreneurs Chapter 3. 1928-1929: The Attack on the Market Continues Old Problems in the New Year The Politburo Introduces Nationwide Bread Rationing Chapter 4. 1929-1930: Dizzy with ... Hunger Collectivization and Other Causes of Worsening Conditions Food Shortages in the Cities The People Rebel, and the OGPU Seeks Culprits Part II. The Inevitability of the Market: 1931-1935 Chapter 5. The All-Soviet Rationing System: The Carrot and the Stick of the Industrialization Drive Whoever Does Not Work for the State Does Not Eat Special Supply: "L'état c'est moi" The Hierarchy of Stores, Cafeterias, and Prices Chapter 6. The Hierarchy of Poverty Famine in the Countryside The illusory Privileges of the Industrial Vanguard The Material Condition of the Elite "It's Difficult to Adjust to Socialism": Foreigners in the Hierarchy of Poverty Chapter 7. Survival Strategies and Spontaneity of the Market "Flea Markets," "Dead Souls," "Freeloaders," "Pilferers," and Others The "Dnieper Dam" of Cabbage Production Mimicking of Private Enterprise Behind the Mirrored Doors of Torgsin Part III. The Alliance Between Distribution and the Market: 1936-1941 Chapter 8. Approaching the Era of "Free" Trade "Goodbye, Bread Rationing, and ... Hello!" Free Trade? Distribution! Chapter 9. Supply Crises: Moments of Truth for Socialist Trade 1936-1937: The Legend of the Sack of Grain 1939-1941:" Someone's Dirty Paws Ruined the Supplies Again" Chapter 10. Business and Market in the Era of "Free" Trade The Secret Millionaires of Socialist Trade "If You Know How to Make a Living Standing in Line, Then You Do Not Have to Work" Instead of a Conclusion: On Stalinism and the World Experience with State-Regulated Supply Appendix Notes Bibliography Index Elena Osokina ; Translated And Edited By Kate Transchel And Greta Bucher. This Is An Abridged And Edited Version Of A Work Published In Moscow In 1999 By Rosspen Under The Title Za Fasadom Stalinskogo Izobiliia ... It Appeared In The Institute Of Russian History's Series Social History Of Russia In The Twentieth Century. -- T.p. Verso. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 239-246) And Index. This text presents a picture of living standards in pre-war Soviet Russia and the role of state-controlled distribution of food and goods as a tool of Stalinist dictatorship. It offers a different perspective on the regime's method of controlling human behaviour and reshaping the social order.