Haha, that's my own post too. Yeah, I wish I understood that detail in greater depth. "Grain was exported during the famine" is something that's present in all detailed accounts I've read of the famine. This source says 'exported in the first half of 1933', which was later in the crisis, so more could have been exported earlier. (The low 1932 harvest would have been collected in late 1932 and exported then.)
Plus, export refers to international trade only and thus does not capture grain being moved from the country to the cities. The peasants were the ones starving - and fleeing for the cities despite growing the food. One of my ancestors tried to escape the countryside (Volga region, RSFSR) and find food working in the city, but froze to death on the way.
Maybe that factoid incorrectly reflects the overall story - but it's not the only flaw in the government response to the famine. Take the famous prohibition on gleaning - prison and death as punishment for starving peasants picking up leftover grain that would otherwise rot.
Ah! How funny! In the excerpt you posted it's a bit of an offhand remark, but it would be interesting to investigate the export aspect in greater detail. Like you mentioned, "when" is as important as "how much".
Haha, that's my own post too. Yeah, I wish I understood that detail in greater depth. "Grain was exported during the famine" is something that's present in all detailed accounts I've read of the famine. This source says 'exported in the first half of 1933', which was later in the crisis, so more could have been exported earlier. (The low 1932 harvest would have been collected in late 1932 and exported then.)
Plus, export refers to international trade only and thus does not capture grain being moved from the country to the cities. The peasants were the ones starving - and fleeing for the cities despite growing the food. One of my ancestors tried to escape the countryside (Volga region, RSFSR) and find food working in the city, but froze to death on the way.
Maybe that factoid incorrectly reflects the overall story - but it's not the only flaw in the government response to the famine. Take the famous prohibition on gleaning - prison and death as punishment for starving peasants picking up leftover grain that would otherwise rot.
Ah! How funny! In the excerpt you posted it's a bit of an offhand remark, but it would be interesting to investigate the export aspect in greater detail. Like you mentioned, "when" is as important as "how much".