Overview

This book examines the Soviet agricultural crisis of 1931-1933 which culminated in the major famine of 1933. It is the first volume in English to make extensive use of Russian and Ukrainian central and local archives to assess the extent and causes of the famine. It reaches new conclusions on how far the famine was 'organized' or 'artificial', and compares it with other Russian and Soviet famines and with major twentieth century famines elsewhere. Against this background, it discusses the emergence of collective farming as an economic and social system.

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9780230238558

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Reviews

'There can be little question that this study will supersede other accounts of the famine. It is also important as a unique addition to the 13 other volumes by Davies (with co-authors) and four others by Wheatcroft (and co-authors)...Powerfully written, the book, even more than others in the series, is hard to put down.'- Carol Leonard, Europe-Asia Studies '...the book will stand for a long time as a definitive scholarly study in English of the catastrophic famine in the aftermath of the collectivisation of agriculture in the Soviet Union.'- David Moon, English Historical Review 'R. W. Davies and Stephen Wheatcroft have produced the definitive work on Soviet agriculture in the key period 1931-1933.'- Paul Gregory, Journal of Modern History 'This, the fifth volume in Palgrave's impressive series, The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia, tackles one of the greatest disasters in the Communists' attempts to establish their socialist Utopia based on a command economy.'- Contemporary Review

Author Information

R. W. DAVIES is Emeritus Professor of Soviet Economic Studies in the Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Birmingham, UK, of which he was the foundation director. He has published many books and articles on Soviet history, including Soviet History in the Gorbachev Revolution, Soviet History in the Yeltsin Era, Soviet Economic Development from Lenin to Khrushchev, and four previous volumes in the series The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia. He collaborated with E. H. Carr on vols. 9 and 10 of The History of Soviet Russia. He is an honorary life member of the British Association of Slavonic and East European Studies. STEPHEN G. WHEATCROFT is Professor in Russian and Soviet History at the University of Melbourne, Australia, where he was the First Director of the Centre for Russian and Euroasian Studies. He has written many articles on agriculture and population in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. 

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