ABSTRACT
In the Soviet Union, in Russia, Moldavia, and Ukraine, people experienced not merely food shortages but genuine disaster, famine. People who lived in cities, and some in rural areas, were provisioned by a system of ration cards. In 1945, the rationing system incorporated 80.6 million people. There were workers' ration cards of the first and second class as well as special cards for civil servants, children, and other dependents. In September 1946 the Council of Ministers and the Central Committee began the campaign to economize on bread, the first step of which was to raise the ration prices. The Politburo issued the order on 6 September 1946, and several days later it was dispatched under the stamp not for publication to the various party organizations. The new prices were scheduled to be introduced on 16 September, and the information was received by party and government organs between 10 and 14 September.
