ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Famines in Russia and USSR

Okay kiddo, let's talk about famines in Russia and the USSR. Do you remember what a famine is? It's when lots of people don't have enough food to eat, and they start to get very hungry and weak.

In Russia and the USSR, there were several famines throughout history. One of the most well-known was the famine that happened in the 1930s, during the rule of Joseph Stalin.

Stalin was trying to modernize the country's agriculture and industry, but in doing so, he made some decisions that ended up causing a lot of people to go hungry. For example, he forced farmers to give up their land and join collective farms, which were supposed to be more efficient. But the farmers didn't like this idea, and they tried to sabotage the collective farms by not working very hard.

Stalin didn't like this, so he punished the farmers by taking away their food and other resources. He also imposed quotas on the amount of grain they had to produce, which was impossible for them to meet. As a result, many people went hungry, and millions died from starvation.

There were other famines in Russia and the USSR before and after this one, but they were mostly caused by natural disasters like droughts or floods. In these cases, the government didn't have the resources or the infrastructure to get food to the people who needed it.

Overall, famines in Russia and the USSR were caused by a combination of factors, including government policies, weather, and infrastructure. They were incredibly devastating and caused a lot of suffering. But fortunately, things have improved in recent years, and Russia is no longer prone to the kinds of famines it experienced in the past.