COMMISSIONERS FOR FOOD IN THE RUSSIAN PROVINCE DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR
With the outbreak of the First World War in the Russian Empire, the food issue manifested itself in the form of speculation and, accordingly, a rise in the price of essential goods. The actions of local authorities to set top prices for the sale of essential products and ban the export of products were of little effect. As the war drags on, the food question and its solution becomes a national problem. In the context of the subjugation of the wartime economy in August 1915, a Special Meeting on Food arises, designed to solve the problem both within the Empire and on the ground. In the provinces, the food business is under the control of authorized representatives of the chairman of the Special Conference. Of interest are the bread-consuming Kostroma and Yaroslavl provinces. Since 1915, local authorities have been entering the food market in order to compete with merchants. The commissioners controlled the course of the food business, and from the autumn of 1916, they themselves were forced, under conditions of fixed prices, to take the lead in purchasing products for their provinces. Under the control of the commissioners, the planned supply of bread to the provinces was carried out. The new bodies were faced with a transport crisis and the need to independently conduct purchases on the eve of the revolution.