I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 842: The Great Famine in Kiev

In the decade after the end of World War II, at least 20 Germans became Russian citizens, the vast majority of whom were highly qualified people in the usual sense.

After coming to power, the mustache president called on those Germans who had already acquired Russian citizenship to return to Germany to work and promised to provide them with the same welfare benefits as in Russia.

It is true that some Germans responded to the German government's call and returned to Germany to work.

Germans who continue to work in Russia are also actively donating money and materials to Germany, hoping that the Russian government will increase its assistance to Germany.

Guchkov followed public opinion and decided to cooperate more closely with Germany.

George received a report from Alpha, which stated that two consecutive years of agricultural production declines had led to food shortages in some areas.

George is surprised and orders Alpha to investigate further.

Half a month later, Makarov, the head of Alpha, came to Yuriev Palace in person to report to George in person.

"It is true that food supply is tight in some areas, including the Don River Basin, the Caucasus region, and the area around Kiev—"

The report submitted by Makarov was shocking.

The Don River Basin has always been Russia's main grain-producing area, and a famine should not occur here.

Kyiv is located in one of the three largest black soils in the world, so there is no reason for a famine to break out here.

As for the Caucasus region, the cause of food shortage is not natural disasters, but more like man-made disasters.

"We sent investigation teams to 12 regions around Kiev. The situation is far more serious than we imagined. In remote areas around Kiev, some people have died from malnutrition—"

Makarov's wording was relatively euphemistic. The so-called death from malnutrition actually meant death from starvation.

George suddenly remembered that in another time and space, around 1932, a great famine seemed to have occurred around Kiev, killing millions of people.

There are many different opinions about the death toll caused by this famine. Some believe it is around 200 million, while others claim it is as high as 1000 million.

Whether it is 200 million or 1000 million, it is unacceptable to George.

In another time and space, in 1932, Russia continued to export large quantities of grain despite years of poor harvests. In order to complete the grain collection task, the collectors adopted brutal means and took away the farmers' rations and seeds, which eventually led to this tragedy.

Russia now also exports a large amount of grain to Europe, but given Russia's current agricultural scale, even if there is a crop failure in some areas, it should not be serious enough to cause people to starve to death.

"Our state-owned farms are running well. With the use of a large number of agricultural machinery and fertilizers, grain production has increased year by year. The situation of self-employed farmers is not so optimistic. They are very resistant to agricultural machinery and fertilizers and still use traditional farming methods. Last winter, the grass harvest was poor, resulting in the death of a large number of livestock. The low grain prices also led to a lack of enthusiasm among farmers to grow grain crops. This is also one of the important reasons for the decline in grain production in the past two years."

Makarov's report made George unable to sit still, so he simply took Makarov directly to find Guchkov.

Guchkov was receiving the newly arrived US Secretary of State Stimson.

The tariff war initiated by Hoover intensified, and the export of American goods suffered a serious setback.

The purpose of Stimson's visit to Russia this time was to hope that Russia would open its market to American goods.

George was curious and wondered where Americans got such confidence from.

"Tell Alexander I'm waiting for him."

George was very angry. Guchkov had been a little bit arrogant in the past two years.

Guchkov didn't dare to let George wait, so he hurriedly sent Stimson away to see George.

George handed Alpha's report to Guchkov and asked Guchkov to read it himself.

Guchkov climbed over quickly, his expression becoming more and more serious.

“When did this happen?”

Guchkov seemed to be completely unaware.

George was disappointed with Guchkov's performance, which could not be summed up as "oversight".

Against the backdrop of the economic crisis, Russia stood out and almost completely drove American goods out of Europe, achieving a great victory.

"It is happening, and if it is not taken seriously, more people will starve to death."

George also blamed himself. He had received reports about reduced grain production a few months ago, but he did not take it seriously at the time.

Russia's agriculture is backed by state farms, and food in most cities is provided by state farms. Even if food production decreases, people will not starve to death.

"Ivan, call all the ministers and call an emergency meeting."

Guchkov's face turned red. If the Americans knew this, they would laugh their heads off.

But Americans have no right to laugh at Russia, because in the United States, more people are suffering from famine.

Russia is not greatly affected by the economic crisis, but ordinary Americans are suffering from pain and hunger.

During the Great Depression, widespread malnutrition and famine occurred in the United States, leading to a large number of abnormal deaths.

Due to the lack of relevant statistical data, no one knows how many people have starved to death in the United States. The so-called "800 million" is just a guess, and its reliability is about the same as Russia's "1000 million".

"This, this is ridiculous, unbelievable--"

Guchkov did not question the authenticity of the report, but was surprised that the situation was so serious.

"Notify all local war reserve warehouses to urgently mobilize food to alleviate the disaster."

George couldn't wait for the meeting; the Russian military had its own supply system.

During the Imperial Russian era, George worked hard to promote the standardization of Russian military logistics, with remarkable results.

Russia's four major military districts and provinces all have their own war reserve warehouses, which store enough food for Russians for a year. New food is stored in the warehouses every year, and old food is mostly exported. The problem lies in this link.

In order to ensure that there is enough grain for export, all regions must ensure the collection of new grain. This is not a major problem in a good year, but will cause many conflicts in a bad year.

"Tell Karl to temporarily stop grain exports to Europe."

Guchkov did not yet understand the seriousness of the situation.

Although Alpha's report is detailed, its scope of investigation is not comprehensive enough. It will require comprehensive action by governments at all levels in Russia to know how serious the situation is.

Before that, exports must be stopped.

"We still have surplus grain from our state farms in Siberia that can be requisitioned. We will arrange for train transportation immediately."

George's orders came one after another, and the current situation was similar to that during the World War.

During the world war, famine broke out in major Russian cities, and people even starved to death in St. Petersburg.

At that time, the Russian people were not short of food, but they had food that could not be transported out.

Russia's current transportation conditions have made great progress compared to the World War. As long as departments at all levels act quickly, the disaster will be alleviated soon.

Mannerheim was fast and arrived at the Alexander Palace first.

"How could this be?"

Mannerheim also found it hard to believe, as Russia is the granary of Europe.

"The international situation in recent years seems to have given us a sense that Russia has won, which has made some of us lose our minds, including me. We all have a responsibility."

George has calmed down now. Responsibility must be investigated and more reflection is needed.

"When this matter is over, I will resign on my own initiative—"

Guchkov was in a heavy mood. Alpha's report was like a slap in the face.

Guchkov has focused on external exports in the past two years and has indeed been a bit negligent internally.

But resigning is not that serious. At least Guchkov will continue to work until a suitable successor is found.

Little Felix also arrived soon and read the report without saying a word.

Vasily and Peter didn't speak either, and they occasionally exchanged glances.

"It's my responsibility and I should be held accountable for it."

Interior Minister Grachev was filled with shame as he was the person primarily responsible.

"You hand over the work to Sharapov first, and we will discuss your problem later."

Guchkov initiated the accountability procedure, and Sharapov was the first deputy minister.

"Gentlemen, we should all be ashamed. This is our shame!"

Guchkov's face turned pale. An hour ago, he was discussing the division of power with Stimson, but he did not expect that there would be internal strife in Russia.

“Immediately mobilize food to the disaster area and conduct a comprehensive investigation.”

Guchkov tried hard to clean up the mess, and this time he learned a profound lesson.

After the meeting, Vasily got into George's car.

"I actually know a little about this. The last time I went to Warsaw, I heard some news—"

The situation that Vasily reacted to did not appear in Alpha's report.

After the civil war, the liquidation of the Russian government was not thorough, and there were a large number of members of the provisional government around Kiev.

Although these members of the provisional government escaped liquidation, they have always been the focus of local governments and naturally became the focus of grain collection. Therefore, the brutality of the tax collectors was a revenge against these members of the provisional government.

"So, those acts of torturing women by hanging them from the ceiling and throwing them into the ice caves of the Don River with ropes around their necks were justified?"

George was speechless. Even revenge has to have a limit.

"George, you can't expect all Russians to become civilized overnight."

Vasily's attitude is tolerant. That's how Russians are. It was even more excessive during the Imperial Russia era. If you describe it truthfully, you will be punished with 404.

"Since we have promised to punish only the main culprit and not punish the followers, we should do it."

George was tired. The behavior of some Russians was indeed as barbaric as the British portrayed.

This is not just a problem in Russia, it is the same in all countries. To truly change people's habits, we must start with education.

"I remember you said that we should eradicate all evil——"

Vasily glanced at me, it seems that you are also a double standard.

"This is an internal conflict—"

George was halfway through his words when he realized that the key to determining whether it was an internal conflict or an enemy conflict was how to identify it.

It was the Russians who delivered the grain, and it was also the Russians who collected the grain. From this perspective, it was indeed an internal conflict.

There is an aspect of the Russian character that is clear about what they like and hate, so what George considers to be an internal conflict is probably a complete enemy-enemy conflict in the eyes of many Russians.

(End of this chapter)