PROBLEMS CONCERNING THE RATIONING SYSTEM IN MOSCOWAT THE BEGINNING OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

Abstract

The rationing system played an important role in Russia’s supply system during the period of siege in the Russian capital, which officially started on 19 October, 1941. The controlled distribution of scarce resources corresponded to the conditions of wartime and guaranteed the civilian population a minimum of food and basic necessities at fixed state prices. At the beginning of the war, the lack of clear prescription of the procedure of registration for ration cards and industrial cards, as well as that for their redemption, resulted in relevant crimes: theft of cards in printing houses and during their transportation, storage, distribution; production of unregistered cards in printing houses, reuse of cards, their falsification. In this paper, I analyse infringements in the rationing system in Moscow at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. The research is based on the principles of historicism and consistency, as well as on general historical and logical research methods. The theoretical contribution of the article consists in the analysis of archival documents and monographs on the problems of controlled distribution of resources during the Great Patriotic War. The article is addressed to historians and researchers interested in the history of the Great Patriotic War.