Question

How does the British historian Figes connect the weather of 1890-1891 to the decline of the Russian empire in the 20th century

Answer 1

The actually severe weather of 1890-91 caused the starvation of 36 million Russians due to the fact that Southeast Russia didn’t have enough grain. The seeds planted in the autumn couldn’t germinate before a severe winter arrived, and the Spring brought with it dusty winds that blew the topsoil away. It didn’t rain for 100 days, wells, ponds and forests dry up, and the cattle died because they could not be fed. The government warned the newspapers not to denominate that catastrophe as a famine. The eventual food deliveries were slow, millions of peasants lost their faith, and the people for the first time rebelled against the government.