Post-war poverty in the Far East (1946-the mid-1950s)

The problem of post-war poverty in the Far East is analyzed in the context of the 1946-the mid-1950s situation in this region and state archives available. It was caused by not only the effects of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 but also state expenditures on armaments in the Cold War, spending on the repressive system and other government costs. Overcoming poverty was not an urgent priority for the state in the period under review. Poverty was demonstrated by the shortage of food, manufactured goods, housing and its low quality, the government’s inability to provide the population with good medical care in general. The party and the government started to cope with the difficult situation in the mid-1950s when they focused on the development of the social sector and the improvement of the material well-being of workers. Poverty failed to result in a mass phenomenon and became the lot of a number of people that might be regarded as acceptable to society.