Food problem in Karelia during the First World War and its solution

The article deals with studying the food crisis during the First World War in the territory of modern Karelia. The relevance of the topic is twofold. Firstly, it is due to the centenary of the end of the First World War and the attention of historians to this event. Secondly, the focus of public attention has traditionally been concentrated on the issue of public security. The scientific novelty of the article is that the author conducted the first comprehensive analysis of the causes for the food crisis in Karelia during the First World War. Also he studied how much the crisis affected the socioeconomic status of various strata of the region's population. The study revealed the low effectiveness of state measures undertaken to overcome the crisis. In addition, the conclusion was made about the positive role of zemstvos and the population self-organization for combatting high prices, speculation, illegal grain export and the threat of famine. It was found that the food crisis and inefficient state measures undertaken to overcome it became the reason for separatist sentiments among the peasants of Karelia's White Sea region and the border districts of the Povenets Uyezd.