Peat extraction in the Middle Volga region during the Civil War and its role in overcoming the fuel crisis in 1918 - 1921 (on the materials of Kazan, Penza, Samara and Simbirsk provinces)

The article is devoted to an insufficiently studied aspect of the peat industry history - peat extraction in the Middle Volga region in 1918 - 1921. In 1920 - 1921 hundreds of people in Kazan and Simbirsk provinces and thousands in Penza province were engaged in peat extraction. The amount of peat-miners was comparable with the number of workers of several large enterprises and even some branches of industry in the region. It played an important role in easing the acute fuel crisis and preserving many hectares of woods of the Volga region from cutting down.