Kazakh famine of 1919–1922

Kazakh famine of 1919–1922
Map of the Kirghiz ASSR and Turkestan ASSR, 1922
Country	Soviet Union
Location	Kirghiz ASSR and Turkestan ASSR
Period	1919–1922
Total deaths	400,000–750,000
Observations	Droughts, failures of collectivization and Prodrazvyorstka
Relief	Aid provided by the Workers International Relief, and American Relief Administration
Impact on demographics	19% to 33% of the Kazakh population died
Preceded by	Russian famine of 1891–92
Succeeded by	Kazakhstan famine of 1932-1933

The Kazakh famine of 1919–1922, also referred to as the Turkestan famine of 1919–1922, was a period of mass starvation and drought that took place in the Kirghiz ASSR (present-day Kazakhstan) and Turkestan ASSR as a result of war communism policy, in which 400,000 to 750,000 peasants died. The event and was part of the greater Russian famine of 1921–22 that affected other parts of the USSR, in which up 5,000,000 people died in total.

The famine was caused by severe intermittent drought conditions, aggravated by the Russian Civil War and the policy of Prodrazvyorstka adopted by the Soviet government.

By 1919, roughly half of the population was starving. Epidemics of typhus and malaria were also widespread. The greatest percentage of losses of the Kazakh population was in Aktyubinsk, Akmola, Kustanai and Ural provinces. According to the estimates of demographers, about 19% of the population died, which is equivalent to 400,000 people. However, Turar Ryskulov, chairman of the Central Electoral Committee of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, estimated that "about one third of the population must have died", which is equivalent to 750,000 people.

The Soviet government invited international organizations, such as Workers International Relief to provide relief and the American government provided aid to starving Kazakhs from 1920 to 1923 through the American Relief Administration. 1923 and 1924 were turning points in the restoration of the national economy and the most hard-hitting phase of the famine ended in 1922. However, shortages, starvation, and illness continued in throughout 1923 and into 1924.