section_path: Consolidation of power/1932–1939: Major crises/Famine
section_name: Famine
paragraph_text: Famine
  
  Within the Soviet Union, civic disgruntlement against Stalin's government was widespread. Social unrest in urban areas led Stalin to ease some economic policies in 1932. In May 1932, he introduced kolkhoz markets where peasants could trade surplus produce. Penal sanctions became harsher; a decree in August 1932 made the theft of even a handful of grain a capital offense. The second five-year plan had reduced quotas from the first, focusing more on living conditions, housing, and consumer goods production. Emphasis on armament production increased after Adolf Hitler became German chancellor in 1933.
  
  The Soviet Union experienced a major famine in 1932–33, with 5–7 million deaths. The worst affected areas were Ukraine, Southern Russia, Kazakhstan and the North Caucasus. Historians debate whether the famine was intentional; no documents show Stalin explicitly ordered starvation. Poor weather led to bad harvests in 1931 and 1932, compounded by years of declining productivity.
  
  Rapid industrialization policies, neglect of crop rotation, and failure to build reserve grain stocks exacerbated the famine. Stalin blamed hostile elements and sabotage among peasants; the government provided limited food aid to famine-stricken rural areas, prioritizing urban workers. In effect, Stalin valued the progress of Soviet industrialization over peasant lives. Grain exports declined heavily. Stalin did not acknowledge his policies' role in the famine, which was concealed from foreign observers.