The Russian famine of 1921, also known as Povolzhye famine, which began in the early spring of that year and lasted through 1922, was a severe famine that occurred in Bolshevik Russia. The famine, which killed an estimated 5 million, affected mostly the Volga-Ural region.
The famine resulted from the combined effect of economic disturbance, which had already started during World War I, and continued through the disturbances of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and Russian Civil War with its policy of War Communism, especially prodrazvyorstka. One of Russia's intermittent droughts that occurred in 1921 aggravated the situation to the level of the national catastrophe. Hunger was so severe that it was doubtful that seed-grain would be sown rather than eaten. At one point, relief agencies had to give grain to the railroad staff to get their supplies moved.
Apart from the duties in Viswa Bharati, Rabindranath was seen taking initiatives in social service which bears testimony of his humanism of the universe. Due to famine in the then war-stricken Russia in 1921 and the policy of repression of the Bolsevik Govt., many intellectuals of Russia began to fled away from Russia due to economic stringency and want of food. In 1913 Calcutta University had offered Rabindranath, Prof of Legal affairs of Oxford Paul Vinogradoff and a few others, honorary D.Lit. in 1913.Later on at the initiative of Kalidas Nag Vinogradoff came to Jorasanko to be personally introduced with Rabindranath. With that introduction he wrote to Rabindranath on 19th May requesting him to extend his co-operation in collecting funds for poor Russian men of letters. Mentioning his previous introduction he wrote;
" The impression I carried away after our interview was that I had met one who has fitted to represent the great Indian nation that had struggled for centuries with all kinds of hardships - physical and moral. It is to such humanitarians and idealists that I appeal in order to bring to their notice a particularly grievous and pressing need - the need of the intellectual leaders, the brain-workers of Russia who are threatened with destruction."
