A COMPARISON OF PER CAPITA FOOD AVAILABILITY IN TSARIST RUSSIA AND THE USSR, 1913 AND1956

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP62S00545A000100090117-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 17, 1998
• Sequence Number: 117
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2000/09/11 : CIA-RDP62SO0545A000100090117-8
A Comparison of Per Capita Food Availability in Tsarist
Russia and the USSR, 1913 and 1956
Although averages hide seasonal, regional and class variations
in food consumption, all of which are probably significant in the
Soviet Union, several facts stand out in a comparison of average food
availability in 1913 and 1956. The present average diet continues to
be primarily a diet of bread and potatoes, and has improved only moder-
ately since 1913. Diets with such a high proportion of starch, and low
proportion of animal products, are typical of countries with low levels
of living. There has been some improvement in the availability of
so-called "quality" foods and in some cases the percentage increases
have been substantial. In general, however, the consumption of these
foods was at a low level in 1913, so that even with the increases, per
capita availability remains below that of most Western European countries.
The lack of any sizeable area climatically suitable for the winter
production of vegetables, and of refrigeration and rapid transportation
facilities, imposes even greater monotony in the diet during the winter
season, when fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables are in extremely
short supply and in many areas virtually unobtainable. The lack of
refrigeration and rapid transportation facilities also adversely affects
both the over-all availability and the regional distribution of food
items such as meat, fish and milk.
The average Soviet diet is entirely adequate in calories, containing
approximately as many calories as the average U.S. diet. Furthermore,
the average Soviet diet does not appear to be deficient in any of the
nutritive elements commonly recognized as necessary for the maintenance
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 Approved For Release 2000/09/11 : CIA-RDP62SO0545A000100090117-8
of health. This diet is monotonous by U.S. standards, but since dietary
tastes are apparently a function of habit, it is probably more palatable
to the Soviets than to Americans or Western Europeans who are accustomed
to quite a different diet. The fact that there have been some improve-
ments in recent years probably also helps to make this diet more acceptable.
Approved For Release 2000/09/11 : CIA-RDP62SO0545A000100090117-8