Monetary Inflation and Cereal Supply Through the Lenses of the Russian Revolution of October 1917 (By the Materials of Moscow and Petersburg Provinces)

Abstract

The article analyses the interaction of inflation processes in the Russian Empire in the period from 1913 to October 1917 and the collapse of cereal supply in Moscow and Petersburg provinces before and during the unfolding revolutionary events. The correlation analysis indicates strong inverse relation between these processes, where inflation was a primary cause and shortage of bread - a resultant one. Relying on official statistical data the authors for the first time prove that undersupply of cereal was caused by devaluation of currency (by 96% in Petrograd and by 93% in Moscow).