Vanoshan Famine of 1928-1934

The Vanoshan famine of 1928-1934, referred to in Vanosha officially as the Avlzasme ("The Endurance of the Brave Ones") and unofficially as the Tanoslasno ("The Hardships"), was a famine that began in 1928 as a result of collectivization of property within the Union of Vanosha. While initially naturally in form, the famine has been concluded by outside observers and historians as being a result of poor implementation of Vanosha's socio-economic policies which led to the deaths of some 500,000 to 2 million people. The famine is accepted within historical circles of Vanosha, however, much of it has been embellished with propaganda detailing economic hardships being a result of Khezian economic intervention.

Effects of the Famine

Drought

In 1928, an unusual dry year resulted in numerous amounts of crops not receiving the water they needed. This left a strain on the collective farms who were still struggling from the policy of implimentation the year before, leaving a largely untrained central planning committee to control the matters of the country. This was not limited to the agricultural sector, as the light and heavy industries struggled to meet with demand in the newly established workshops and factories. The drought's impact left numerous effects, however, such as limited ability for the steam engine trains that Vanosha was still reliant upon not being able to run their usual routes at optimal speeds due to having to stop and forage for water reservoirs that could sustain their engines before carrying on. Reports mention some 14-21 trains being damaged or destroyed as a result of collisions due to improper safety routines and sudden stoppage of locomotives.

In addition the logistical problems, this meant many crops that were harvested could not be transported to their necessary destinations. As a result, instead of 700,000 tons of grain being produced as was accomplished in 1926, in 1929 this had declined to 245,000 tonnes, significantly below the Union's quota of one million. This was significantly below the necessary means to feed the nation and its livestock, and as a result, 7 million found themselves in absolute poverty being unable to feed themselves reliably. The drought also had a direct impact on villages as wells dried up, and the limitations on travel resulted in dehydration being a serious cause of death in some remote middling sized settlements, which could have entirely been avoided.

Collectivization

In 1926 and 1927, a serious effort was made by the National Agrarian Movement to collectivize and destroy remnants of the noble estates. On March 18, 1926, the Committee for the Advancement of the Vanoshan Economy was founded, with the total exclusion of experienced and educated individuals who were non-party members. This lack of experience with many fields of the economy resulted in unreliable expectations for the future of the Vanoshan economy and poor leadership. The fine for producing under one's yearly quota was 10 years imprisonment in the nep, work camps dedicated to hard labor and grueling work hours.

While this did lead to workers spending much of the first year with higher than expected quotas, this left serious ecological and safety hazards as progress was advanced without care for the environment and waterways of Vanosha. In 1910, the Vasoron river was considered "generally safe" to retrieve water from; in 1930, the water was filled with poisonous contaminants such as lead and sulfur leading to amassed outbreaks of plumbism amongst the population of Istore. These contaminants also affected the quality of crops and lead poisoning was endemic to some orchards resulting in a loss of entire plantations to the water mismanagement.

Crops also were increasingly harvested earlier to meet quotas as managers feared the wheat fields were at more risk the longer they lay out to ripen. Author Bośkə Demev wrote in his memoir "The fields were green when harvested. The menchono feared waste of seeds and, not knowing better, they made explicit the length of growth time imagining the corn to be subservient to their will." Fear that under-productivity would mean serious fines or imprisonment meant that workers suffered under a regime of overclocked hours and inefficient work tasks meant to resemble productivity when ministers visited to evaluate workspaces.

Silent Reprisals

An abandoned railstation possibly in the Union of Gnayuś, sometime in the 1930s

While Vanosha had an official policy of "oneness of the peoples of their respective unions", discrimination was still existent. The Lenezis who resided in Vanosha in 1929 totaled roughly 800,000, however this figure would declined by more than half down to 300,000 in just ten years. Lenezis were blamed as traitors to the Unions due to the dictatorship in Lenezan at the time, and were met with distrust. As a result, foodstuffs produced in the Union of Gnayuś were diverted to the Unions of Velmaruś and Vnosči instead. Much of the urban population of Gnayuś was starved, and many survivors were relocated from their collective farmers to be sent to work camps away from their original home.

These policies were also directed at other ethnic minorities such as Khezids, Vos, Azavians, and to the Bashians to differing degrees of repression. The Union governments made exceptional efforts to hide the reality of this situation, though with the conditions throughout the nation it was justified as being "Better for one to starve at the cost of feeding ten." This mismanagement and maltreatment for human beings would persist throughout Vanosha's modern history leading to several internal conflicts involving a Svercian insurgency from 1929 - 1952 which was eventually put down by force.

Other reprisals were usually directed towards "hoarders" who were believed to be holding an unfair share of the foodstuffs produced by the unions and were confiscated, most times at the expense of the life of their original owner.

Famine & Political Refugees

Members of the VAI sit outside a Velmarshan's modo, a type of traditional tent.

While many tried to flee the nation, most were captured and delivered to work camps as punishment for leaving their collective workplaces. A large amount did, however, manage to escape the border through various means to reach Khezan. Many were turned away at the border, and also had faced punishment for crimes including desertion and treason. In total, some 30 to 60 thousand managed to escape the country.

Recovery

While the inefficiencies of central planning were never solved, the aims of industrialization did open up economic opportunities for Vanosha allowing sales of machinery to make up for food stuff shortages. As the general year of 1934 is considered to be the year in which the economy reached 1927's levels once again, the amount of years lost to the famine and its consequence were still felt as late as 1950. Of all people living in the nation, 10 million were living in poverty in the year 1929. By the year 1949, this figure had declined to 5 million, a significant improvement though the effects of the famine linger to this day within the mind of Lenezis and other minorities living within the Union.