The 1921–1922 famine in Tatarstan was a period of mass starvation and drought that took place in the Tatar ASSR as a result of the Russian Civil War,[3][4][5] in which 500,000[1] to 2,000,000[2] peasants died.
"[10][clarification needed] Farming methods in the Tatar ASSR were outdated, similar to most non-Russian nationalities in the Soviet Union.
By 23 March, reports began to describe the developments in some kantons as a "famine" and documented peasants starving to death and committing suicide.
[12] The famine also led to a sharp decline in the number of livestock and farming equipment as starving peasants sold off their property or slaughtered the draft animals for food.
[13] KGB records from the time note the deaths of at least 500,000 people in Tatarstan,[1] but more recent estimates conclude the actual value was much higher at 2,000,000.
[2] Historian James Long approximates that roughly 13% of the Tatar ASSR population fled to other parts of the country while another 10% died.