Pomgol

Pomgol was the abbreviated Russian name for organizations devoted to relief for people suffering from the Russian famine of 1921. The term derives from the Russian phrase meaning “aid to the starving” and was applied to two successive bodies in the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. It is therefore better understood as the name of a historical relief institution and public campaign than as a conventional commercial brand. The first organization was an All-Russian Public Committee for the Relief of the Starving, formed on the initiative of Patriarch Tikhon. Its membership included scientists, artists, church leaders, and other public figures, many of whom were not Bolsheviks. The committee sought to mobilize domestic and international assistance, including an appeal by Tikhon to religious communities abroad. Foreign aid began to arrive, but the Soviet authorities viewed the committee’s independent social and international connections with suspicion. The public committee was dissolved on August 27, 1921. A state-controlled successor, the Pomgol Central Commission of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, was established during the famine-relief effort. Headed by Mikhail Kalinin, chairman of the VTsIK, it coordinated relief activities across the Soviet state and encouraged the creation of subordinate Pomgol commissions at regional and local administrative levels. The commission operated from July 1921 until October 1922, overlapping chronologically with the earlier public committee during part of 1921. Pomgol’s activities included organizing famine relief, coordinating administrative responses, and supporting fundraising. At the proposal of Maxim Gorky, the organization helped establish what has been described as the first Soviet statewide lottery, with proceeds directed to famine relief. Pomgol also participated in the requisition of valuables from the Russian Orthodox Church, a policy that generated severe conflict with church authorities and formed part of the wider Soviet campaign to obtain resources during the famine. The name was also used on two issues of relief postage stamps. The first issue, released on December 31, 1921, consisted of four stamps intended to support relief for the starving population of the Volga region. A second issue appeared in 1922 and depicted an aircraft, a postal car, a steamboat, and a train. These stamps functioned as fundraising and public-awareness instruments rather than as ordinary commercial products. By the middle of 1922, Soviet authorities stated that the immediate famine emergency had passed and shifted official emphasis from combating famine to dealing with its consequences. In August 1922, many members associated with the relief organization were arrested on allegations of counterrevolutionary activity; Gorky had already left Russia and avoided arrest. The Pomgol Central Commission was subsequently replaced by the Posledgol Central Commission of the VTsIK. Pomgol is consequently remembered as both a famine-relief label and an example of the Soviet state’s changing relationship with independent civic, religious, and international humanitarian activity.

The Russian famine of 1921 created an urgent need for organized relief, and Pomgol became the common abbreviated name for institutions addressing that crisis. The word comes from the Russian expression for aid to the starving. Two distinct organizations used the name. The first was an All-Russian Public Committee for the Relief of the Starving, initiated by Patriarch Tikhon. It brought together public figures from scientific, artistic, religious, and civic circles. Many participants were not Bolsheviks, and the committee attempted to use independent public organization and international religious networks to obtain assistance. Tikhon appealed to religious communities outside Russia, after which some foreign aid began to arrive. The Soviet government regarded the committee’s autonomy and contacts with suspicion and dissolved it on August 27, 1921. The authorities then established a government-directed Pomgol Central Commission under the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, or VTsIK. The commission existed from July 1921 to October 1922 and was headed by Mikhail Kalinin, the VTsIK chairman. Its task was to coordinate famine-relief work throughout the Soviet state. It promoted the establishment of Pomgol commissions at multiple administrative levels, creating a centralized structure for responding to the emergency. Relief work combined administration, fundraising, publicity, and resource acquisition. At Maxim Gorky’s suggestion, Pomgol established a statewide lottery whose proceeds were allocated to famine relief. The organization also took an active role in requisitioning valuables from the Russian Orthodox Church. This policy was presented by the Soviet authorities as a means of obtaining resources during the emergency, but it intensified the confrontation between the Soviet state and the church. Pomgol’s name appeared on special postage stamps issued to support famine relief. Four stamps were released on December 31, 1921, for aid to the starving population of the Volga region. Another four-stamp issue followed in 1922, using images of an aircraft, postal car, steamboat, and train. These issues connected state relief messaging with a tangible fundraising instrument and are now among the clearest material traces of the Pomgol identity. In mid-1922, the Soviet government announced that the immediate danger of famine had ended and redirected policy toward addressing its aftermath. During August of that year, many people associated with the relief organization were arrested for alleged counterrevolutionary crimes. Maxim Gorky had left Russia earlier and was not arrested. The Pomgol Central Commission was eventually superseded by the Posledgol Central Commission of the VTsIK. Pomgol thus ended as an active institutional identity, while remaining historically significant as a symbol of famine relief, state centralization, church conflict, and the suppression of independent civic organizing in the early Soviet period.

• 1922

  Second Pomgol stamp issue

  [1]Pomgolen.wikipedia.org

  A further set of four stamps used transport imagery to promote and fund relief work.

• 1922

  Institutional replacement

  [1]Pomgolen.wikipedia.org

  The Pomgol Central Commission was replaced by the Posledgol Central Commission after the immediate famine emergency was declared over.

• 1921

  Formation of the public Pomgol committee

  [1]Pomgolen.wikipedia.org

  Patriarch Tikhon initiated an All-Russian Public Committee for the Relief of the Starving, bringing together public figures to support famine relief.

• 1921

  Creation of the Central Commission

  [1]Pomgolen.wikipedia.org

  The Soviet government established the Pomgol Central Commission of the VTsIK to coordinate relief across the Russian SFSR.

• 1921

  Public committee dissolved

  [1]Pomgolen.wikipedia.org

  The independent public committee was disbanded on August 27 by the Soviet authorities.

• 1921

  First Pomgol stamp issue

  [1]Pomgolen.wikipedia.org

  Four relief stamps were issued on December 31 to support famine relief in the Volga region.

A state and civic famine-relief identity used to mobilize aid, fundraising, administrative coordination, and public support during the Russian famine of 1921.

• Famine-relief postage stamps · 1921

  1921 Pomgol relief stamps

  A set of four stamps issued on December 31, 1921. The issue was intended to support relief for people suffering from famine, especially in the Volga region, and represented one of Pomgol’s principal public fundraising instruments.

• Famine-relief postage stamps · 1922

  1922 Pomgol relief stamps

  A second set of four stamps released in 1922. Its designs showed an aircraft, a postal car, a steamboat, and a train, linking relief appeals with transportation and nationwide logistical support.

• 1922

  Arrests of Pomgol members

  Many members associated with Pomgol were arrested by Soviet authorities in August 1922 and accused of counterrevolutionary crimes.

  Source

• 1921

  Requisition of Russian Orthodox Church valuables

  Pomgol participated in the requisition of valuables from the Russian Orthodox Church as part of the famine-relief effort, a highly contentious policy that intensified state-church conflict.

  Source

Read more

• 1921International religious appeal for famine relief

  Russian SFSR · International religious communities

  Patriarch Tikhon appealed to religious communities abroad for assistance to famine victims. The appeal helped attract some aid but also contributed to Soviet suspicions about the independence and foreign connections of the public committee.

  Outcome. Some aid arrived, while the public committee was later dissolved by the Soviet authorities.

  Source
• 1921Statewide famine-relief lottery

  Russian SFSR

  At Maxim Gorky’s proposal, Pomgol organized the first Soviet statewide lottery, directing its proceeds toward famine relief.

  Outcome. The lottery became a state fundraising mechanism for the famine response.

  Source

• 1922

  Shift from emergency famine relief to consequence managementStrategy

  Background

  Soviet authorities declared that the immediate danger of famine had passed by the middle of 1922.

  Action taken

  Official policy shifted from combating the famine itself to addressing its consequences, and Pomgol was eventually replaced by the Posledgol Central Commission.

  Aftermath

  The Pomgol Central Commission ceased to be the principal institutional framework for famine relief.

  Source

• 1921

  Centralize famine-relief coordinationStrategy

  Background

  The Soviet government sought to coordinate famine relief through a state institution after dissolving the independent public committee.

  Action taken

  It created the Pomgol Central Commission under the VTsIK and supported subordinate commissions throughout the Soviet administrative system.

  Aftermath

  Relief work became more closely integrated with Soviet state administration.

  Source

• 1922

  Second Pomgol stamp issue released[1]Pomgolen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  A second set of four relief stamps featured transport-related imagery, including an aircraft, postal car, steamboat, and train.

• 1922

  Pomgol Central Commission replaced after the famine emergency[1]Pomgolen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change · Other

  After the Soviet government declared that the immediate famine danger had passed, the Central Commission was replaced by the Posledgol Central Commission of the VTsIK.

• 1921

  Pomgol public committee dissolved by Soviet authorities[1]Pomgolen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change · Regulation

  The independent public committee associated with Patriarch Tikhon was disbanded on August 27 after Soviet authorities objected to its independent civic and international relief activity.

• 1921

  Pomgol relief stamps issued for famine aid[1]Pomgolen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  A four-stamp issue dated December 31 was released to raise support for people starving in the Volga region.

1. 1Pomgolen.wikipedia.org