Orphans in the Soviet Union

At certain periods, there were large numbers of orphans in the Soviet Union to handle by the state, due to a number of turmoils in the history of the country, from its very beginnings. Major contributors to the population of orphans and otherwise homeless children included World War I, the October Revolution followed by the brutal Russian Civil War, famines of 1921–1922 and of 1932–1933, political repression, forced migrations, and the Soviet-German War theatre of World War II.

By the early 1920s, Russia was home to millions of orphaned and abandoned children, collectively described in Russian as besprizornye, besprizorniki (literally "unattended"). By 1922, World War I, Russian Revolution, and Civil War had resulted in the loss of at least 16 million lives within the Soviet Union’s borders, and severed contact between millions of children and their parents. At this time, Bolshevik authorities were faced with an estimated seven million homeless youths.

The Russian famine of 1921 of 1921–1922 killed some 5 million people. Many children were abandoned or left home of their own accord. By mid-1921, starvation had become so extreme that from June 1921 to September 1922 the state evacuated 150,000 children to lessen the burden placed on institutions and clinics in affected regions. Foreign relief organizations fed nearly 4.2 million children, with the American Relief Administration handling 80% of this total. Altogether, including the state’s and foreign organizations’ distribution of food, close to 5 million youths received meals. Millions of others received no assistance.

Most besprizornye were beggars. Public response varied, and the media discouraged giving the children any money, recommending donations to charitable organizations instead. When alms grew scarce, children with more experience and energy sought money through selling small items such as flowers or cigarettes. Some were recruited by tobacconists or newspapers to sell their products.Besprizornye also performed tasks for pay, such as carrying luggage at the train station or holding a place in line at the theatre. Some went entered restaurants in hopes of obtaining scraps. Competition for locations was fierce. Thousands of children, particularly girls but also many boys, turned to prostitution. Of 5,300 street girls aged 15 and younger surveyed in 1920, 88% had worked as prostitutes. This means of support was more common in the winter, when begging outdoors was more difficult.

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