Requisitioning

Requisitioning helped supply the Reds but provoked peasant rebellion, including in Tambov. This intensified a conflict that had already begun; it did not explain the original opposition of every group.

Through requisitioning, armies took these resources from civilians. Taking a farmer’s horse, for example, helped the army transport equipment but left the farmer with less power for agricultural work. Taking food reduced what remained for households or sale.

Requisitioning meant requiring people to provide resources for military use. Armies carried enough food for only a short time, so they depended on supplies from the places they reached. Local towns had to provide food, horses and billets, even when their inhabitants did not want to do so.