Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky. Russian Аrt and relations with USA
The harsh winter of 1891-1892 brought with it one of the most serious famines that Russia would ever face. Terrible droughts resulted in unsuccessful harvests, which were in turn downplayed by Tsar Alexander III, who continued to permit crop exportation despite the suggestions of his advisors. As harsh weather bore down on the countryside, hundreds of thousands of peasants were suffering from starvation and plague.
Word of the tragedy quickly reached America, where crop yields had been particularly abundant in 1891. However, congressional debates prevented an immediate and unified response to Russia's needs. Whereas the American public felt largely sympathetic to the situation in Russia, politicians were divided over an appropriate course of action, especially since they believed that moral tenets of American democracy were distinctly opposed to the so-called despotism of the Russian Empire. Further arguments arose when discussing how to transport the food, as the Navy declared it had no ships to spare, and many Congressmen were unwilling to offer the funds necessary to contract private ships.
W.C. Edgar, editor of The Northwestern Miller, learned early of the situation, and he took to writing public letters about it in his trade journal. Realizing the improbability of an official American response, he sought to organize an independent one, asking farmers across America to donate their surpluses to the cause. Progress was initially slow, especially as the media suggested that the situation was over-dramatized; yet American farmers managed to amass more than one million pounds of grain in donations. At last shipping companies were found to provide free transportation, and one vessel departed for Russia on Washington's birthday. A second vessel left on March 12, this one accompanied by Edgar, who followed the supplies to St. Petersburg. Four other boats eventually made the trip.
Upon arrival, Edgar was confused by what he saw; though the weather was cold, life appeared to carry on as if nothing were wrong. For the most part, the nobility seemed unaffected by the famine. Edgar was somewhat disheartened, though he was promised that many of the wealthy elite—Lev Tolstoy included—were volunteering to help peasants throughout the countryside, and that serious efforts were being made to alleviate the situation.
Traveling onward, Edgar soon came to find conditions were, if anything, more desperate than he anticipated, though the Russian people had already endured the worst of it. Relief supplies were welcomed with great thanks and celebration—fireworks were launched at ports where ships docked, and streets were lined with cheering crowds of hungry and thankful people. It is estimated that tens of thousands of Russian peasants would not have survived the winter and spring of 1892 if not for American support.
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