American Exceptionalism: Accomplishments--Saving the Russian People


Figure 1.--We have not yet been able to find details on this photograph, but it is clearly a group of Russian Young Pioneer boys receiving food supplies from the West (notice the English language packaging) after World War II. We believe they are probably UNRRA packages sent by the United States.

America was not only the first county in all of history to save an entire country from starvaion (Belgium during World War I), but the only country in all of history to save an entire continent from strarving and did so twice (after World War I and World War II). And if all of this was not exceptional enough, America provided vital assistance to the people of the Soviet Union, a country dedicated to the its destruction. No other great power in all history had ever aided its major adversary feed its people. And done so repeatdly beginning with the very creation of the Soviet Union. And never before in history has a foreign power helped feed the Russian people, let alone four times. Few Russiand today are aware of this. Of course it was usually not necessary, because Russia and Ukraine was the bread basket of Europe. Until the Bolshevik Revolution, Russian grain exports fed Europe. This all changed with the Bolsheviks and even more so Stalin and his assault on the peasantry(1928-31), severely crippling Soviet agriculture which never recovered during the entire rest of the Soviet era. It would be America that would consisently come to the aid of the Russian/Soviet people even though the Soviet Government throughout its existence was dedicated to the destruction of America. While the Bolshviks and Stalin killed the Soviet people by the millions, it was America that saved the Russian/Soviet people by the millions. As a result of Soviet and modern Russian contol of information, very few Russians are aware of his aspect of their history.

Food Relief: Post World War I Famine (1919-23)

As a result of World War I, Russian food production was deverly disrupted. Consription of agricultural labor and the lack of needed inputs adversely affected harvests. Food riots in the cities was a majir cause of the Revolution. Even before the Bolshevik Revolution, food was mot reaching the cities. The Bolshevik slogan was, 'peace, land, and bread," a very effective slogan but proved to be aotal lie. With the Revolution, peasants seized the land and the distribution system broke down. And then as the peasants seized the land, food production and shipmnts plummted. The Russian Civil War made matters worse. The result was a killer famine. America offered food to the Blosheviks hust as they did to other European countruies. Disgracefully, the Bolsheviks refused to accept it while people starved. They wanted to use food as a weapon in the Civil War and did not want to admit that Communism could not solve Russia's problems. Finally as the famine expnded into a terrible tragdy agreed to accept American aid. Both the extentof the famine and the fact that news of the famine reached the West , caused the Bolsheviks to relent. The Americans insisted on being involved in the distribution so the Bolsheviks could not weaponize American releief supplies.

Ukranian Famine (1931-32)

A decade after the terrible Civil War famine, Stalin unleashed another terrible people on the Soviet people, especially the Ukranian peasantry. It was a famine entirely engineered by Stalin and the NKVD and people, mostly the peasantry died in their millions. Especially targeted were the kulaks, meaning the country's best farmers. Soviet agriculture never recovered. In this case umlike the Civil War Famine, the Soviet state and control over the media and borders were well estanlished--in fact hermetically sealed. Starving Ukranians could not escape and only rumors of food shortages appeared in the Western press. The Soviets did not ask for food relief and in fact denied there even was a problem. As a result, there was no internationl effort organized to aid the starving Ukranians. Not because America would not have launched a relief effort, but because Stalin ctually wanted people to die, it was the reason he engineered the famine.

Food Shipments: World War II Lend Lease (1941-45)

The Soviet Union as a NAZI ally launched World War II by invading Poland (September 1939). After that they engaged in a series of aggressions against neigboring countries. They also shiped vast quantities of food and strategic matrials to NAZI Germany, helping the NAZIs lunched a desestating Western offnsive leading to he fall of France (May-June 1940). THis in turn hkped h NAZIs the force and supplied needed to launch he Barbarossa invasion of the Soviet Union (June 1941). The NAZIs occupied large areas of the western Soviet Union, including the Ukraine--the Soviet breasbasket. The Soviets moved their industry east beyonf the Urals, but German occupation of the Ukraine seriously reduced the food supplies needed to feed the Rd Army and ivilian population. Again thevUnited States jumped into feed the Russian people. The Presidnt was authorized to include the oviet Union in the Lend Leas program and food became an important part of Lend Lease aid to the Soviet Union. It was only part of a massive shipment of war equiment and supplies, but a very important part.

Food Shipments: Post World War II (1940s)

Lend Lease was a war program designed to assist countries fighting the Axis countries. It began soon after NAZI Germany invaded the Soviet Union (June 1941) and after Jaoan surrendered ending the War it was terminated (September 1945). That does not mean that American food aid to the devestated Soviet Union ended. The United States used various domestic agencies to provide food aid during World War I. It took a different approach during world War II. The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was estanlished to deal with food and other problems in liberated ountries (1943). At first they mostly dealt with refugees escaping NAZI controlled areas. The name is a little misleasing. While the agency had United Nations in its name, the United Nations at the time did not exist. Most of the food and relief supplies came from th United States. And while Lend Lease aid ended with the War, UNRAA continud to work in the post-War era. And UNRAA aud flowed to the Soviet Union and Soviet occupied Eastern Europe. Stalin reject Marshall Plan aid (1947), but UNRAA supplies furnished by the United States flowed into the war devestated country.

Grain Sales: Post-War Era (1970s)

One of the first steps in Détente was the massive Russian Wheat Deal (1972). This was testimony to the failure of Soviet agriculture. The Tsarist Empire before the Revolution had been bread basket of Europe. The highly productive black soil areas, especially the Ukraine produced boutiful harvests that not only fully supplied domestic demand, but was exported to Europe. The Revolution and even more so Stalin's collectivization and enginered Ukranian famine destroyed all this. Soviet agriculture became the Achilles heal of the Soviet economy and the impact was still being felt in the 1970s. The Soviets needed to import grain. Nixon suggested to the Soviets that they purchase American grain. It was in part a deal designed to build political support in farm belt for the 1972 election. The Soviets responded favorably. A purchase of 400 million bushels of wheat, was arranged at a price of $0.7 billion. This was a substantial portion of the American grain reserve. Favorable credit terms were arranged. The price was below market values. The purchase was so large it affected American food prices. THis led to a major change in Soviet emigration policy. Wahington Senator Henry Jackson was determined to make human rights an integral element in the United States-Soviet relationship. There was no way of convining the Soviets tht human rights was important, but Jackson had a trump card. The Soviets who were having invreasing economic problems, wanted the economic benefits that could come through Détente. But this was in large measure would require 'most-favored nation' trade status. And this required Congressional approval. The passage of the Jackson-Vanik Act (1974) required both the Soviet and American administrations to address the civil rights issue as part of the bilateral relationship. The Act required the Soviet Union to endcrestrictions on emigration if they wanted most faborable nation trade status. While some saw this as tilting at winfmills, we now know more about the Soviet economic decline and that access to the U.S. market was indeed important to the Soviets. The Soviets at the time rejected this as unwaranted interference and refused the trade deals. But the price for 'most-favored nation status' would be Soviet concesions on human rights and Jewish emigration. Senator Jackson made sure that the issue of Soviet treatment of its Jewish population and other political dissidents remained a well publicized issue.

Post-Soviet Aid (1990s)

In the disorders associated wih the implosion of the Soviet Union, the Bush Administration approved $1.5 billion in food assistance to Russia. One author describes American post-Soviet aid to Russia, "Over the last 20 years, the United States has given $2.7 billion in aid to post-communist Russia. Initially, the aid was designed to stave off severe food shortages. But the bulk was to ease Russia’s transition from a closed society and economy to an open one. Much of the money went to such building block projects as drawing up a land code, a tax code, promoting small business and judicial reforms. Over the last two decades, I have known many AID workers in Russia. They came in all shapes and sizes, but seemed to be motivated by a common goal: to see Russia progress from a state-controlled economy and society to an open one." [Brooke]

Sources

Bradsher, Keith. "U.S. planning $1.5 Billion in food aid To Soviet peoples through Moscow," New York Times (November 21, 1991).

Brooke, James, "Making the Kremlin queasy: Massive American aid has helped Russians three times in the last century," Russia Watch (September 24, 2012.







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Created: 2:16 PM 3/5/2018
Last updated: 2:17 PM 3/5/2018