In October 1891, the harvest across Russia, in 17 provinces of the European part, was 26% less than the average yield over the past decade. A ban on the export of grain is introduced. The minimum need for grain per capita was 13 poods and 5-6 poods for livestock and sowing. In the Voronezh region, in reality there were 0.6 poods per person. Zemsky loan from "Zemsky Sobor" for the poorest families amounted to 12 kg., Per month. By the spring of 1892, cattle had to be slaughtered, of which skin and bones remained. It was the mass slaughter of horses that prevented the delivery of grain to the villages. Officially, in the zone affected by hunger, the death rate was 406 thousand people, which is 28% higher than the usual level. 1% = 4060. 28% = 113 680 over the norm 406 000 -133 680 = 292 140 "normal" mortality.
There were pages in the history of Russia that she carefully tried to hide. However, as they say, you cannot throw words out of the song … It so happened historically that the Russian people often and thickly had to starve, and not because there was not enough grain reserves, but because its rulers and those in power for their own profit, having ripped off the people to the bone, only decided their financial interests. One of these forbidden pages of history was the famine that swept the South and the Volga region of the country in 1891-92. And as a consequence - humanitarian aid, collected by the American people and sent to Russia by five steamers, for the starving population.
No matter how hard political scientists tried to blame the cause of the 1891-92 famine on unfavorable weather conditions, the main problem was the state's grain policy. Replenishing the treasury from agricultural resources, Russia annually sent wheat for export. So, in the first hungry year, 3.5 million tons of bread were exported from the country. The following year, when famine and an epidemic were already raging in the empire, the Russian government and entrepreneurs sold 6.6 million tons of grain to Europe, which was almost double the previous year. These facts are simply shocking. And what was terrifying at all - the emperor categorically denied the existence of famine in Russia.
The reigning monarch Alexander III commented on the food situation in the country as follows: "I have no hungry people, there are only those who have suffered from poor harvest."
The situation in the country was disastrous, and this terrible news swept Europe and reached America. The American public, led by William Edgar, editor of the weekly North Western Miller, offered humanitarian aid to Russia. However, the emperor delayed with permission and, only after a while, allowed to feed the starving Russian people.
Lev Tolstoy described the situation in the villages at that time: “People and livestock really die. But they do not writhe in the squares in tragic convulsions, but quietly, with a faint groan, they get sick and die in huts and courtyards … Before our eyes, there is a continuous process of impoverishment of the rich, the impoverishment of the poor and the destruction of the poor … the worst human traits: theft, anger, envy, begging and irritation, supported in particular by measures prohibiting resettlement … The healthy grow weak, the weak, especially the old, children die prematurely in need, painfully.
And already in the early spring of 1892, steamers with a valuable cargo arrived at the port of the Baltic States. On one of the ships went to Russia and the organizer of the collection of food - William Edgar. He had to go through a lot and see with his own eyes: the pomp of the northern capital and the famine in the provinces, and the unfair distribution of aid, and the godless theft of American food while still in ports. The American's surprise and indignation knew no bounds.
But be that as it may, from the beginning of spring until mid-summer, five steamships with humanitarian cargo with a total weight of more than 10 thousand tons arrived in Russia, which in total was estimated at $ 1 million.
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Although in the near future the Russian government tried to completely forget about this gesture of fraternal assistance.
The future emperor of Russia Nicholas II wrote then: "We are all deeply touched by the fact that ships full of food come to us from America."
The first transport ships Indiana and Missouri, the so-called Hunger Fleet, with a cargo of food arrived at the ports of Libava and Riga. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky personally witnessed the meeting of ships with a long-awaited cargo, which helped to overcome the catastrophic situation in the country. In the ports of the Baltic States, steamers were greeted with orchestras, wagons with food went on a journey decorated with American and Russian flags. This event impressed the artist so much that, being impressed by this popular wave of gratitude and hope, he captured this event on two of his canvases: "The Ship of Help" and "Distribution of Food".
Particularly impressive is the picture "Distribution of food", where we see the rushing Russian troika loaded with food. And on it is a peasant proudly waving an American flag. The villagers wave headscarves and hats in response, and some, falling into the roadside dust, pray to God and praise America for their help. We see the extraordinary joy, delight and impatience of hungry people.
Aivazovsky's paintings were categorically banned from being shown to the public in Russia. The emperor was irritated by the mood of the people, conveyed on the canvases. And they also served as a reminder of his worthlessness and failure, which threw the country into the abyss of hunger.
How all this is similar to our time, when for the good of Russia people do not see the grief of the people.
