In the 20s of the last century, Soviet Russia suffered from severe food shortages, especially in 1921-1922, when the Volga Valley suffered from famine for a variety of reasons, one of the main reasons being the civil war in Russia and the destruction of the economy by the Bolshevik regime. This unprecedented famine starved 33.5 million people, killed more than 5 million people, and even more frighteningly, caused mass cannibalism and cannibalism. However, this history is no longer a secret, and for today's Russians, the country they are most grateful for that history is the United States. Without U.S. support at the time, famine would have claimed several times more lives.
During the great famine of 1921-1922, the U.S. government and people, through the United States Relief Administration (ARA), generously aided the then desperate Soviet Union, providing large amounts of food and medicine. In 1921, Gorky and Lenin appealed to Western countries for food and medicine aid from conscientious Europeans and Americans. However, there was actually an internal contradiction within the Soviet Union about asking the West for help. A year ago, Lenin bluntly stated: "Do not hope for the help of rich capitalists. Even if the capitalists in rich countries express their willingness to help our hungry people, they are more eager to use famine to weaken us, to exchange blood and sweat for freedom, and to seize the power of the proletariat in its entirety! Lenin's fears were not unfounded, and the U.S. government tried to achieve its goals against the Soviet Union by supporting forces opposed to the Bolsheviks. However, in the face of the Soviet Union's request for help, the unofficial ARA and the assistance of the American people were unreserved, despite the intentions of the US government.
Throughout the famine, ARA raised $66 million, shipped 790,000 tons of supplies, and set up 15,700 canteens in the Soviet Union, helping more than 8.5 million hungry people. Even the Soviet government had to admit that ARA saved nearly half of the starving people and restored hope to millions of lives. Throughout the process of aiding the Soviet famine, American workers not only faced extremely poor working conditions, but also risked their personal safety, and many even gave their lives, believing that through their rescue work, the Soviet people could be grateful to the American people. On July 10, 1923, after the rescue effort ended, the Soviet Union adopted a resolution stating: "The Soviet people will never forget the selfless assistance provided by the American people through the ARA." However, it is surprising that under such severe domestic famine, the Soviet Union actually donated relief funds to other countries through the Comintern, always upholding the belief in global revolution. The Communist Party of the United States received £300,000, the Communist Party of Britain received £80,000 and the Communist Party of India received £120,000.