January 02, 2014

U.S.-Soviet Grain Trade: 5 Stages of Grief


U.S.-Soviet Grain Trade: 5 Stages of Grief

Friday, January 3, marks 50 years since the first sale of grain from the United States to Soviet Russia.

The Russian Revolution was – to put it lightly – a rather traumatic event, both for those involved and for those watching from dangerously close by. Take the United States, for one. Looking back, we can discern, in its trade relations with the newly-formed Soviet government, evidence of the familiar five stages of grief (although, being a country, they played a bit fast and loose with the ordering):

 

1. Denial

The horror!

When your image of communists equates them with pure evil, when your greatest fear is that your country may also succumb to its “spectre,” it’s really no time for trade. For over 45 years – through prosperity, depression, war, and McCarthyist witch hunts – the U.S. did not trade in grain with the USSR. To be fair, however, as millions of Soviets died of famine, considerable grain and food was donated to the USSR through the ARA from 1921 to 1923, by which point NEP had rescucitated Soviet agriculture and the Soviets even began exporting grain.

 

2. Bargaining

"Ask not what the Soviets can do for you, but what you can send the Soviets."

Which brings us to the deal of 1963-64: a four-million-ton shipment of U.S. grain to the USSR. Rather suddenly, grain sales were on the table again. Long decades of denial were finally over. While the sale was handled by private U.S. companies, it was supported and publicized by JFK himself – one of his last acts as president. As told by Ben Nordemann, the architect of the deal, it was an exercise in careful bargaining and unexpected goodwill, naturally accompanied by toasts to friendship and world peace.

Later, larger shipments followed – but not all of them went quite as well.

 

3. Anger

No, Soviets, no invading other countries! No more grain for you!

But let’s not forget that the Cold War was still going on. Once initiated, grain sales could now theoretically be used for less world-peace-related and more sanction-like purposes. In 1980, the Carter administration imposed a grain embargo on the Soviet Union for invading Afghanistan, at a time when the Soviets were importing 12-16 million tons of wheat per year. Sounds like a good plan, doesn’t it? In fact, the embargo amounted to little more than a slap on the wrist, as the Soviets just imported their grain from elsewhere.

 

4. Depression

All that laughter somehow didn't lead to more grain deals.

And so the grain trade boomed, undeterred by political considerations. But just as the Soviet Union began to open up – keyword "began" – agricultural trade got a bit “depressed.” Up until then, the USSR had been such a good market: a giant country with woefully inadequate technology, always in need of grain to feed its own people. Now their technology was catching up, grain harvests were doing fine. Oh, and they were still communists – the tensions of the early 80’s were certainly no help.

 

5. Acceptance?

Putin and Bush in Sochi: doesn't this look like acceptance to you?

Would there have been a grain-trade equivalent of acceptance at the end of this long process? What with the Soviet Union gone and Russia in its stead, we may never know. And the point, actually, is rather moot. Since early in this century, Russia – before the Bolshevik Revolution a breadbasket for Europe – has been exporting grain again...

 

 

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

 

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955