Russian Mission

In 1921, a terrible famine began in Russia. To stop it, the new Soviet government under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin invited the American Relief Administration, the brainchild of Herbert Hoover, to save communist Russia from ruin. In two years, a small group of brave Americans fed more than ten million people. This was the largest humanitarian operation in history, preventing the death of countless people, mass unrest, and quite possibly, the collapse of the communist state. A hundred years later, few remember these events. The Soviet government quickly erased the memory of American aid. Douglas Smith resurrects the American relief mission from obscurity. The story of the ARA is one of political intrigue, adventure, and romance, but above all, it is about uncompromising altruism and love for one's neighbor. “Russian Mission” is an exciting account of the joint efforts to prevent a crisis that had no equal before or since.