Sovremennye Issledovaniâ Socialʹnyh Problem (Nov 2020)
TRAFFIC FLOWS OF THE AMERICAN RELIEF ADMINISTRATION (ARA) ON THE EXAMPLE OF PETROGRAD (1921-1923)
Abstract
Purpose. The American Relief Administration (ARA) provided the great humanitarian mission in Russia during the famine in 1921–1923. Wherein the problem of suppling food from the United States to starving people in the vast territories of Russia was successfully fulfiled. The ARA practice remains interesting for modern humanitarian organizations. Methodology. The history of the ARA in Russia is being investigated now, but its work in Petrograd has been almost unexplored. Our paper used the documents from the Russian central and regional archives such as the Central State Archives of St. Petersburg, the The State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF, Moscow) and published studies. Results. This aspect of aid was studied on the example of Petrograd as the place of first unloading of foreign aid delivered by sea and rail transport, its reloading onto the railroad for transportation to the ARA aid regions. The scheme of food delivery from the ARA to the starving people of Petrograd is considered for the first time. Petrograd received 53,111.8 tons of cargo on 30 ships both directly from the United States and after transshipment in Hamburg. By rail, ARA cargoes arrived in Petrograd from Tallinn, by the way Petrograd recieved some ARA cargoes from Moscow. Deliveries from Petrograd was sent by rail through Moscow and Vologda to the Volga region, the destination stations were Rybinsk and Nizhny Novgorod. The ARA’s relief to the starving population of Petrograd itself was also significant, its total weight was 2947.335 tons, and the cost was $ 282,210.61. The main places associated with the transportation of goods and food points for the starving population of the city have been identified and shown on the map of Petrograd. Horse-drawn and road transport was used within the city. Practical implications. The materials can be useful for scientific development in the subject of relief of the ARA, in preparation of educational works on Russian history. The results may be of interest to local historians.
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