International, Comparative and Area Studies (ICA), a division of the School of Humanities and Sciences, presents the little-known story of the American effort to relieve starvation in the new Soviet Russia in 1921. The Great Famine, directed by Austin Hoyt and Aisiyuak Yumagulov, is a documentary about the worst natural disaster in Europe, during which five millions Soviet citizens died, since the Black Plague in the Middle Ages. Half a world away, Americans responded with a massive two-year relief campaign, championed by Herbert Hoover, director of the American Relief Administration.
The film is based on the book The Big Show in Bololand: The American Relief Expedition to Soviet Russia in the Famine of 1921 by Hoover Institution research fellow Bertrand Patenaude, who did his research for the book in the Hoover Archives.
The Great Famine will premiere on August 15, 2012, at 7:00 pm at the Lane History Corner, Bldg 200, Room 002, Stanford University. This event is free and open to the public. Click here for more information.
