I want to tell you about two paintings by Ivan Aivazovsky, a Russian artist of Armenian descent
There are many periods in Russian history that have tried to hide.
Very often the Russian people had to starve, but not because of crop failures, but because its rulers and those in power, for their own profit, robbed the people to the bone and thought only of their financial interests.
In 1891-92 a famine gripped the South and Volga region of the country.
Wishing to profit from the grain, Russia sent wheat for export every year. Thus, in the first famine year 3.5 million tons of bread were exported from the country. The next year, when famine and epidemic were already raging in the empire, the Russian government and businessmen sold 6.6 million tons of grain to Europe, which was almost twice as much as the previous year.
At the same time, the emperor categorically denied the existence of a famine in Russia.
The situation in the country was disastrous, and this terrible news swept Europe and reached America. The American public, led by William Edgar, editor of the weekly newspaper North Western Miller, offered humanitarian aid to Russia. But the emperor delayed permission and, only after a time, allowed the starving Russian people to be fed.
This movement was organized and supervised by the philanthropist W. Edgar, who as early as the summer of 1891 published in his magazine the first articles about the famine that had begun in Russia. In addition, he sent out about 5,000 letters to northern states to grain traders asking for help.
And also in the media, Edgar reminded his fellow citizens that during the Civil War of 1862-63, the Russian Navy had provided invaluable assistance to their country. At that time, distant Russia sent two military squadrons to American shores. At that time there was indeed a real threat from England and France, who could have come to the aid of the Southerners at any moment. However, the Russian flotilla stayed off the American coast for about seven months - and the British and French did not dare to get involved in a conflict with Russia. That's what helped the Northerners win the Civil War.
The appeals of the American activist resonated in the hearts of fellow citizens, and donations began to be collected everywhere. The work was done unofficially and on a voluntary basis, because the American government did not approve the gesture of friendly help, but it could not forbid it either.
The so-called "Hunger Fleet" was also formed, consisting of six steamships: the Indiana, the Missouri, the Borodina, the Leo, the Toledo, and the Connemaugh
The total value of humanitarian aid provided by the United States in 1891-1892 is estimated at nearly 1 million dollars.
No matter how much Russian politicians try to belittle and cover with oblivion the fact of friendly aid of one nation to another, there are still many documents and unusual artistic testimonies, depicted in the paintings of the artist-witness.
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky personally witnessed the meeting of ships with the long-awaited cargo. In Baltic ports the steamships were met with orchestras, wagons with food were sent on their way decorated with American and Russian flags. This event so impressed the artist that being impressed by this popular wave of gratitude and hope, he captured this event on two of his canvases: "The relief ship" and "Food Distribution".
On January 9, 1893, the artist solemnly donated these two canvases to the Corcoran Art Gallery
On the reverse side of each indicated the place of their creation: "Russia, the Crimea, Feodosia".
Aivazovsky accompanied his gift with a brief letter: "In an effort to express the heartfelt gratitude of the people of my country for the generous and timely assistance rendered by the United States government in response to the recent famine in Russia, I personally wish to donate two of my paintings to the Corcoran Art Gallery located in the United States capital."
The story with these paintings does not end.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, these canvases, we can say, turned out to be peacemakers.
In the early 1960s, they could already be seen by visitors to the White House, where the Kennedy family had settled. John Kennedy asked the first lady to change the interior of the hall, where they met with foreign diplomats, into a peaceful one. Jacqueline decided to rent two canvases by Aivazovsky from the Corcoran Gallery and placed them in the room, apparently believing they could be symbols of peace and cooperation.
In 1979, they went into a private collection in Pennsylvania and for many years were not available for viewing. And in 2008 at an auction at Sotheby's, both historic paintings by Aivazovsky were sold for $ 2.4 million to a patron who immediately gave them to the Corcoran Gallery in Washington.
Unfortunately, these canvases, painted by the artist in 1892, were not allowed to be viewed in modern Russia either. Maybe, if Aivazovsky's paintings had remained in Russia, Russians would have kept a sense of friendly gratitude to Americans and the modern history would have been completely different.
