New Books Network Maria Fedorova, "Seeds of Exchange: Soviets, Americans, and Cooperation in Agriculture, 1921–1935" (Northern Illinois UP, 2025)
Oct 9, 2025
Maria Fedorova, an Assistant Professor at Macalester College and author of Seeds of Exchange, discusses the fascinating transnational agricultural cooperation between the US and Soviet Union during the interwar period. She highlights how both nations sought innovative solutions amidst post-WWI food insecurity, emphasizing the reciprocal nature of this exchange. Fedorova also dives into the evolving perceptions of this collaboration, examining factors like rising anti-communism and women's roles in agricultural narratives, as well as her next research project on cold-climate horticulture.
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Exchange Not One-Way Aid
- Maria Fedorova reframes US–Soviet relations through agricultural exchange rather than one-way aid narratives.
- She argues experts on both sides actively traveled, experimented, and learned from each other in the interwar years.
The Bread In Hoover's Folder
- While researching at the Hoover Institution, Fedorova found a sealed piece of bread in a folder addressed to Herbert Hoover from 1918.
- Archivists warned about mold, turning a mundane archive visit into a vivid material encounter with wartime food history.
Women's Hidden Roles Documented
- Women appear in the archive indirectly: wives who demonstrated tractors, female journalists, and children who wrote memoirs of agricultural projects.
- Fedorova highlights a photograph of a woman driving a tractor that shocked Soviet peasants but signaled women's uncredited roles.
