"This book explores the interconnections between climate, policy and agriculture in Russia and the former Soviet Union between 1900 and 1990. During this period there were several instances of grain and other food shortages, some of which reached disaster proportions resulting in mass famine and death on an unprecedented scale." "Several new sources of information not previously available as well as official documents and other sources have been used to explore the extent to which policy and vagaries in climate conspired to affect agricultural yields."--Jacket.