Friends and Comrades: How Quakers helped Russians to survive famine and epidemic

A fascinating and deeply researched account of how the Quakers helped ordinary Russians through one of the rimmest times in their history. In an appallingly difficult environment of war, civil war, and then man-made famine, Quaker doggedness and commitment overcame official suspicion and obstruction to bring shelter, medical support, employment and ultimately food to hundreds of thousands who would otherwise have died. The clearest testimony to the value of their work is how slow even the brutal and secretive Soviet regime was to bring it to an end. And the questions asked in the West then about how best to care for the subjects of an odious regime resonate down to today. Sir Tony Brenton, British Ambassador to Russia 2004-2008