St. Petersburg, ever since receiving news of the French's grand farming plan, Alexander III's face had seldom shown a smile.
Now, having received news that the British Parliament had passed the "Food Self-sufficiency Plan," one could imagine what Alexander III's mood was like.
There was no choice, as food exports were simply too important for the Russian Empire. Not only did they comprise the largest share of the nation's foreign income, but they also involved the livelihoods of tens of millions of people.
Since Alexander II completed agricultural reforms, the Russian Empire had been trapped in an embarrassing surplus of food supply, apart from the years during the Prusso-Russian War when the Tsarist Government worried about finding markets for its grain every year.
This was related to a decree from the time of Alexander II.
