Early in his expeditions Vavilov decided that he had to explore the countries of the Mediterranean. This was, after all, the birthplace of western civilisation, which depended on settled agriculture. As he wrote, “the oldest remains of wheat and barley crops are connected with Egypt, Syria and Palestine,” while the writers of ancient Greece and Rome offered insights into early farming. In 1926, therefor, Vavilov applied himself to a huge project: “visiting, if possible, all the countries around the Mediterranean to be able to collect a full set of material of crops and to study the conditions for their cultivation.”
We forget what travel in those days was like. Vavilov had to go to London to get visas for Palestine and Cyprus, but failed to get clearance for Sudan and Egypt “in spite of assistance from many influential friends”. In London he also visited libraries in the Department of Colonial Affairs, the Science Museum and the British Museum to read the latest scientific literature and sought maps for the expedition. “London and especially the well known Standford [sic] Company, offer the very best opportunities for this purpose,” he wrote. Stanfords’ is still there, and is still a lodestar for map-seekers and travellers.
Next stop, Paris, where getting visas proved easier than anticipated. The Soviet Ambassador to Paris warned Vavilov that it would be hopeless, but Vavilov’s time spent working for the great French plant breeders and seedsmen Vilmorin and Andrieux, in 1914, served him well. Madame de Vilmorin — “the most energetic of all the women in the world” — was convinced that the Soviet botanist and plant breeder “without fail must necessarily visit Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Syria”. In a two-day whirlwind of diplomatic activity she visited both the President and the Prime Minister of France and got Vavilov what he needed.
“My friend,” she said to me, “you shall be allowed to travel where you want. Go to the Department of Foreign Affairs, where you shall obtain visas and to the prefecture and come then to us to say goodbye.”
Vavilov noted that the French were nervous because of a rebellion in the Rif district of Morocco and an uprising among the Druse in Syria. “The main problem,” he wrote, “was, of course, not to have a Soviet professor make Bolshevik propaganda and allow him into the colonies at such a perilous time, a time of revolt.”
Egypt proved a much tougher problem. Vavilov enlisted the help of colleagues at the Institut Pasteur, where an “almighty banker,” the brother of an Egyptian agronomist, was being treated. Mossar, the banker, “was convinced that they would grant a visa, even to a Bolshevik, on his recommendation”. It is not clear from Vavilov’s account whether Egypt did in fact grant him a visa. Five Continents records no expedition to Egypt.
And so, all was ready.
By the middle of June all the preparations were completed. After bidding farewell to my good fairy, Madame de Vilmorin, and promising to inform her of the results of the research in every country, and carrying the letters of recommendation from her and the Pasteur Institute, I left for Marseilles, where steamers belonging to the Messenger Company depart for destinations all over the Mediterranean.
