Friedrich is a Ph.D. candidate in the History Department. His dissertation explores the changing role of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union as an agricultural producer , from the world’s biggest exporter of grain before World War I to biggest importer of grain during the 1970s. Drawing on archives in Russia, Western Europe, Argentina and the U.S., he traces Russia’s contentious involvement in the world economy through the prism of grain. Before coming to Princeton, Friedrich studied History and Economics at the University of Munich (BA, MA), the Higher School of Economics in Moscow and Central European University in Budapest.