Soil research in Russia in the 1870s revolutionized understanding of the origin and formation of soil through the works of Vasily Dokuchaev. The new insights came from studies across a large area that combined field observations with laboratory data of soil profiles. A key discovery was that soils had inherited their features and properties from the weathered rock, the climate and the vegetation, or in other words, the soil had a genetic base. The Russian findings and theory spread slowly. In the USA the study of soil had an unswerving, agrarian emphasis, and there was resistance towards Russian ideas. Several immigrants and the Chief of the soil survey, Curtis Marbut, helped in the dissemination and acceptance of Russian soil science in the USA.