About four million people perished in the famine, which also cost the nation its independence, although the Soviet Union continued to deny its existence.
While the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine was commemorated last week by people throughout the world, this year also commemorates the 90th anniversary of another catastrophe that occurred in Ukraine: the Holodomor Holocaust.
The Soviet Union continued to deny a famine that claimed almost four million lives, robbed Ukraine of its freedom, and caused other harm.
Why does this still matter so much?
Throughout 1932 and 1933, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was wracked by a man-made famine that claimed millions of lives. The prominent Ukrainian historian Serhii Plokhy claims that it "dramatically impacted Ukrainian society and culture, leaving profound wounds in the national memory" despite the Kremlin's official denial of it for more than 50 years.
The term "Holodomor," which derives from the Ukrainian terms for "hunger" (hold) and "killing" (more), has long been a source of contention between contemporary Ukraine and Russia. In 2006, Ukraine formally referred to the famine as a genocide, and since then, it has pushed other nations to follow suit. 24 nations have done so, including Germany, Ireland, Romania, and Bulgaria recently.
What caused the famine to occur?
Stalin made the decision in 1928 that the USSR needed to industrialize quickly in order to survive. In accordance with his first Five-Year Plan, private landholdings were to be combined into communist-run collective farms. The increased produce would feed factory workers, and extra grain would be exported overseas to raise money for industrial investment. In actuality, poor planning and peasant resistance to land seizure resulted in lower yields.
In response, the Soviets charged the kulaks, or landless peasants, with sabotage and grain hoarding. They were labeled "class enemies," and many of them received death sentences or gulag sentences. Stalin stepped increased his efforts to meet production quotas by confiscating the food stores of peasants when low harvests caused widespread starvation in the early 1930s. Between 1930 and 1933, the famine wreaked havoc on the grain-producing regions of the USSR, killing an estimated 5.7 to 8.7 million people from starvation-related illnesses.
Why did Ukraine specifically suffer?
Ukraine, which has a long history of exporting grains, is home to 25% of the world's most fertile land. Although they were reliant on its grain, the Bolsheviks harbored a strong mistrust of Ukraine.
During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Ukraine has proclaimed an autonomous republic. Throughout the Russian Civil War, a complicated web of deadly battles was fought there before it joined the USSR in 1922. As a grudging compromise, the Soviets supported "Ukrainianisation": support for its language and a modicum of cultural independence.
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