Holodomor

Quick Facts: Who was Holodomor?

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Holodomor

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A man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932–1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians.

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Origins & Early Life

The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian famine, was a massive man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–1933 which affected the major grain-producing areas of the Soviet Union. While scholars agree the famine was primarily man-made, it remains in dispute whether the Holodomor was intentional, whether it was directed at Ukrainians, and whether it constitutes a genocide, the point of contention being the absence of attested documents explicitly ordering the starvation of any area in the Soviet Union. Some historians conclude that the famine was deliberately engineered by Joseph Stalin to eliminate a Ukrainian independence movement. Others suggest that the famine was primarily the consequence of collectivization of agriculture and actions taken to industrialize the Soviet economy.

Career & Major Achievements

A middle position is that the initial causes of the famine were an unintentional byproduct of the process of collectivization but once it set in, starvation was selectively weaponized, and the famine was "instrumentalized" and amplified against Ukrainians as a means to punish them for resisting Soviet policies and to suppress their nationalist sentiments. Ukraine was one of the largest grain-producing states in the USSR and was subject to unreasonably high grain quotas compared to the rest of the USSR in 1930. This caused Ukraine to be hit particularly hard by the famine. Early estimates of the death toll by scholars and government officials vary greatly. A joint statement to the United Nations signed by 25 countries in November 2003 declared that 7 to 10 million people died.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

More recent scholarship has estimated a lower range of between 3.5 and 5 million victims. Public discussion of the famine period was banned in the Soviet Union until the glasnost reforms introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s. Since 2006, the Holodomor has been recognized as a genocide by Ukraine and 33 other UN member states, the European Parliament, and 35 of the 50 states of the United States. In 2008, the Russian State Duma condemned the Soviet regime "that has neglected the lives of people for the achievement of economic and political goals". The Ukrainian word holodomor means "death by hunger", "killing by hunger", "killing by starvation", or sometimes "murder by hunger or starvation." It is a compound of the Ukrainian holod, 'hunger' and mor, 'plague'.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1930: 1930 Milestone — The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–1933 which affected the major grain-producing areas of the Soviet Union.
2. 1932: 1932 Milestone — The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian famine, was a massive man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians.
3. 2003: 2003 Milestone — A joint statement to the United Nations signed by 25 countries in November 2003 declared that 7 to 10 million people died.
4. 2006: 2006 Milestone — Since 2006, the Holodomor has been recognized as a genocide by Ukraine and 33 other UN member states, the European Parliament, and 35 of the 50 states of the United States.
5. 2008: 2008 Milestone — In 2008, the Russian State Duma condemned the Soviet regime "that has neglected the lives of people for the achievement of economic and political goals".

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Holodomor

True or False: “The Holodomor was universally recognized as a genocide by all major international bodies immediately following the famine's end in 1933.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): Public discussion of the famine was banned in the Soviet Union until the glasnost reforms introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Holodomor