Holodomor

The Holodomor: Ukranian Famine Genocide

Ukrainians take great pride in their history, and that history is centered around Kiev. Kiev is a city on a hill, with a commanding view of the Dnieper River, the life-blood of the Kievan Rus Empire. The city and empire flourished in Eastern Europe from ~1000 to 1240 AD. Today there is a silver colored statue of Vladimir I that shimmers in the sun and announces to the world the arrival of Christianity in Kiev. Similarly, the jewel of the city is the Saint Sophia Cathedral and Monastery, which pays homage to the Byzantine Empire’s Hagia Sophia, while at the same time proclaims Kiev as a “new Constantinople.” After Kiev was sacked by the Mongols in 1240, Moscow’s star was on the rise. Poet Taras Shevchenko helped to revive Ukrainian Nationalism in the mid-19th century. Ukrainians experienced a brief moment of Independence during World War One, before being dominated by Soviet Russia. Ukrainian Independence was officially recognized by the world in 1991. Along with independence, the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought about an unveiling of the long-hidden horrors of the Holodomor; the hunger genocide that the Soviet Union enacted against Ukrainians in 1933. To better understand the Holodomor, one needs to understand the historical context in which it took part, beginning with a brief history of Ukraine. 

Targeted Groups 

Although many under the Soviet Union’s regime suffered from starvation during the 1920s and 1930s, including Russians, the group that was persecuted and hurt the most was the Ukrainian farmers. As previously mentioned, “kulaks” were utilized by the Soviets as scapegoats. 

Map of Population Decline during Holodomor

In 1036 Iaroslav began construction of Kiev’s Monumental Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom, or Cathedral of St. Sophia. The Kievan church took as its namesake the ultimate fount of Orthodoxy, the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. 

The Cathedral of St. Sophia, Kiev Iaroslav cemented ties with neighboring powers by marrying his daughters to the Kings of Sweden, Hungary, Norway, France; and his sons to the daughters of the King of Poland, to the sister of the bishop of Trier, Germany, and another son to a Byzantine imperial princess. So Kiev Rus became well known throughout Europe. He beautified the city by constructing a new citadel with a Golden Gate entrance, and 3 additional churches not including the one honoring St. Sophia. 

Iaroslav enhanced the sense of unity throughout Kievan Rus that had begun to develop under his father, Volodymyr the Great. He did so by means of the Church, creative writing, and law. To promote native Rus intellectual life as well as to instill a sense of political unity, Iaroslav commissioned the preparation of historical chronicles tracing the history of his realm from earliest times to the present.

His commissioning the preparation of a law code encouraged a further sense of common social order throughout the Kievan realm. Known as Rus Law, this compilation of mostly common law was, in an otherwise brutal era, noted for its mild punishments, which consisted of various kinds of payment instead of imprisonment or death.

It contained provisions for Civil Law (concerning property, obligations, and family) and Criminal Law. Rus Law also reflected the generally equal status accorded women in Kievan Rus society. Because of his diplomatic skill, cultural interests, and codification of the first law code in any Slavic land, Iaroslav came to be known in Rus history as “the Wise.” 

Population Decline During Holodomor

modernize Russia by reforming agriculture and industry, believing that in order to do this both needed to be controlled by the state. In his plans to roll out mass reform, they were done too quickly causing mass confusion throughout the country and leading to the beginning of what would be long lasting, disastrous effects. 

One of the most significant of these policies was classifying farmers into three categories: poor peasants, middle-income peasants, and the kulaks. Particularly in Ukraine, the last of these, the kulaks, faced the most persecution in the 1920s, as they were the ones who had initially owned land and property, which they saw confiscated because of new policies. They were also facing increasing taxes, which became increasingly difficult to pay. As it became difficult to earn money, many of these farmers attempted to leave their villages, causing fear and unrest throughout the population of Ukraine. Those kulaks who were able to remain in their villages “could not vote, participate in politics, obtain loans, or enroll in schools, etc. (Wolny, p14). They were eventually completely ostracized from Soviet society, vilified as class enemies who would subvert the goals of the Revolution.   

In 1929, Stalin was quoted as saying It’s time to liquidate the kulaks as a class, creating the Molotov Commission charged with carrying out the policy of collectivization. Under this policy, the kulaks were divided further into three new categories: those who would be arrested, those who would be exiled to Siberia, and those who would be resettled elsewhere in the region. Though the persecution of kulaks took place throughout the Soviet Union, the worst of the persecution was targeted at those in Ukraine.  

This policy of dekulakization led to a systemic persecution of Ukrainian kulaks, ultimately resulting in a genocide. As part of the secret police, new Komsomol Communist Youth Organizations formed armed groups to go into villages and publicly denounce members of the kulak class and take away their property. These denunciation sessions were not only designed to humiliate the kulaks, but often resulted in those accused of crimes being publicly shot with tens of thousands dying this way. Those who survived were usually packed into cattle cars and sent to Siberia, with many dying along the way, being thrown into the wilderness to survive off the brutal land. Those who did make it to Siberia alive were thrown into brutal labor camps that often resulted in death as well. In the end, the policy of “dekulakization” ultimately accounted for the loss of 1.5 million people in Ukraine. 

While Russia went through its Revolution, the Ukrainian nationalism that Lenin had harnessed and supported when it was against the Czar and the Russian empire, eventually turned its attention to the newly formed Soviet Union. Just as the Ukrainians had viewed the Russian empire as a threat, the Soviet Union was also seen as dangerous and just a newer, slightly different version of the oppression they had faced under the Czar. Yet, to keep at bay the creeping nationalism of those territories now finding themselves under the yoke of Soviet rule, the Soviet Union practiced a policy of National Consciousness wherein they would allow the different territories under their control to maintain their culture to a certain extent. By the 1930s, however, the Soviet Union had upended its policies, particularly in regards to Ukraine, resulting in mass casualties and hunger among its population. 

Things continued to deteriorate for Ukrainians in the 1930s, as the Soviets continued to persecute kulaks, using propaganda to dehumanize them and portray them as an enemy within. Land was violently seized from Ukrainians, which was met with resistance as Ukrainians saw it as a form of tyranny and unlawful theft. At the center of Ukrainian culture, and therefore, its nationalism and resistance, was the Ukrainian church. Consequently, in the 1930s, Stalin utilized his secret police as well as civil servants to attack the church hierarchy, resulting in the church voting to abolish itself. With the primary source of resistance removed, the Soviets continued their attacks on other cultural organizations and sites to remove any remnants of Ukrainian nationalism. Further, as mass deportations of farmers to Siberia continued, they were replaced by those who did not have much experience but were chosen due to their loyalty to the Soviet Regime. When ecological factors such as mild drought presented these new farmers with a challenge, they did not know how to respond efficiently, resulting in a massive decline in crop production. This decline in crop production brought about by the mismanagement of farms led to widespread hunger that would catalyze the hunger genocide of Ukrainians known as the Holodomor.  

Genocide Triggers

In 1931, Stalin raised the quotas for grain production from Ukrainian farmers to help alleviate the already dreadful famine and food shortages. As many Ukrainians were already starving, they had tried hiding food to survive. Harsh penalties were enacted that would be used for anyone caught hiding food or anything else considered subversive to the Soviet Regime. Perhaps the best example is the 1932 Decree About the Protection of Socialist Property. Commonly referred to as the “Law of Spikelets,” this decree delineated several consequences for anyone hiding even the most minor food or seeds. If caught, the penalty could sometimes include death. During the year, people were convicted of crimes with little evidence through show trials, leading to the death of approximately 11,000 people. 

Although there was still no food by 1932, Stalin refused to change his policies or positions. Consequently, as people grew more desperate to survive, they began to try and hide food. In response, the Soviets enacted Confiscation Brigades that would target homes and tear them apart searching for evidence of hidden food or seeds. 

Implementation of Genocide                                                                                

to move and find new land, towns, or cities where they could work and find food. One of the most significant ways in which the Soviets implemented the genocide against Ukrainians was to restrict their movement. 

They issued internal passports preventing them from moving freely, and Russia itself closed its border to Ukraine. Peasants were not permitted to use railways, and anyone who was allowed had to obtain permission from the authorities first. By February of 1933, the Secret Police had arrested over 200,000 farmers who had now become refugees in their own land. Most of them were forced back to the villages from which they escaped, often left to starve to death as there was no food to be found. For those who were able to move around and escape, the Soviets implemented roadblocks to large towns and cities in an effort to prevent kulaks from entering.  

International Reponse

At the time of the genocide, there were whispered rumors of what was happening, but with the Soviets having complete control over the media, it was difficult to spread the word. Although they were not widespread, stories circulated internationally about the horrors that were taking place. One of the most grim of these was the story of cannibalism. As historian Timothy Snyder points out, there were over 2,000 people in Ukraine who were sentenced criminally for cannibalism between 1932 and 1933. Stories of families with smoke coming out of their chimneys indicated that these families had murdered family members and burned their ashes. But, as it was much easier to conceal crimes against humanity in the 1930s, many of these stories were not widely shared. 

Even those stories that did make it to the international community didn’t have the impact one would think. Due to economic ties with the Soviet Union, many nations ignored reports of human rights violations. Political bias towards the ideals of communism also played a role in placating leftists and socialists in Western Europe and the United States, who did not want to believe these stories could be true. Many left-leaning journalists, such as Walter Duranty, the New York Times Moscow Bureau Chief, downplayed these stories and helped to promote Soviet propaganda.

Legacy and Aftermath

Fortunately, in recent years, thanks to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, more people have come to learn of the horrors of the Holodomor and the long-lasting legacies that came from it. Over 25,000 people died, with many orphaned children left aimlessly wandering the Soviet Union in the years that followed. Unfortunately, like many other genocides, both during the events and after, there has been a concerted effort to hide evidence in an attempt to deny the Holodomor happened, particularly among Soviet officials. With the creation of the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium, there has been an organized effort to combat these highly coordinated disinformation campaigns, with many first-hand accounts available thanks to people who carried their stories with them, escaping to the West. 

Presently, there are still debates about whether or not the Holodomor is considered a genocide. Although most credible historians agree that a manufactured famine took place in Ukraine, debates persist on whether this qualifies as a genocide against the Ukrainian people. Not surprisingly, remembrance and commemoration of the Holodomor is rooted in current geo-political tensions with Russia and its supporters diminishing the role the Soviets played in the famine. In 2003, Ukraine’s Parliament voted to recognize the Holodomor as a genocide deliberately implemented by the Soviet Union under Stalin’s leadership. Currently, there are still many institutions, international organizations, and governments that acknowledge it was a tragedy, but do not go so far to call it a genocide. 

Holodomor and the Ten Stages of Genocide

Classification
Farmers were classified into different categories. 

Dehumanization
During the 1930s, members of the “kulak” economic class were consistently portrayed in Soviet propaganda posters intended to dehumanize them.They were often depicted as “fat cat capitalists” who were preying on the poor farmers and workers. In trying to portray kulaks as enemies of the people, they were often shown as “red faced, mean and wearing crosses,” as well as shown as “dogs, cockroaches, scum, vermin, filth, garbage….,” etc. In essence, they were portrayed as an entity th at needed to be removed from Soviet society as they were threatening to it. By dehumanizing the kulaks, it was easier for people to accept their murder.  

Organization 
Stalin’s Five-Year Plan of collectivization can be seen as the beginning of reorganizing society within the Soviet Union in a way that would eventually lead to the mass starvation of Ukrainians.  

Polarization 
The Soviet Union purposely categorized the Ukrainian kulaks as a separate class of farmers. By dividing the farmers into different categories, they could use the kulaks as scapegoats for the many problems besetting farmers.  

Preparation 
According to Lemkin, there was a systemic plan to attack Ukrainians. The first was to attack the cultural and intellectual institutions that maintained Ukrainian nationalism. The next part was to attack the farmers. The special Molotov commission created to implement “Total Collectivization” began a systemic categorization of farmers. Correspondingly, the Soviet policy of Dekulakization created an atmosphere where Ukrainian kulaks were publicly targeted, persecuted, denounced, and often murdered.   

Persecution
The kulaks of Ukraine were often the first to have their land and livestock confiscated.   

Extermination 
Between 1932 and 1933, over five million Ukrainians starved to death.   

Denial 
Despite widespread recognition of the genocide from international scholars, education institutions, and governments, the Turkish government, along with its allies like Azerbaijan, continue to deny that what happened to the Armenians was a genocide. They have gone to great lengths, including funding educational chairs, creating academic institutes of Turkish culture and history, pressuring foreign governments, and passing laws within their own country to make sure that the denial of the Genocide remains.