The Holodomor: An Attack on Ukrainian Nationalism
The Holodomor: An Attack on Ukrainian Nationalism
The Holodomor: An Attack on Ukrainian Nationalism
This year, 2013, marks the 81st anniversary of the most devastating event in Ukrainian history—the Holodomor, or the government induced famine of 1932-1933. Historian Robert Conquest uses Soviet census data to arrive at a death toll of around 5 million people throughout Ukraine and another 6.5 million deaths during dekulakisation—the elimination of landowners, prior to the Great Famine (Reid 116). These numbers add up to twice the number of deaths recorded during the Holocaust with a lingering possibility of being grossly underestimated due to lack of discovered documentation (Reid 116).
Although the Holodomor stands as a national tragedy of the Ukrainian nation, the precise understanding of its existence is a constant debate. Some scholars suggest the famine was a consequence of instability associated with collectivization and economic changes during the period of Soviet industrialization, while others refuse to acknowledge its significance and claim it is not appropriate to accuse the Soviet government. However, many scholars emphasize the man-made aspects of the famine and argue that Soviet policies were an attack on Ukrainian nationalism and therefore a direct Soviet attempt to liquefy the Ukrainian population. As I will soon discuss, the famine was an overall assault on the entire Ukrainian culture and an attempt towards complete Soviet domination of a weakened Ukraine. Through analyzing Soviet policy in Ukrainian society (both rural and urban) before and during the famine, the latter argument can be supported through the incorporation relevant source materials, eyewitness accounts, and overwhelmingly revealing evidence supporting the idea that the famine was Russia’s ultimate “economic weapon of mass destruction to subdue the people of Ukraine”(Oleskiw
The Holodomor: An Attack on Ukrainian Nationalism
This year, 2013, marks the 81st anniversary of the most devastating event in Ukrainian history—the Holodomor, or the government induced famine of 1932-1933. Historian Robert Conquest uses Soviet census data to arrive at a death toll of around 5 million people throughout Ukraine and another 6.5 million deaths during dekulakisation—the elimination of landowners, prior to the Great Famine (Reid 116). These numbers add up to twice the number of deaths recorded during the Holocaust with a lingering possibility of being grossly underestimated due to lack of discovered documentation (Reid 116).
Although the Holodomor stands as a national tragedy of the Ukrainian nation, the precise understanding of its existence is a constant debate. Some scholars suggest the famine was a consequence of instability associated with collectivization and economic changes during the period of Soviet industrialization, while others refuse to acknowledge its significance and claim it is not appropriate to accuse the Soviet government. However, many scholars emphasize the man-made aspects of the famine and argue that Soviet policies were an attack on Ukrainian nationalism and therefore a direct Soviet attempt to liquefy the Ukrainian population. As I will soon discuss, the famine was an overall assault on the entire Ukrainian culture and an attempt towards complete Soviet domination of a weakened Ukraine. Through analyzing Soviet policy in Ukrainian society (both rural and urban) before and during the famine, the latter argument can be supported through the incorporation relevant source materials, eyewitness accounts, and overwhelmingly revealing evidence supporting the idea that the famine was Russia’s ultimate “economic weapon of mass destruction to subdue the people of Ukraine”(Oleskiw
Cited: "The History Place - Genocide in the 20th Century: Stalin 's Forced Famine 1932-33." The History Place - Genocide in the 20th Century: Stalin 's Forced Famine 1932-33. The History Place, 2000. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. Russian Oppression in Ukraine; London: Ukrainian, 1962. Print. Dmytryshyn, Basil. Moscow and the Ukraine: 1918 - 1963; a Study of Russian Bolshevik Nationality Policy. New York: Bookman, 1956. Print Kubiyovych, Volodymyr ; Zenon Kuzelia, Енциклопедія українознавства (Encyclopedia of Ukrainian studies), 3-volumes, Kiev, 1994, ISBN 5-7702-0554-7 Wanner, Catherine. Burden of Dreams: History and Identity in Post-Soviet Ukraine. University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 1998. Print. Lang, Harry: ‘Le Courrier Socialiste,’ No. 19, 1993 Noack, Christian, Lindsay Janssen, and Vincent Comerford. Holodomor and Gorta Mór: Histories, Memories and Representations of Famine in Ukraine and Ireland. New York, N. Y.: Anthem, 2012. Print. Oleskiw, Stephen. The Agony of a Nation: The Great Man-made Famine in Ukraine, 1932-1933. London: National Committee to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Artificial Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933, 1983. Print. Reid, Anna. Borderland: A Journey through the History of Ukraine. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1999. Print. Wanner, Catherine. Burden of Dreams: History and Identity in Post-Soviet Ukraine. University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 1998. Print.