Kyiv (Washington Insider Magazine)- The Soviet republic of Ukraine went through a man-made feminine from 1932 to 1933. It is known as Holodomor and peaked at the end of 1933. Moreover, this Soviet famine led to mass starvation in other regions of Russia and Kazakhstan. Due to political tensions aimed at Ukraine, things became even worse. The word Holodomor refers to hunger and extermination. It may be difficult to discuss which factor contributed to the great famine in Ukraine but the political problems are quite obvious.
The Real Cause Of Famine
The origin of the famine comes from Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. There was a range of communist party agitators who were forced to let go of their land. At that time agriculture 1929 was already not sufficient for people. The rigid political parties forced people to give up their personal property and deported the kulaks too. If any of the peasants retaliated they were deported instantly.
All these problems led to a drop in the cultivation of the land. The rural economy was drastically going down and food shortages were at their peak. Moreover, the peasants became rebellious and thought about taking revenge. The rising number of rebellions made Stalin worried. They all were hiding under those places where the Russian Civil War took place against the Red Army.
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There was anger and resistance from the Ukrainian Communist parties that was leading to more trouble. Joseph Stalin wrote to his colleague Lazar Kaganovich, “We may lose Ukraine.” The arms, villages, and towns were placed on the blacklist. This is why they couldn’t receive any food either. Most peasants were not allowed to leave Ukraine for searching food. The food crisis reached its peak in the winter of 1932-33.
Famine and Extermination
The campaign of Joseph Stalin led to a catastrophe. Unfortunately, the death rates in Ukraine increased every day. At least 5 million people died due to hunger all across the USSR. Among this number 3.9 million were Ukrainians. The archives of police reveal incidents of cannibalism, lawlessness, and theft.
A large number of graves were dug in the countryside to manage the dead bodies of people. If this isn’t enough this hunger affected the urban population too. However, some of them could survive due to the availability of ration cards. The corpses were seen all over the streets even in the large cities of Ukraine.
On one side famine was creating a big issue, while on the other side there was a lot of assault on the Ukrainian identity. When peasants were dying, the Soviet secret police were targeting political parties. They could easily cover up their campaign against Ukrainian culture due to this famine. All the people who were targeted by this campaign were jailed or even executed.
As the famine was increasing, the news was hidden by the Soviet bureaucrats. The party officials chose not to speak about it in public. Even western reporters couldn’t write anything about it. One of the famous reports, Walter Duranty from the New York Times dismissed the reports of famine. This news was revealed by a young publisher Gareth Jones.
Unfortunately, Gareth was murdered due to suspicion as Japan occupied Mongolia. Joseph Stalin went out of their way to prevent the results of the census in 1937. All the administrators related to this census were brutally murdered.
Assessment
The higher political parties didn’t want the news of famine to come out. However, the famine was turning out deadlier than before. Unfortunately, the news regarding this famine was denied by the kremlin many times for over half a century. This act plays a major part in the public memory though, especially since independence. Even though the news of famine was hidden, it slowly started coming out.
Ivan Drach who is a Ukrainian poet happens to be the first one to talk about the famine openly. In 1986, he discussed that it can be damaging if the officials try to prevent real news from coming out. In today’s world, many monuments are erected by the Ukrainian Government. Moreover, Holodomor Remembrance Day is observed in all parts of the world. Ukraine is working hard to invest more time in the research of this famine.
By 2019 around 16 countries consider Holodomor a genocide. Both the houses of United States Congress are passing resolutions that declare ‘Joseph Stalin’ as the culprit. Even those around him are said to have committed genocide against Ukrainians. This disaster happened due to higher authorities and every country has something to learn from it.
