2. Ukrainian Famine - Genocide Holodomor 1932-33
Saskatchewan Ministry of Education 2007

3. What does “Holodomor” mean?
Holodomor, one of the most horrific genocides in history, took place 84 years ago. This word means death by starvation in the Ukrainian language.
Saskatchewan Ministry of Education 2007

4. How many people perished?
Between 7 and 10 million Ukrainians were starved to death. People of all ages were victims of this tragedy - the elderly, young women and men, innocent children and infants.
Saskatchewan Ministry of Education 2007

6. The Holodomor, which means “to kill by hunger, to starve to death,” was a peacetime catastrophe that resulted in the deaths of between 3 and 10 million Ukrainians between in the “breadbasket of the Soviet Union.”
Ed Stelmach, described it as "one of the most heinous atrocities of modern history", and yet remarkably, still few people are aware of this tragedy.

7. Historical Outline

8. Russian Empire late to industrialization late to democratic reform
citizens lacked rights enjoyed by most Europeans
Russian Empire

9. Russia was a geographically enormous empire in 1914 at the start of World War I.
It was also far behind all the other great European powers in terms of industrialization, democratic reform and social modernization.
Most citizens were still peasants and, though they had been released from serfdom in 1861, were still oppressed and lacked rights that European peasants had long since won.  

10. Czar Nicholas II Russia not prepared for WWI problems on the front
food riots broke out in the cities
forced to abdicate in early 1917

11. Bolsheviks and Lenin
overthrow provisional government and take control in November 1917

12. The provisional government struggled through a series of crisis until they were overthrown themselves by the Russian Bolshevik Party who had taken control of the government by the end of 1917 with the promise of Peace! Land! Bread!

13. Civil War 
fighting takes place across the country against many groups opposed to Bolsheviks
Bolsheviks ultimately win and consolidate power

14. The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, withdrew from the war and spent the next several years fighting a civil war against a wide range of groups that opposed their rule.
During this time, the Bolsheviks imposed a political and economic order known as War Communism, which attempted to transform the economy.

15. War Communism and Famine
no private property, 
nationalization of all industry, 
rationing of food 
government monopoly on foreign trade.
War Communism & severe drought lead to 10 million deaths

16. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
created in 1922
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR) was one of the founding Republics

17. In 1922 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was established by the Bolsheviks, with Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR) being one of the founding members.

18. New Economic Policy introduced by Lenin to rejuvenate the economy
embraced by many in Ukraine

19. Lenin, in an attempt to rejuvenate the economy, introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP), which allowed peasants more economic freedom as long as they met certain quotas.
Many in the Ukrainian SSR embraced this policy as it gave farmers incentive to invest and work harder.

20. Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union 1928 - 1953 rejected the NEP
Stalinism was characterized by terror and totalitarian rule

21. After Lenin’s death in 1924, a power struggle ensued resulting in Joseph Stalin emerging as the new leader of the Soviet Union.
Stalin’s approach to governing, known as Stalinism, was characterized by terror and totalitarian rule.

22. Five Year Plans organized the economy
peasants forced to give up land and join collective farms
goal was to quickly industrialize
needed to sell grain to buy parts

23. In 1928, he began a series of five-year plans that forced peasants to give up their property and join kolkhoz (collective farms).
These five-year plans set economic goals aimed at making the nation militarily and industrially self-sufficient.

24. Peasants Reject Collectivization
many burn their crops and livestock rather than hand them over 

25. Peasants were not happy to be giving up their property and forced to join collective farms.
When they were given no choice, many burned their fields and livestock in protest rather than hand them over to the authorities.

26. Kulaks
Kulaks were the most successful farmers under the New Economic Policy
Bolsheviks knew they would be the strongest opponents of collectivization
They were 'eliminated' as a social class 

27. The most successful farmers who flourished under the NEP were labeled ‘Kulaks’ and a propaganda campaign was initiated against this class of people.

28. Attack on Peasants those resisting collectivization are persecuted
Kulaks are arrested, exiled, sent to prison, tortured or killed

29. In 1929, the Soviet government began methodically attacking peasant farmers who were resisting collectivization.
Resistance from within Ukrainian SSR was labeled “bourgeois nationalism” and anyone who opposed collectivization was portrayed as an enemy of the people.

30. Great Depression 1930s hardship around the world wheat prices to drop
lower prices affected the first Five Year Plan
government increased quotas 

31. The worldwide depression, which began in 1929, resulted in a drop in wheat prices that seriously affected the government’s ability to meet the objectives of the plan.
In response, the Soviet government increased quotas dramatically for wheat production in 1932.
They enacted a series of laws, many only affecting Ukrainian SSR, which ultimately caused the Holodomor.
Most of the policies came directly from Stalin and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party based in Moscow.

32. Food Becomes State Property
On August 7, 1932 a law came into force that stipulated that all food was state property
peasants unable to meet quotas were stripped of all foodstuffs

33. Food was decreed to be the property of the state in the Ukrainian SSR and anyone found hoarding, or looking for food was arrested or executed. Officials stripped collective farmers of food, livestock, seeds and tools.

34. Starving Peasants forbidden to take food from the field
forbidden to flee the region or leave the country
shot for looking for food

35. Starving peasants were forbidden to take food from the fields where they worked.
When they tried to flee the region, the government erected military blockades to prevent them from leaving or travelling between districts.
Thousands were shots trying to flee the famine or search for food.

36. Ukrainian Cities
also saw famine as rations were cut off to many parts of the country
urban workers were encouraged to see themselves as the leaders the revolution
The famine also affected urban workers inside Ukrainian SSR, though some labourers received food rations at times during the crisis.
City workers were encouraged to see themselves as leaders of the revolution and to see peasants as counter-revolutionaries who were hoarding food.
After food was decreed state property, in the summer of 1932, communist brigades fanned out across the countryside to ensure that peasants were not committing theft.

37. The famine also affected urban workers inside Ukrainian SSR, though some labourers received food rations at times during the crisis.
City workers were encouraged to see themselves as leaders of the revolution and to see peasants as counter-revolutionaries who were hoarding food.
After food was decreed state property, in the summer of 1932, communist brigades fanned out across the countryside to ensure that peasants were not committing theft.

38. Death By Famine
By 1933, 25,000 were starving to death per day. Diseases were spreading 
incidents of cannibalism 
almost no one outside Ukrainian SSR knew

39. By 1933, peasants were starving to death at a rate of 25,000 per day.
Diseases were spreading due to people’s inability to care for themselves and incidents of cannibalism began appearing in government reports.
Despite this, almost no one outside Ukrainian SSR was aware of these events.
There were no reports about the famine in the Soviet Union, and only a few foreign media ever published stories about it.

40. The worldwide depression, as well as new governments in America and Germany, garnered much more international attention than what was happening inside the Soviet Union.
It is clear that the Soviet Government was aware of the famine though, and at no point did they request international assistance.

41. Their response to the peasants’ inability to meet the unrealistic quotas was to punish them. One cannot blame this tragedy on climate issues or a failure to produce wheat.
Ukraine produced more than enough wheat throughout the crisis to feed herself.
The clear cause of the Holodomor was the policies implemented by the Soviet authorities at this time.

42. For the next fifty years the Holodomor remained covered up, denied, and simply not talked about. This started to change with Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost in the late 80s and then, with the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the release of records from government archives led to a flood of information about the Holodomor.
Researchers are still uncovering more information about this time of terror.

43. Are there any survivors of the Holodomor?
Ukraine became a free country in Eye-witnesses who survived the tragedy were able to speak openly about the Holodomor of to their children, grandchildren and Ukrainian historians.
Saskatchewan Ministry of Education 2007

44. How is this history being shared?
In 1991, the book “Famine of ‘33: Memorial Book” was published in Kyiv. It lists the names of one thousand survivors of the Holodomor, who witnessed the tragic deaths by hunger.
Saskatchewan Ministry of Education 2007

45. What is our role today? As a tribute to the millions who died, we
must acknowledge
the Holodomor, or
famine-genocide, in
our history texts. It
happened because of
greed, power and a
lack of respect for
human life.
Saskatchewan Ministry of Education 2007