History UsefulNotes / TheHolodomor

The two most prominent revolts were the Tambov Rebellion, led by former tsarist dissident Alexander Antonov, and the Kronstadt rebellion, a revolt by the sailors at a key naval port near Petrograd. While both rebellions were brutally suppressed, the threat of further rebellion drove Lenin and his associates to abandon War Communism in favor of the [[UsefulNotes/TheSovietTwenties New Economic Policy]], or NEP. Under it, while most significant industries remained under state control, limited free enterprise was allowed, and peasants could farm their lands freely in exchange for a tax on their produce.[[note]]If you think this sounds similar to Chinese-style state capitalism, then you are not far off: Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms were inspired by the NEP.[[/note]] Despite some issues, by 1928, the Soviet economy and food production did begin recovering.

The ongoing mass scale Russian invasion of Ukraine since early 2022 has led to some mutterings about the past repeating, especially since [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia Russian authorities]], in addition to repeating the pattern of forced russification of the Ukrainian areas that they occupy if not deportation of Ukrainians, [[https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/19/7372573/ have chosen to destroy a monument to the Holodomor]] and shamelessly practice historical negationism about it, followed by many pro-Russian outlets worldwide. Since Ukrainian history has become more well known and understood worldwide as a result of the invasion, some more major nations (such as UsefulNotes/{{France}} in 2023), have recognized the Holodomor as a genocide.

Tragically, things would not improve much for Ukrainians in the following years. While the Polish-ruled parts of Ukraine were nominally better off, the Polish government became increasingly intolerant of Ukrainian culture and identity and subjectted Ukrainian elites to persecution campaigns, leading to ethnic tensions that culminated in the UsefulNotes/VolhynianSlaughter.

Beginning in early 1928, Stalinist propaganda denounced kulaks as subversive parasites who were to blame for famines by hoarding grain. The Soviet government began confiscating the kulaks' land and forcing them onto collective farms. This policy led to a collapse of agricultural production as farmers were no longer incentivized to produce; some even destroyed their crops and culled their livestock - some reports say that half of all produce was destroyed this way - to spite the Stalinist regime. Hundreds of thousands of peasants were killed or imprisoned in the nascent Gulag system of prisons.

Beginning in early 1928, Stalinist propaganda denounced kulaks as subversive parasites who were to blame for famines by hoarding grain. The Soviet government began confiscating the kulaks' land and forcing them onto collective farms. This policy led to a collapse of agricultural production as farmers were no longer incentivized to produce; some even destroyed their crops and culled their livestock to spite the Stalinist regime. Hundreds of thousands of peasants were killed or imprisoned in the nascent Gulag system of prisons.

Between 1932 and 1933, collectivization reached a fever pitch in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, with catastrophic results for the nation. The unsustainable quotas imposed on the Ukrainian farmers, the persecution of farmers for possessing even enough food to survive, and the drought created a horrific famine.

The number of Ukrainians killed is generally estimated to be around 3.5 million, with the number rising to between 5-8 million when including the devasted areas of Southern UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} and UsefulNotes/{{Kazakhstan}}.

!!Background: War Communism and Ukrainian Independence-1917-1921

!!The Rise of Stalin, Five-Year Plans, and Dekulakizaion -- 1929-1931.

!!Kronstadt, the New Economic Policy, and Cultural Autonomy-1921-1928

The two most prominent revolts were the Tambov Rebellion, led by former tsarist dissident Alexander Antonov, and the Kronstadt rebellion, a revolt by the sailors at a key naval port near Petrograd. While both rebellions were brutally suppressed, the threat of further rebellion drove Lenin and his associates to abandon War Communism in favor of the [[UsefulNotes/TheSovietTwenties New Economic Policy]], or NEP. Under it, while most significant industries remained under state control, limited free enterprise was allowed, and peasants could farm their lands freely in exchange for a tax on their produce. [[note]]If you think this sounds similar to Chinese-style state capitalism, then you are not far off: Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms were inspired by the NEP.[[/note]] Despite some issues, by 1928, the Soviet economy and food production did begin recovering.

!!The Rise of Stalin, Five-Year Plans, and Dekulakizaion-1929-1931.

!!Red Famine-1932-1933

* ''Film/Child44'' (2014) - The Holodomor is briefly brought up.

* ''[[Film/MrJones2019 Mr. Jones]]'' (2019) - Biopic about the attempt of Gareth Jones to make the mass starvation known outside of USSR.

The ongoing mass scale Russian invasion of Ukraine since early 2022 has led to some mutterings about the past repeating, especially since [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia Russian authorities]], in addition to repeating the pattern of forced russification of the Ukrainian areas that they occupy, [[https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/19/7372573/ have chosen to destroy a monument to the Holodomor]] and shamelessly practice historical negationism about it, followed by many pro-Russian outlets worldwide. Since Ukrainian history has become more well known and understood worldwide as a result of the invasion, some more major nations (such as UsefulNotes/{{France}} in 2023), have recognized the Holodomor as a genocide.

The 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine has led to some mutterings about the past repeating, especially since [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia Russian authorities]], in addition to repeating the pattern of forced russification of the Ukrainian areas that they occupy, [[https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/19/7372573/ have chosen to destroy a monument to the Holodomor]] and shamelessly practice historical negationism about it, followed by many pro-Russian outlets worldwide. Since Ukrainian history has become more well known and understood worldwide as a result of the invasion, some more major nations (such as UsefulNotes/{{France}} in 2023), have recognized the Holodomor as a genocide.

* ''[[Film/MrJones2019 Mr. Jones]]'' (2019) - Biopic about the attempt of Gareth Jones to make the deliberate mass starvation known outside of USSR.

[[AC:Fiction:]]

* ''Famine-33'' (1991 film)
* ''Film/Child44'' (2014 film) - The Holodomor is briefly brought up.
* ''The Guide'' (2014 film)
* ''Bitter Harvest'' (2017 film)
* ''[[Film/MrJones2019 Mr. Jones]]'' (2019 film) - Biopic about the attempt of Gareth Jones to make it known outside of USSR.

The 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine has led to some mutterings about the past repeating, especially since [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia Russian authorities]] [[https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/19/7372573/ have chosen to destroy a monument to the Holodomor]] and many pro-Russian outlets worldwide shamelessly practice historical negationism about it. Since Ukrainian history has become more well known and understood worldwide as a result of the invasion, some more major nations (such as UsefulNotes/{{France}} in 2023), have recognized the Holodomor as a genocide.

However, while there was no official document that showed Stalin singled out Ukraine, there were signs that the Soviet government targeted Ukraine and Ukrainians to suppress Ukrainian nationalism and autonomy.

The 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine has led to some mutterings about the past repeating, especially since [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia Russian authorities]] [[https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/19/7372573/ have chosen to destroy a monument to the Holodomor]] and many pro-Russian outlets worldwide shamelessly practice historical negationism about it. Since Ukrainian history has become more well known and understood worldwide as a result of the invasion, some more major countries (such as UsefulNotes/{{France}} in 2023), have recognized the Holodomor as a genocide.

Beginning in early 1928, Stalinist propaganda denounced kulaks as subversive parasites who were to blame for famines by hoarding grain. The Soviet government began confiscating the kulaks' land and forcing them onto collective farms. The famine led to a collapse of agricultural production as farmers were no longer incentivized to produce; some even destroyed their crops and culled their livestock to spite the Stalinist regime. Hundreds of thousands of peasants were killed or imprisoned in the nascent Gulag system of prisons.

Between 1932 and 1933, collectivization reached a fever pitch in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, with catastrophic results for the nation. The unsustainable quotas imposed on the Ukrainian farmers, the persecution of farmers for possessing even enough food to survive, and drought created a horrific famine.

Whole villages saw their populations starve, acts of cannibalism were reported, and in the most extreme cases, children were expelled or even murdered by their parents. To understand the impact of the famine in Ukraine, the lifespan of someone born in 1933 is estimated at around '''five years''', and at the height of the famine, 28,000 people were dying every day.

The famine went hand in hand with the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executed_Renaissance Executed Renaissance]], a brutal purge of Ukrainian artists and intellectuals. The Ukrainian language was altered to be more Russian, and many institutions devoted to Ukrainian culture were shuttered. The lack of aid sent to Ukraine and the deliberate attempt by Soviet authorities to block starving peasants from fleeing Ukraine speaks to great malice by the Soviet leaders toward their people.

Statistically, Ukraine and areas with large numbers of Ukrainians saw more significant death tolls. Ukrainian communities in UsefulNotes/TheCaucasus were practically destroyed during the famine and their cultural organizations were suppressed.

By 1928, UsefulNotes/JosefStalin had crushed all severe opposition to his rule. With his hands firmly on the levers of power, he soon abandoned the NEP and sought to industrialize Russia at a breakneck pace with the first of his Five-Year Plans to make Russia economically and militarily competitive with the West.

Ukraine was not the only area afflicted by famine: many parts of the Volga, Caucasus, and Central Asia were also hit hard. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goloshchyokin_genocide Kazakhstan saw its own brutal famine]] that killed roughly 1 million Kazakhs as a result of Soviet regime tried to force Kazakhs out of their nomadic lifestyle and onto the farms[[note]]The death toll among Kazakhs was so high that Kazakhstan didn't become plurality Kazakh until just before the collapse of the Soviet Union[[/note]].

Tragically, things would not improve much for Ukrainians in the following years. While the Polish-ruled parts of Ukraine were nominally better off, the Polish government became increasingly intolerant of Ukrainian culture and identity and subjecting Ukrainian elites to persecution campaigns, leading to ethnic tensions which eventually culminated in the UsefulNotes/VolhynianSlaughter. When the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in June of 1941, the Ukrainians initially welcomed the Germans, only for them to discover the Nazis would be even more unrelentingly brutal than Stalin as part of Generalplan Ost, the Nazi plan to exterminate millions of Slavs to create living space for German settlers. By the end of the war, roughly 8 million Ukrainians had died, most of them civilians, as did Ukraine's hopes to break from Soviet control.

The famine went hand in hand with the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executed_Renaissance Executed Renaissance]], a brutal purge of Ukrainian artists and intellectuals. The Ukrainian language was altered to be more Russian, and many institutions devoted to Ukrainian culture were shuttered. The paucity of aid sent to Ukraine and the deliberate attempt by Soviet authorities to block starving peasants from fleeing Ukraine speaks to incredible malice by the Soviet leaders toward their people.

Ukraine was not the only area afflicted by famine: many parts of the Volga, Caucasus, and Central Asia were also hit hard. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakh_famine_of_1930%E2%80%931933 Kazakhstan saw its own brutal famine]] that killed roughly 1 million Kazakhs as a result of Soviet regime tried to force Kazakhs out of their nomadic lifestyle and onto the farms[[note]]The death toll among Kazakhs was so high that Kazakhstan didn't become plurality Kazakh until just before the collapse of the Soviet Union[[/note]].