Commemoration Day for Victims of Famine: Reflections on History
On Saturday, November 22, Ukrainians remember the victims of famines.
This day of remembrance is observed annually on the fourth Saturday of November, as per the decrees of the President in 1998 and 2007.
Throughout the 20th century, Ukrainians experienced three famines: 1921-1923, 1932-1933, and the famine of 1946-1947. The most devastating was the famine of 1932-1933, considered a genocide against the Ukrainian people orchestrated by the Stalin regime.
Leading up to the famine were violent collectivization efforts, repression of peasants, grain procurement campaigns, and mass terror. The famine, which lasted 22 months, was a deliberate strategy of the Stalinist government beginning in 1928. This repressive campaign aimed to subdue Ukrainian peasantry and destroy independent farms.
Peasants became victims of the total repression against the intelligentsia and clergy.
Several key events preceded the famine. Notably, on November 18, 1932, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine issued a decree to strengthen grain procurement, imposing penalties for non-compliance. Rural farms faced confiscation of their produce. At the same time, widespread searches and fines took place.
On November 26, a directive emphasized the importance of repression in overcoming class resistance. Thus, the artificially created famine became a well-planned punitive operation.
Peasants had their harvested grains taken, and through numerous searches, they were stripped of their last food supplies. By December 1932, in 82 districts of Ukraine, food trade was prohibited, and industrial goods supply ceased. At the beginning of 1933, peasants lost their last hopes for salvation, as travel from the famine-stricken Ukraine was banned. Families resorted to consuming substitutes like corn stalks, dried straw, rotten fruits, and more.
The terror of famine claimed approximately 4 million lives.
The topic of the famine remained taboo for decades. It wasn't until the late 1980s that research on this tragedy began.
According to the Law on the Famine of 1932-1933, adopted on November 28, 2006, the famine is regarded as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people, and its denial is an affront to the memory of victims.
The court found Soviet leaders guilty of organizing the famine.
Currently, 29 countries and several international organizations recognize the famine of 1932-1933 as genocide against the Ukrainian people.
Today, over 90 years after the tragedy, Russia continues attempts to erase Ukrainian identity.
Traditionally, on this day, Ukrainians light candles in memory of those who perished from the famine. At 4:00 PM, a moment of silence will take place, and memorial events will be held across Ukraine.
