Ukrainians on Nov. 27 commemorated the 77th anniversary of the end of the Holodomor, a famine orchestrated by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin that starved millions of Ukrainians to death.
Ukrainians on Nov. 27 commemorated the 77th anniversary of the end of the Holodomor, a famine orchestrated by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin that starved millions of Ukrainians to death. The precise number of victims is unknown, but estimates are that between three and seven million people died in Ukraine from forced starvation during forced collectivization and repressions conducted by Soviet authorities in 1932-1933.
Thousands of Kyivans expressed their sorrow and honored the victims by lighting a candle on their home windows or at a ceremony held at the Holodomor Monument in downtown Kyiv at Mykhailivska Square.
People of all ages gathered to pay tribute to victims of the great tragedy.
Crowds also gathered near the Holodomor Memorial in Park Slavy. Costing Hr 133 million, the monument was erected two years ago upon the orders of ex-President Viktor Yushchenko. As president, he unsuccessfully tried to build broad international support to recognize the Holodomor as a malicious act of genocide directed at wiping out the Ukrainian people and their desire for independence.
His efforts were opposed by Russia’s leadership, which viewed Yushchenko’s position as an attempt to blame Russia. They argue that the Holodomor was a common tragedy for all citizens of the Soviet Union, noting that other Soviet republics also suffered. Ukraine’s current Moscow-friendly president, Viktor Yanukovych, has sided with the Kremlin’s view of the Holodomor.
The debate over whether the famine was an act of genocide directed against the Ukrainian people will likely go on for decades. Ukraine, by far the hardest hit, continues to suffer the long-term consequences of having a large share of its ethnic population wiped out by the tragedy.
Photos by Yaroslav Debelyi, AP
