聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Arcola School welcomed guest speakers, Greg and Nadia Mackie, on Thursday, May 11, to speak about the Ukrainian genocide under Stalin known as Holodomor.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Unrest in the late 1920s within the Ukraine under Soviet rule led to Stalin鈥檚 efforts in quelling the Ukrainian nationalist movement by flexing his power through use of starvation. Known as Holodomor, 鈥渄eath inflicted by starvation,鈥� a genocidal famine took place in the Ukraine between 1932 and 1933 where millions of men, women, and children were starved to death under Joseph Stalin鈥檚 communist regime.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The Ukraine has an abundance of natural resources and were rich with grain as well. The country had never had not been its own entity before, having been part of Austria, then Poland, and Russia. The year after the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Ukraine decided to declare its independence; however, this declaration was not recognized on the world stage, thus the Soviet Union remained in power.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Through 1918 to 1921 a natural famine took place due to a severe drought. For those watching they realized how food could be used as a weapon as the Ukrainian people relied heavily on the Soviet Union during this time to survive.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Although the Soviet Union was communist, Vladimir Lenin appeased the unhappy Ukrainian people in 1921 鈥� who had declared their independence but received none 鈥� and allowed them to own their own land and to sell excess products 鈥� essentially allowing free trade under a communist regime where everything is technically owned by the state.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 When Lenin died, Leon Trotsky was in power briefly before being run off by Joseph Stalin. Under Trotsky the Ukrainians were encouraged to speak their language, develop their culture, and were given freedom of movement within the Ukraine.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 However, Stalin was the preferred candidate to take over Lenin鈥檚 regime and Trotsky was removed from power in 1927 and exiled from the Soviet Union two years later.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Under Stalin鈥檚 first Five-Year Plan a consolidation of assets was undertaken and collective farms were developed throughout the entire Soviet Union. All of the separate policies that allowed the Ukraine to be its own entity within the larger framework of the Soviet Union were set aside and the Ukrainian people were expected to be part of the collective, part of the Soviet Union.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 During 1932-33, the Ukraine was struck by a man-made famine, although a larger famine, which historians attribute to the first Five-Year Plan and the government鈥檚 forced collectivization and quotas for grain production occurred across much of the Soviet Union.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The Soviets believed that replacing individual peasant farms with collective ones would immediately increase the food supply for the urban population because more people working together would be able to produce more than on ones鈥� own. However, the policies were ill-conceived, and had the opposite effect on the rural population than they were supposed to.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Thus, viewing the Holodomor today, the European Parliament and Ukraine see it as a great crime against humanity and a genocide, while the Russian Federation considers it part of the wider Soviet famine of 1932-33.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 During this time Kulaks or independent farmers who became wealthy landowners following the Stolypin reforms in 1906 were made out to be the enemy. For collectivization to work, all possessions were to be handed over to the government and the government would then determine what they would be given in return. Thus, the kulaks belongings were broken up and spread amongst everyone for they, as a collective, had grain and cattle quotas to meet.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Those who wouldn鈥檛 listen were considered 鈥渨reckers鈥� and would be arrested, then sent to the Gulag 鈥� a forced-labour camp.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The Ukrainians were specifically hit hard by the collectivization because not only were they forced to give up their belongings under Stalin as others had been forced to; but, their freedom of movement was taken away as a passport system was put in place and travel papers were required. Additionally, the Ukrainian culture and language was threatened under Stalin who was in favour of Russification of national minorities in the Soviet Union. This included settling Russian people in the Ukraine, which points to the unrest between the Ukraine and Russia today as Russia attempts to take back their ethnic Russians.
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