Holodomor, roughly translated to "death by forced starvation" in Ukrainian. Was a ethnic cleansing which occurred in the Soviet Union in 1932-1933. It resulted in the deaths of 2.4-7.5 middle-class farmers. The famine resulted from Ukraine's farmers refusal to give up their property to the government, called Collectivization. The result was that food production fell sharply, resulting in mass starvation. Although the food crisis was eventually stopped. The grain produced, which was enough to feed all of Ukraine, was exported to Russia and not given to the people. The Red Cross and other groups offered to send food to Ukraine, but the dictator of Russia, Joseph Stalin, refused.
The victims sent to labor camps were Ukrainian, Polish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, and Jewish people, who were usually middle-class farmers, who refused collectivization. The victims of the starvation were 81.3% ethnic Ukrainians, 11.7% Bulgarian or Hungarian, 4.5% Russians, 1.4% Jewish, and 1.1% Polish. Cannibalism was widespread, by the end of the crisis 2,500 people were persecuted for cannibalism
The perpetrators were members of the government or assisted in Collectivization, they usually weren't from Ukraine, and cared little as to what happened in Ukraine, as long as it benefited Russia. They were ethnic Russians or Belorussians, usually from a upper-middle class or upper class background. They were usually atheists or claimed atheism, as atheism was the official religion of the Soviet Union.
The political situation was terrible, as the Soviet Union had been through two revolutions and World War I, as such the economic situation was awful, with Russia very devastated by wars and revolutions. Luckily the Soviet Union was very quickly building infrastructure and industrializing.
After the Holodomor, the Soviet Union continue to deny it had ever occurred. Until the 1980's, the use of the word Holodomor was banned and historians could only speak of food shortages in Ukraine. Finally in 2003, the UN and 13 countries, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Columbia, Ecuador, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, The United States, the Vatican City, and Ukraine recognized it as a act of genocide committed against the Ukrainian people.
The political situation in Ukraine today is still very dire. Most people in this classroom have heard about the crisis in Ukraine. Currently Ukraine is facing being bullied by Russia into giving land up, such as Crimea. Unless NATO or the United States show Russia that this will not be tolerated, Ukraine might not even be a country by the end of the year.
The victims sent to labor camps were Ukrainian, Polish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, and Jewish people, who were usually middle-class farmers, who refused collectivization. The victims of the starvation were 81.3% ethnic Ukrainians, 11.7% Bulgarian or Hungarian, 4.5% Russians, 1.4% Jewish, and 1.1% Polish. Cannibalism was widespread, by the end of the crisis 2,500 people were persecuted for cannibalism
The perpetrators were members of the government or assisted in Collectivization, they usually weren't from Ukraine, and cared little as to what happened in Ukraine, as long as it benefited Russia. They were ethnic Russians or Belorussians, usually from a upper-middle class or upper class background. They were usually atheists or claimed atheism, as atheism was the official religion of the Soviet Union.
The political situation was terrible, as the Soviet Union had been through two revolutions and World War I, as such the economic situation was awful, with Russia very devastated by wars and revolutions. Luckily the Soviet Union was very quickly building infrastructure and industrializing.
After the Holodomor, the Soviet Union continue to deny it had ever occurred. Until the 1980's, the use of the word Holodomor was banned and historians could only speak of food shortages in Ukraine. Finally in 2003, the UN and 13 countries, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Columbia, Ecuador, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, The United States, the Vatican City, and Ukraine recognized it as a act of genocide committed against the Ukrainian people.
The political situation in Ukraine today is still very dire. Most people in this classroom have heard about the crisis in Ukraine. Currently Ukraine is facing being bullied by Russia into giving land up, such as Crimea. Unless NATO or the United States show Russia that this will not be tolerated, Ukraine might not even be a country by the end of the year.