ukrainian genocide 1932. pre-genocide days under lenin – there was a loose grip on the ukrainian...
TRANSCRIPT
Pre-Genocide Days
Under Lenin – there was a loose grip on the Ukrainian economy
This breath of independence started a revival among Kulaks
-folk music, customs, language, orthodox religion
Stalin abruptly put an end to this movement in order to reinforce a strong Soviet influence
Who are the Kulaks
Wealthy Owned 24 acres of land or more Employed farm workers
Kulaks previously held political power and this posed a threat to Stalin
Goals of the Famine break the spirit of the Ukrainian
farmer/peasant force them into collectivization. to break the renaissance of Ukrainian culture
that was occurring under approval of the communist government in Ukraine.
Causes
a. Kulaks had 80% of a population controlling the Ukraine
b. Kulaks were in the way of rapid industrialization
c. A high grain quota was implicated by Moscow resulting in genocide.
Starvation as a Tool
1932- Soviets raise the quota by 44%
This quota resulted in the inability of Ukrainians to feed themselves
Soviet Police took stored up food, left farmers without anything.
Starvation Ukrainian Communist asked Moscow for:1. a reduction in grain quota2. Emergency food aid
Under Soviet law no person could eat until quota was met A merciless war of attrition against peasants who refused to
give up their grain. Execution for theft of grain Those who did not appear to be starving were often suspected
of hoarding grain. Peasants were prevented from leaving their villages by the police and a system of internal passports.
The West Looks The Other Way
West adopted a passive attitude toward the famine,
Franklin D. Roosevelt, even chose to formally recognized Stalin's Communist government
negotiated a sweeping new trade agreement. admission of the Soviet Union into the
League of Nations.
The End Result
By the end of 1933, nearly 25 percent of the population of the Ukraine, including three million children, had perished. The Kulaks as a class were destroyed and an entire nation of village farmers had been laid low. With his immediate objectives now achieved, Stalin allowed food distribution to resume inside the Ukraine and the famine subsided