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On November 10, 2003 at the United Nations twenty-five countries including Russia, Ukraine and United States signed a joint statement on the seventieth anniversary of the Holodomor with the following preamble:
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Date Posted: 27/11/10 2:19:57
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HolodomorA child victim of Holodomor Period 1932–1933 Total deaths 2.6 - 10 millionObservations Considered genocide by thirteen modern states. A part of the Soviet famine of 1932-1933.
's message, " " on 27/11/10 1:52:52
In modern politics
Main article: Holodomor in modern politics
One of the interpretations of The Running Man painting by Kazimir Malevich, also known as Peasant Between a Cross and a Sword, is the artist's indictment of the Great Famine.[103] "Kasimir Malevich's haunting 'The Running Man' (1933-34), showing a peasant fleeing across a deserted landscape, is eloquent testimony to the disaster."[104]The famine remains a politically charged topic; hence, heated debates are likely to continue for a long time. Until around 1990, the debates were largely between the so called "denial camp" who refused to recognize the very existence of the famine or stated that it was caused by natural reasons (such as a poor harvest), scholars who accepted reports of famine but saw it as a policy blunder[105] followed by the botched relief effort, and scholars who alleged that it was intentional and specifically anti-Ukrainian or even an act of genocide against the Ukrainians as a nation.
Nowadays, scholars agree that the famine affected millions. While it is also accepted that the famine affected other nationalities in addition to Ukrainians, the debate is still ongoing as to whether or not the Holodomor qualifies as an act of genocide, since the facts that the famine itself took place and that it was unnatural are not disputed. As far as the possible effect of the natural causes, the debate is restricted to whether the poor harvest[85] or post-traumatic stress played any role at all and to what degree the Soviet actions were caused by the country's economic and military needs as viewed by the Soviet leadership.
In 2007, President Viktor Yushchenko declared he wants "a new law criminalising Holodomor denial," while Communist Party head Petro Symonenko said he "does not believe there was any deliberate starvation at all," and accused Yushchenko of "using the famine to stir up hatred."[55] Few in Ukraine share Symonenko's interpretation of history and the number of Ukrainians who deny the famine or view it as caused by natural reasons is steadily falling.[106]
On November 10, 2003 at the United Nations twenty-five countries including Russia, Ukraine and United States signed a joint statement on the seventieth anniversary of the Holodomor with the following preamble:
In the former Soviet Union millions of men, women and children fell victims to the cruel actions and policies of the totalitarian regime. The Great Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine (Holodomor), which took from 7 million to 10 million innocent lives and became a national tragedy for the Ukrainian people. In this regard we note activities in observance of the seventieth anniversary of this Famine, in particular organized by the Government of Ukraine.
Honouring the seventieth anniversary of the Ukrainian tragedy, we also commemorate the memory of millions of Russians, Kazakhs and representatives of other nationalities who died of starvation in the Volga River region, Northern Caucasus, Kazakhstan and in other parts of the former Soviet Union, as a result of civil war and forced collectivization, leaving deep scars in the consciousness of future generations.[19]
One of the biggest arguments is that the famine was preceded by the onslaught on the Ukrainian national culture, a common historical detail preceding many centralized actions directed against the nations as a whole. Nation-wide, the political repression of 1937 (The Great Purge) under the guidance of Nikolay Yezhov were known for their ferocity and ruthlessness, but Lev Kopelev wrote, "In Ukraine 1937 began in 1933", referring to the comparatively early beginning of the Soviet crackdown in Ukraine.[107]
While the famine was well documented at the time, its reality has been disputed for ideological reasons, for instance by the Soviet government and its spokespeople (as well as apologists for the Soviet regime), by others due to being deliberately misled by the Soviet government (such as George Bernard Shaw), and, in at least one case, Walter Duranty, for personal gain.
An example of a late-era Holodomor objector is Canadian journalist Douglas Tottle, author of Fraud, Famine and Fascism: The Ukrainian Genocide Myth from Hitler to Harvard (published by Moscow-based Soviet publisher Progress Publishers in 1987). Tottle claims that while there were severe economic hardships in Ukraine, the idea of the Holodomor was fabricated as propaganda by Nazi Germany and William Randolph Hearst to justify a German invasion.
On April 26, 2010, newly elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, told Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe members that Holodomor was a common tragedy that struck Ukrainians and other Soviet peoples, and that it would be wrong to recognize the Holodomor as an act of genocide against one nation. He stated that "The Holodomor was in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It was the result of Stalin's totalitarian regime. But it would be wrong and unfair to recognize the Holodomor as an act of genocide against one nation."[108] In response to Yanukovych's statements, the Our Ukraine Party alleged that Yanukovych directly violated Ukrainian law which defines the Holodomor as genocide against the Ukrainian people and makes public denial of the Holodomor unlawful. Our Ukraine Party also asserted that Yanukovych "ignored a ruling of January 13, 2010 by Kyiv's Court of Appeal, which recognized the leaders of the totalitarian Bolshevik regime as those guilty of 'genocide against the Ukrainian national group in 1932-33 through the artificial creation of living conditions intended for its partial physical destruction.'"[23]
[edit] Remembrance
To honour those who perished in the Holodomor, monuments have been dedicated and public events held annually in Ukraine and worldwide. The first public monument to the Holodomor was erected and dedicated outside City Hall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1983 to mark the 50th anniversary of the famine-genocide. Since then, the third Saturday in November has in many jurisdictions been marked as the official day of remembrance for people who died as a result of the 1932-33 Holodomor and political repression.[109]
In 2006, the Holodomor Remembrance Day took place on November 25. President Viktor Yushchenko directed, in decree No. 868/2006, that a minute of silence should be observed at 4 o'clock in the afternoon on that Saturday. The document specified that flags in Ukraine should fly at half-staff as a sign of mourning. In addition, the decree directed that entertainment events are to be restricted and television and radio programming adjusted accordingly.[110]
In 2007, the 74th anniversary of the Holodomor was commemorated in Kiev for three days on the Maidan Nezalezhnosti. As part of the three day event, from November 23-25th, video testimonies of the communist regime's crimes in Ukraine, and documentaries by famous domestic and foreign film directors are being shown. Additionally, experts and scholars gave lectures on the topic.[111] Additionally, on November 23, 2007, the National Bank of Ukraine issued a set of two commemorative coins remembering the Holodomor.[112]
As of September 2009, Ukrainian schoolchildren will take a more extensive course of the history of the Holodomor and OUN and UPA fighters.[113]
Viktor Yanukovych and Dmitry Medvedev near Memorial to the Holodomor Victims in KievOn May 17, 2010 President Viktor Yanukovych and President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev visited the Memorial to the Holodomor Victims in Kiev to commemorate the victims of the famine.[114]
[edit] Remembrance outside Ukraine
[edit] Canada
On November 22, 2008, Ukrainian Canadians marked the beginning of National Holodomor Awareness Week. Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney attended a vigil in Kiev.[115] In November 2010, Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the Holodmor memorial in Kiev, however, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych did not join him. On April 9, 2009 the Province of Ontario unanimously passed bill 147 – The Holodomor Memorial Day Act, which calls for the fourth Saturday in November to be a day of remembrance. This was the first piece of legislation in the Province’s history to be introduced with Tri-Partisan sponsorship: Dave Levac, MPP for Brant (Liberal Party); Cheri DiNovo, MPP for Parkdale—High Park (NDP); and Frank Klees, MPP for Newmarket—Aurora (PC) were the joint initiators of the bill. MP Levac was made a chevalier of Ukraine's Order of Merit.[116]
On June 2, 2010 the Province of Quebec unanimously passed bill 390 - "Memorial Day Act on the great Ukrainian famine and genocide (the Holodomor)."[117]
[edit] United States
On 20 March 1982 the Ukrainian Weekly was reporting about a multi-ethnic community meting that was held on February 15 on the North Shore Drive at the Ukrainian Village in Chicago to commemorate the famine which took lives of seven million Ukrainian lives. The Ukrainian Weekly also reported about another meeting taking place on February 27, 1982 in the parish center of the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Great Famine caused by the Soviet authorities. Other events in commemoration were held in other places around the United States as well.
On 2 December 2008, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Washington, D.C. for the Holodomor Memorial.[118] On 13 November 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement on the Ukrainian Holodomor Remembrance Day. In this he said that "remembering the victims of the man-made catastrophe of Holodomor provides us an opportunity to reflect upon the plight of all those who have suffered the consequences of extremism and tyranny around the world".[119][120] NSC Spokesman Mike Hammer released a similar statement on 20 November 2010.[121]
Also on 2 December 2008, St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City had a ceremony for the Holodomor.
On 29 May 2008, the city of Baltimore held a candlelight commemoration for the Holodomor at the War Memorial Plaza in front of City Hall. This ceremony was part of the larger international journey of the "International Holodomor Remembrance Torch", which began in Kyiv and made its way though thirty-three countries. Twenty-two other US cities were also visited during the tour. Then-Mayor Sheila Dixon presided over the ceremony and declared May 29th to be “Ukrainian Genocide Remembrance Day in Baltimore”. She referred to the Holodomor “among the worst cases of man’s inhumanity towards man”.[122]
[edit] Images of Holodomor Memorials
Monument in the capital of Ukraine - Kiev
"Light the candle" event at a Holodomor memorial in Kiev
Memorial cross in Kharkiv, Ukraine
Memorial at the Andrushivka village cemetery, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine
Memorial in Poltava Oblast, Ukraine
Memorial cross in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
Monument to victims of Holodomor in Novoaydar, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine
Memorial in Winnipeg, Canada
1983 Monument in Edmonton, Canada (first in the world)
Memorial in Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Monument in Calgary, Canada
Poster by Australian artist Leonid Denysenko
Monument in Kiev
Monument in Kiev
Stamp of Ukraine. 1993 year.
British protestor in central London calls for a British Holodomor remembrance day
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