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Holodomor genocide question explores the facts whether the Holodomor, the disastrous famine in 1932-1933 that claimed millions of lives in Ukraine, was an ethnic genocide, a natural catastrophe or democide. .
Currently there is no international consensus among scholars or politicians on whether the Soviet policies that caused the famine fall under the legal definition of genocide. As of April 2008, the parliament of Ukraine and the governments of several countries have recognized the Holodomor as an act of genocide.
What is Genocide
Genocide definitions contains a list of scholarly and international legal definitions of genocide, a word coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944. While there are various definitions of the term, Adam Jones, has written that the majority of genocide scholars consider that "intent to destroy" is a requirement for any act to be labeled genocide, and that there is growing agreement on the inclusion of the physical destruction criterion.
Determining what historical events constitute a genocide and which are merely criminal or inhuman behavior is not a clear-cut matter. In nearly every case where accusations of genocide have circulated, partisans of various sides have fiercely disputed the interpretation and details of the event, often to the point of promoting wildly different versions of the facts. An accusation of genocide is certainly not taken lightly and will almost always be controversial.
Holodomor as genocide
Background
Nationalities in the Soviet Union
One of the reasons that many scholars find it difficult to prove the genocidal nature of the Holodomor is the fact that in the USSR, there was no formal acknowledgement of nationality. According to Stalin's own words, "The nationality problem is in its very essence, a problem of the peasantry." .
Because Stalin's plans of collectivisation focussed on "rozkurkuliuvannia" (de-kulakization) which meant taking away power from the traditional ruling classes, and re-distributing it to the Soviets, the de-kulakization of the nation meant removing the problem of the peasantry.
The 5 year Plans
When Joseph Stalin came to power in the Soviet Union in 1924, he recognized that there were many obstacles keeping it far from the industrialized West. Also, there were many obstacles which kept the Soviet Union from utilizing the full potential of its economic power. Stalin quickly moved to implement 5 year plans, whose intent it was to move the USSR towards industrialism. One key element of the plant was the elimination of private, independently owned farms. This was the famous "collectivization" of the Soviet 1930s. The majority of these farms, however, were in Ukraine, the so-called "breadbasket of Europe".
Proposed Ukrainian law on Holodomor genocide denial
The issue of the Holodomor remains very controversial in Ukraine. The proposed bill that would make the denial of the Holodomor as genocide a criminal offense in Ukraine has never been adopted bu the Ukrainian parliament.
The law would make denying the Holodomor an act of genocide against te Ukrainian people equal to denying the Holocaust an act of genocide against the Jews. The maximum punishment will be 100-300 "untaxed salaries", and a prison sentence of up to 2 years .
International position on the Holodomor
On November 28, 2006, the Government of Ukraine passed a law acknowledging the Holodomor as a genocide . Since then, the governments of several countries have recognized the Holodomor as an act of genocide.
However the Russian Federation accepts historic information about the Holodomor but rejects the argument that is was ethnic genocide by pointing out the fact that other Soviet citizens also died because of the Holodomor. Soviet-era dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn backed the Russian perspective on the Holodomor, dismissing Ukrainian claims that the famine was genocide as a "fable."
References
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/ukrainian/domestic/story/2008/03/080313_latvia_holodomor_oh.shtml
- Dr. David Marples, The great famine debate goes on..., ExpressNews (University of Alberta), originally published in Edmonton Journal, November 30, 2005
- Stanislav Kuchytsky, "Holodomor of 1932–1933 as genocide: the gaps in the proof", Den, February 17, 2007. Template:Ru icon
- ^ Sources differ on interpreting various statements from different branches of different governments as to whether they amount to the official recognition of the Famine as Genocide by the country. For example, after the statement issued by the Latvian Sejm on March 13, 2008, the total number of countries is given as 19 (according to Ukrainian BBC: ="Латвія визнала Голодомор ґеноцидом") or 16 (according to Korrespondent: "После продолжительных дебатов Сейм Латвии признал Голодомор геноцидом украинцев"
- Based on a list by Adam Jones pp.15-18
- Oxford English Dictionary "Genocide" citing Raphael Lemkin Axis Rule in Occupied Europe ix. 79
- Adam Jones pp.20-21
- http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/breadbasket.htm
- http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/Genocide/Ukraine_famine.htm
- http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/index.php?id=148&listid=56782
- http://www.infoukes.com/history/famine/
- http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g24G2C82bayPydlhVXF5FYjM5PjQD8VPUNCG0