I just finished reading Anne Applebaum’s book “Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine.” I highly recommend it. It tells the appalling story of a famine, deliberately engineered by Russia in 1932-33 Ukraine, which killed millions. That’s right — millions. The best estimate is that about 4 million people died (and maybe more), mostly through starvation and related diseases. For a long time, Russia denied the famine, repressed records of it, punished witnesses and falsified statistical data. But during glasnost, the files were opened. There is now overwhelming evidence of human-caused mass starvation in Ukraine — ironically a rich, black-soil breadbasket for the world. This tragic history is masterfully documented in Applebaum’s book.
We know about the Holocaust; we should also know about what is called the “Holodomor,” from Ukrainian for “death by hunger” or “killing by starvation.” It was deliberate effort to wipe out Ukraine as a nation, as well as its language and culture. One can’t really understand Ukraine’s desperate and defiant response to current Russian aggression without knowing something of the Holodomor. The Holodomor also provides added reason why democracies should support Ukraine against another violent and bloody takeover — this time orchestrated by Putin, who has the same dark motives as did Stalin.
John S. Tanner
Provo