The Holodomor was a devastating man-made famine that occurred in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 under Joseph Stalin’s regime. The term “Holodomor” combines the Ukrainian words holod (hunger) and moryty (to inflict death), often translated as “death by hunger.” This famine led to the deaths of millions of Ukrainians due to forced grain requisitions, harsh policies targeting Ukrainian peasants, and the Soviet leadership’s refusal to allow international aid.
Though debated for years, the Holodomor is widely recognized today as a genocide against the Ukrainian people by scholars and several governments, as the famine targeted Ukrainian identity, culture, and autonomy.