The Holodomor (Soviet famine in Ukraine)
- Date
- 1932–1933
- Category
- Social & demographic
- Region
- Eastern Europe (Soviet Ukraine)
- Era
- Modern
- Significance
A man-made famine devastated the grain-growing regions of the USSR in 1932–33, striking Soviet Ukraine with particular severity.
Driven by Stalin's collectivisation drive, impossibly high grain-procurement quotas, the seizure of food and seed from starving villages, and decrees that blacklisted farms and restricted peasant movement, the famine killed millions. Demographic estimates of excess deaths in Ukraine commonly range from about 3.5 to 7 million; at its peak in June 1933 Ukrainians were dying at a rate of tens of thousands per day. The Soviet state denied the famine and suppressed information about it for decades. Whether the Holodomor — the term combines the Ukrainian words for 'starvation' and 'extermination' — constituted a genocide of the Ukrainian nation remains debated among historians, but Ukraine, the European Parliament, and more than thirty states have formally recognised it as such. It stands as one of the defining atrocities of the Stalinist era.
One piece of history in your inbox, weekly
New empires, events and features as they land — one good email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Empires active in 1932–1933
- Empire of Japan1868 CE – 1947 CE
- Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
Related social & demographic events
- The Holocaust and the 'Final Solution'1941–1945
- Bengal Famine of 19431943–1944
- Influenza pandemic of 1918–19201918–1920
- Emancipation of the serfs in Russia3 March 1861 (19 February O.S.)
- The Great Irish Famine1845–1852
- Nazi Germany Enacts the Nuremberg Laws1935
Further reading
The wider story
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Global best-seller on how our species, its populations and societies remade the world.
Get it on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.