ukraine genocide
Dates
1932-1933
DIFFICULT LIFE CONDITIONS
Difficult life conditions for Russia started the terrible reign of Czar Nicolas II, who enforced an autocratic monarchy. Under the Tsarists, Stalin was exiled to Siberia, and returned after the Russian Revolution.
SENSE OF SELF/ WAY OF LIFE THREATENED
Stalin's plan of creating a program of agricultural collectivization is threatened by the Ukrainian peasents who wanted to remain in control of their independent farm lands. In result to them rebelling against Stalin, he decides to kill all of them as a class and accuses Ukrainians as "Bourgeois Nationalism". Stalin created a 5 year plan, whos collectivization mostley targeted the Ukraines, as well as turning the USSR into a strong industiral state. He also created a famine in Ukraine, by raising the quota of grain that the peasents had to produce for the state. Stalin mostley targeted and devalued the wealthier peasants, the Kulaks, in Ukraine. The Great Purges eliminated any opposition to Joseph Stalin as he cemented his control of the Soviet Union. In 1934, Sergei Kirov was elected to take Stalins position as General Secretary of the Communist Party, he declined, but became very popular to the Ukrainians and became a threat to Stalin.
US VS. THEM MENTALITY
In the early 1930's, the communist party called for reconciliation of the peasents, stop industrial production, and establish a democracy. This was seen as a threat to Stalin, and to Stalin any one not loyal to him had to be "weeded out". In result of this threat, Stalin rebuilt the communist party on an image of him. Through his plan, the NKVD organization was established.
CONTINUUM OF DESTRUCTION
After Lenin’s death, Joseph Stalin, one of the worst dictators in human history ascends to power. The continuum of destruction begins in 1927 when Stalin turns the Soviet Union into a 1 man dictatorship. Stalin kills the Russian Orthodox Church, to the Russian values are "faith, Czar, and Fatherland", and Stalin creates a new god. Stalin introduces the 5- year plan, a program of agricultural collectivization that forces peasants/farmers to give up their private land and livestock, and join state owned, factory-like collective farms and everything produced by them went to the state. A policy of enforcement is applied, using regular troops and secret police, NKVD, confiscates personal property and systematically search houses for private property and food. Many Ukrainian peasants/farmers, known for their independence, still refuse to join the collective farms, which was a threat to Stalin. Stalin decides to “liquidate them as a class” and accuses Ukrainians of bourgeois nationalism. Hundreds of thousands are dragged from their homes, and shipped to Siberia where they are left without food or shelter. In the end, 1,000,000 Ukrainian peasants are seized and more than 850,000 deported to the frozen tundras of Siberia, where they died of starvation. The Soviet government increases Ukraine's production quotas by 44%, ensuring that they could not be met, this required the peasants to work until their quotas were meant, which meant some worked for several days at a time. Starvation was the most common result because they couldn't eat without meeting their quota. Secret decrees are implemented that allow arrest or execution of any starving peasant found taking as little as a few stalks of wheat or a potato from the fields he worked. Systems are implemented by the government, and military blockades are erected around Ukrainian villages preventing the transport of food into the villages and the hungry from leaving in search of food and railroads are blocked off. Stalin states of Ukraine that “the national question is in essence a rural question” and he and his henchmen determine to “teach a lesson through famine” and ultimately, to deal a “crushing blow” to the backbone of Ukraine, its rural population. Ukrainians are dying at the rate of 25,000 a day, more than half were children. In the end, up to 10 million starve to death. Stalin denies to the world that there is any famine in Ukraine, and prevents international aid from entering the country.
ROLE OF BYSTANDERS
One of the bystanders in the Ukraine genocide was Stalin's wife, Nadya. On the 15th anniversary of Bolshevik, Nadya calls him out on the abuses in the countryside. Stalin yells and throws things at her. When Nadya married Stalin, she didn't know how forceful he was. She called him out on it, and told him to end the attacks on the Ukrainians, but it resulted in abuse on her. Stalin's actions became so harsh to his wife that speculations say she committed suicide.
Cultural CHARACTERISTICS
The cultural characteristic of the Ukraine genocide was the way it revolved around Stalin's 5 year plan of turning the independently owned farms into state owned collectivized farms. Stalin also made sure there was only one church, Russian Orthodox. Russia becoming a totalitarian was one of their goals.
Leaders and FOLLOWERS
The leader of the Ukrainian Genocide is Stalin, after he was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party. Stalin was the leader in the Genocide because he had the 5 -Year plan on how to fully turn the independently owned farms into farms collectively owned by the state. In order for Stalin's plan to work he needed followers to help him, the NKVD was an organization that were like general police over looking all of the Ukrainians. They confiscated property and were in charge of producing labor. Without them being followers of Stalin, he wouldn't have been powerful enough to make his plan work.
use of state power
In 1922 Stalin was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party, a powerful position that allowed him to appoint people who would be loyal to him. This is how he had so many people loyal to him, and how the Genocide was successful. The NKVD was part of the State power and they were a group of people who made Stalins plan work, they confiscated the Ukrainians property and systematically searched houses for private property and food. The head of the NKVD, Genrhik Yagoda, was in charge of producing labor by 10 million slaves. State Power was used in the 5- year plan, to create State collectivization farms. State Power was used to block the roads and railroads so Ukrainians couldn't escape or transport food to others.
Result
I don't believe the famine in Ukraine should be considered a genocide. Although it did fit many of the requirements of the Staub model, like, continuum of destruction and state power, one of the biggest concepts it was missing was a target of a reticular race or ethnicity. Stalin just targeted any group of Ukrainians who threatened his 5- year plan. This was usually the wealthier peasants who didn't want to turn their individual farms in to collectivized state owned, and who were against communism in general.
PRIMARY SOURCE 3
Quote from a witness
"We had a communal farm in Ukraine attached to my regiment. Everything was fine until last year (1932). Then we began to get letters asking for food. We sent what we could, but I didn't discover what had happened until I went to the farm only a month ago (March 1933). My God, you wouldn't believe it. The people were starving. Their animals were dead. There wasn't even a cat or dog in the whole village, and that was no good sign. Instead of 250 families there were only 73, and all of them were half-starved. They told me their seed grain was taken away last spring. "The order came that our farm must deliver 500 tons of grain. We needed 400 tons to sow our fields, and we only had 600 tons. But we gave the grain as ordered." And remember, these folks weren't kulaks, weren't class enemies. They were our own people. I was horrified.'
Connection: This quote from a witness shows the harshness of Stalins 5 year plan, and how it had a strong effect on the Ukraines. From Stalin's plan, in less than a year, over 100 people died from starvation. Stalin and his men were very forcefull, they set a quota for the amount of grain that needed to be produced that shift, and if it wasnt, they wouldnt eat or sleep until it was. One of the most terrifying aspects that these Ukraine's faced from this is the fact that they were being torutured by their own people.
"We had a communal farm in Ukraine attached to my regiment. Everything was fine until last year (1932). Then we began to get letters asking for food. We sent what we could, but I didn't discover what had happened until I went to the farm only a month ago (March 1933). My God, you wouldn't believe it. The people were starving. Their animals were dead. There wasn't even a cat or dog in the whole village, and that was no good sign. Instead of 250 families there were only 73, and all of them were half-starved. They told me their seed grain was taken away last spring. "The order came that our farm must deliver 500 tons of grain. We needed 400 tons to sow our fields, and we only had 600 tons. But we gave the grain as ordered." And remember, these folks weren't kulaks, weren't class enemies. They were our own people. I was horrified.'
Connection: This quote from a witness shows the harshness of Stalins 5 year plan, and how it had a strong effect on the Ukraines. From Stalin's plan, in less than a year, over 100 people died from starvation. Stalin and his men were very forcefull, they set a quota for the amount of grain that needed to be produced that shift, and if it wasnt, they wouldnt eat or sleep until it was. One of the most terrifying aspects that these Ukraine's faced from this is the fact that they were being torutured by their own people.
Primary Source 1
“A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic”- Stalin
Connection: This quote by Stalin shows how he didn't care about the amount of deaths he was causing. The also represents the cultural characteristics of the leaders of the Genocide, they showed no guilt for the millions of people killed. This characteristic is evident in all the Genocides, they can go ahead and kill millions of people without having any remorse for it. This shows how tragic Genocides are.
Connection: This quote by Stalin shows how he didn't care about the amount of deaths he was causing. The also represents the cultural characteristics of the leaders of the Genocide, they showed no guilt for the millions of people killed. This characteristic is evident in all the Genocides, they can go ahead and kill millions of people without having any remorse for it. This shows how tragic Genocides are.
primary source 2
“If the opposition disarms, well and good. If it refuses to disarm, we shall disarm it ourselves” - Stalin
Connection: This shows how strict Stalin was in running the Soviet Union he would go to extreme forces to complete his 5- Year plan. One of the biggest threats Stalin faced was from the Ukrainians who rebelled against his 5- year plan and wanted to remain independent, bourgeois nationalists. They were primarily the ones in his way of completing his goal, so this quote shows how he is more powerful than them and can eliminate them, if the need comes.
Connection: This shows how strict Stalin was in running the Soviet Union he would go to extreme forces to complete his 5- Year plan. One of the biggest threats Stalin faced was from the Ukrainians who rebelled against his 5- year plan and wanted to remain independent, bourgeois nationalists. They were primarily the ones in his way of completing his goal, so this quote shows how he is more powerful than them and can eliminate them, if the need comes.