ukraine: kyiv: remembering the Holodomor

Now that I'm aware of the annual memorial, I try to attend the ceremony honoring the Holodomor every year. It takes place in cities across Ukraine on the fourth Saturday of every November.

This year I was in Kyiv, so I took the metro and walked to the Holodomor memorial mid afternoon.

I know I've mentioned this event in previous posts, but since it isn't well known (or even known at all,) outside of Ukraine, I'll repeat some of the information. I don't know how many people, if anyone, read this, but this is a part of history that should be known.

Back in the 1930s, when Stalin was forcing Communism and commual life on everyone in the Soviet Union, one of the ways he did so was to set grain quotas for every region. That amount of grain was put into government silos, and was not available for people to eat. That amount of grain was often exported. These quotas were often set much too high, even though agriculturalists knew such production wasn't possible.

During the winter of 1932-1933, there was a famine. This was almost entirely for man made reasons, though the Soviet government of the time tried to blame it on bad weather. Yes, the weather during the growing season wasn't nearly as good as usual, but if the grain in the silos had been released to the people, there wouldn't have been a problem. Instead, the grain was held in the silos, and even exported, though people were starving to death.

The borders of the country were closed, so people weren't able to travel to get help, or to share the story. It's horrific.

The official numbers of how many people died vary, and are generally considered to be much lower than the actual number of people who died. I think a middle number is around 7 million, though I've seen as high as 12 million.

Each time I come to this event I'm amazed at the level of security. The president usually gives a short speech, which would require a LOT more security if this were something the American president attended.

I was able to arrive, go through a very old school metal detector, and have someone take a quick glance into my purse. Then I was in the crowd!

To remember the Holodomor, Ukrainians bring the usual flowers and candles, but they also bring loaves of bread and shafts of wheat. After the speeches (by the president and a priest,) people process forward to lay their offerings on and around the memorial. It's somber, and heartbreaking.

Almost every year this time of year is when it first starts to get cold, and I always end up shivering. I have a heated apartment to go home to, with plenty of food. I can't imagine how awful it must've been during the years of starvation.

Never forget.