The 4th Saturday of the month of November each year is observed as Holodomor Remembrance Day.

If you are an America reading this, there is an extremely high chance you’ve never even heard about Holodomor, as they don’t teach this part of history in American schools. So I am hoping to spread awareness to my small corner of the world wide web.

– First, I need to say, absolutely none of these photos below are mine. I have given credit where credit is due under each photo, and I greatly appreciate these historical archives being available online to the public. –

Holodomor (which in Ukrainian language means “death inflicted by starvation”) was the man-made famine from 1932-1933 led by Josef Stalin, killing millions of Ukrainians by starvation in order to keep Ukraine from gaining independence as a nation. Ukraine had built a reputation of resistance to Soviet Rule and Stalin saw that as a threat to the Soviet Regime, fearing a Ukrainian Counter-Revolution. Since the easiest way to control a person/people is by their controlling their food, Stalin began depriving the Ukrainian people –  especially the farmers which consisted of 80% of Ukraine’s population – of food. Controlling their food supply gave the government complete control of every aspect of their lives. Starving people don’t have the energy they need to fight back.

First: he decreed the collectivisation of agriculture, which gave the Soviet State direct control over all of Ukraine’s rich resources for agricultural (it is know as the Bread Basket of the world), as well as the complete control over the supply of grain. With the intention of wiping out the Ukrainian nation, Stalin put unrealistic quotas on grain procurement, and decreed that anyone, even a child, would be shot or imprisoned for at least 10 years if being caught stealing any “socialist property,” aka food, even a crumb. In 1933, nearly 55,000 Ukrainians had been tried & sentenced for this act, and at least 2,000 were executed for it.

The majority of poor Ukrainian farmers resisted collectivisation & taxation. Many Ukrainians participated in resistance protests. Tens of thousands of farmers were arrested, shot, or sent to labor camps for protesting. They were forced to surrender their farms, livestock, and tools to the Soviet Authorities then forced to work on collective farms instead.

The farmers who happened to be rich or successful (labeled as Kulaks) where declared lazy enemies of the state and were to be eliminated by deportation or execution. This was meant to serve as a warning to anyone who opposed, a way to transfer confiscated land to the collective farms, and to eliminate both private ownership & independent leadership of villages.

In 1933, Ukraine’s borders were shut down, preventing anyone from leaving to find food. Even though the borders were sealed, some Ukrainians did manage to flee to Poland. Next, the Soviet State began a system of internal passports. All farmers were denied this passport, therefore unable to travel or obtain tickets for the train. The same restrictions were put in place for the region of Kuban in Russia (which is on the Ukrainian border) and had the highest percentage of Ukrainian population outside of Ukraine.

If farmers didn’t meet their unrealistic quotas, their village became blacklisted. Blacklisted villages were baracaded and denied from receiving supplies. It was a mass death sentence punishment on the entire village.

The government authorities raided villages, homes, & barns; breaking their walls, digging into their grounds, and destroying everything in their path in order to destroy or confiscate every last handful of food anyone was attempting to hide. In order to survive, they were forced in situations where they had to eat anything they could to survive, including turning to cannibalism.

In 1932, the Soviet State extracted enough grain to feed at least 12 million people for an entire year, while starving every Ukrainian in the process. In 1933, there was still enough reserves to feed at least 10 million people, while roughly 28,000 Ukrainians died daily from starvation.

In order to conceal this event, fake villages (called Potemkin Villages) were set up for foreign visitors, specifically Westerners. Travel by foreigners was already restricted to certain areas with Government Official escorts only prior to Holodomor, so creating the facade of these Potemkin Villages was simple & unquestioned. These villages were set up with fake food & items to make the village look prosperous. Any destitute villagers were replaced with plump Party members & professional actors, playing their roles to make sure any Westerners don’t have any suspensions, and it worked. The Americans easily fell for it. The true citizens were hidden & forbidden from appearing in public during these visits. The Westerners would come back & report this false reality to the rest of the world, thus further covering up the facade without even knowing it. The Interview with Seth Rogan & James Franco potrays this exactly, except set in modern times in North Korea.

The United States knew Stalin’s famine was taking place and decided to turn a blind eye to it for their own benefit since they were receiving lucrative trade deals while Stalin prepared to industrialize & modernize the Soviet Union.

Until 1991, when Ukraine gained its independence, there was strict Soviet Law that use of the word “famine” was banned in all documents, records, and accounts. Up until this point, all records including recorded eyewitness accounts had been inaccessible. They banned Ukrainians from speaking about this event, both during & after it happened. The Soviet authorities did everything they could to cover up this genocide. They hid & denied it. When “rumors” began spreading of famine by Ukrainians who had successfully fled, the authorities refused aid, insisting there was no famine, just “food difficulties” and “partical crop failures,” and no one needed any help. Any discussion of this event or who/what caused it was forbidden by any press. The media would vigorously attack anyone who attempted to speak out about the event, silencing their voice & turning everyone in the media against them. The Government cancelled the Visas of any journalist they felt wasn’t loyal enough to the Soviet Regime, but if they wrote positively about it, they were given special privileges & “rewards.” Famous writers were influenced by the Soviet Authorities to spread disinformation, especially to the West. The Soviet Embassies around the world were ordered to deny the event as well, claiming the “rumors” of famine were mere attempts to “slander the USSR.” Everyone complied, out of fear, until 1986 when Ukrainian poet & activist, Ivan Drach, spoke publicly about it for the first time. He wanted everyone to know how dangerous Official Silence is. It wasn’t until 1991 when surviving victims began sharing their truths & grieving.

George Orwell also wrote about Holodomor in his novel, Animal Farm. 5000 copied were originally printed, but at least 3000 of those copies were confiscated & destroyed by both American and Soviet Authorities because they were considered “propaganda.” In 1947, Animal Farm was translated into Ukrainian language by Ihor Shevchenko, called Kolhosp Tvaryn which translates to “A Collective Farm of Animals,” putting Stalin’s Collective Farms on the cover of the book. The Ukrainian version included a letter from George Orwell to the Ukrainian refugees. Copies of this version were passed around between Ukrainian Revolutionaries.

Like all Ukrainians, I hold this event dear in my heart. Since I was a very little girl I was always very sympathetic for people facing food insecurity. I wanted to help them – however that may be to a child. I have fond memories of volunteering at a food bank with my school. I remember preparing, packaging, and serving those in need out of a little window downtown. As a child from well-to-do parents, that experience greatly shaped my view of food-insecurity. I saw a very real world outside of my own safe bubble. Maybe it is why when the Ukrainian Refugees began arriving in Cincinnati, I made it my personal mission to help them find food. My Ukrainian heart has generational memories ingrained from my ancestors struggles through this major food-driven genocide. Maybe it is why food is my love language. Maybe it is why I have felt such a strong need to stockpile & preserve food for my family, especially over the last few years as food insecurity in America is at an all time high (and the basic survival skills of the average American is at an all time low thanks to the convenience lifestyle), preparing us with knowledge & skills to survive off the land. Maybe it is why I was born with a strong spirit & veins that run deep with resistance to our own government, censorship, & injustices, especially how destitute people are treated here in America today. Our passions & callings in life are by design, they aren’t random. I wasn’t stamped at birth, I was stamped before I even existed. 

In the month of November, while you are giving Thanks & enjoying your feasts, please keep the victims of Holodomor in your hearts. Honor them at your tables. Keep their memory alive. Remember how truly blessed you are to have a meal in front of you.

In this month, I am hoping to plan a day trip to visit the Holodomor Memorial with my children in Cleveland – Ohio’s largest Ukrainian population. Maybe my Ukrainian family there will join us. I would love that, although I’m not 100% sure yet if I can make this trip happen.

If you feel called, please reach out to a local Food Bank or Homeless Shelter to volunteer & help others that are currently facing food insecurity. If your schedule doesn’t allow for that, consider donating food items instead. Food Banks are especially busy during the holiday months, and already haven’t been able to keep up with the rapidly growing amounts of families currently struggling with food. They need your help now more than ever.

Go ever further and share a meal with the homeless. Sit down and eat with them. Listen to their stories. If you are in the Cincinnati area, you can do this at City Gospel Mission. It’s a great volunteer opportunity as an entire family.

I hope you learned something new about History today and feel inspired to help others currently facing food insecurity and/or begin learning skills surrounding food security & self-sufficiency for yourself and family. Learn skills for preventing food waste. Challenge yourself to a no-waste November.

I hope you are also inspired to stand up for the current injustices in the world revolving around food and continue sharing about the genocides & injustices in the past so they do not go forgotten. The past is doomed to repeat if the people don’t learn the REAL truth. The truth that isn’t taught in American schools. The truth they don’t want the citizens to know. Fight against all government censorship, do not support it in any way. Nothing good comes from censorship. Please understand that the governments are completely willing to starve us into submission for their own gains. Fight against all government that puts & keeps their own people in poverty. It’s unconscionable. And it’s not a far-fetched conspiracy, it’s currently happening in America.

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov