Holodomor•Historical Outline (2)•Citizenship & Identity (20)

•Ukrainian Nationalism (22)•Soviet and Russian Nationalism (37)

•Foreign Policy (46)•Globalization (48)•Liberalism (50)•Historical Controversy (56)

Historical Outline

Russian Empire

Russian Empire• late to industrialization• late to democratic reform• citizens lacked rights enjoyed by most

Europeans

Czar Nicholas II• Russia not prepared for

WWI • problems on the front• food riots broke out in the

cities• forced to abdicate in early

1917

Bolsheviks and Lenin• overthrow provisional

government and take control in November 1917

Civil War • fighting takes place across the country

against many groups opposed to Bolsheviks• Bolsheviks ultimately win and consolidate

power

War Communism and Famine• no private property, • nationalization of all industry, • rationing of food • government monopoly on foreign

trade.• War Communism & severe drought

lead to 10 million deaths

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)• created in 1922 • Ukrainian Soviet Socialist

Republic (Ukrainian SSR) was one of the founding Republics

New Economic Policy• introduced by Lenin

to rejuvenate the economy• embraced by many in Ukraine

Joseph Stalin• ruled the Soviet Union

1928 - 1953• rejected the NEP• Stalinism was

characterized by terror and totalitarian rule

Five Year Plans• organized the economy• peasants forced to give up land

and join collective farms• goal was to quickly industrialize• needed to sell grain to buy parts

Peasants Reject Collectivization• many burn their crops and

livestock rather than hand them over 

Kulaks• Kulaks were the most

successful farmers under the New Economic Policy

• Bolsheviks knew they would be the strongest opponents of collectivization

• They were 'eliminated' as a social class 

Attack on Peasants• those resisting collectivization

are persecuted• Kulaks are arrested, exiled, sent

to prison, tortured or killed

Great Depression 1930s• hardship around the

world• wheat prices to drop • lower prices affected

the first Five Year Plan• government increased

quotas 

Food Becomes State Property• On August 7, 1932 a law

came into force that stipulated that all food was state property

• peasants unable to meet quotas were stripped of all foodstuffs

Starving Peasants• forbidden to take

food from the field• forbidden to flee the

region or leave the country

• shot for looking for food

Ukrainian Cities• also saw famine as

rations were cut off to many parts of the country

• urban workers were encouraged to see themselves as the leaders the revolution

Death By Famine• By 1933, 25,000 were

starving to death per day. Diseases were spreading 

• incidents of cannibalism • almost no one outside

Ukrainian SSR knew

Citizenship and Identity

Citizenship and Identity

Ukrainian Nationalism

Kieven Rus’• first Eastern Slavic state,

Kievan Rus’• late 9th to mid 13th centuries

Cossacks• large influence on

Ukrainian culture• Bohdan Khmelnytsky was a

famous Cossack who tried to unite Ukrainians

•  

Taras Shevchenko• a writer and artist who lived in the

1800s• helped form Ukrainian national

consciousness• inspired revival of Ukrainian culture.• called for more autonomy for the

regions • served time in jail for his beliefs.  • Today he has become an almost iconic

figure

Divided People• Prior to World War I, the area

that is now Ukrainian Republic was divided between the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires

• Successor States after the war did not include Ukraine

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)• created in 1922 • Ukrainian Soviet Socialist

Republic (Ukrainian SSR) was one of the founding Republics

The Polish–Ukrainian War• 1918 and 1919 • played a role in the

development of Ukrainian nationalism

• Ukraine was defeated• deepened feelings of

patriotism • Eastern Galicia later became

part of Ukrainian SSR and remains a part of the Ukrainian Republic today.

Expressions of Ukrainian National Culture• were allowed under

the policy of Korenization until 1930

Ukrainian National Orthodox Church• important national symbol

for Ukrainians• Created in the 1920s• Allowed to flourish to

undermine Russian Orthodox Church

Stalin reverses Korenization• state identifies

Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism as major problem

End of the Soviet Union• Fifteen new countries created

when Soviet Union disbanded at the end of 1991

• Ukraine becomes independent nation-state

Challenges of Independence• Orange Revolution in 2004-2005

Relationship to Russia• Ukrainians struggle to

define their relationship with Russia 

Ukraine Today• Orthodox Christianity • Eastern Catholicism• Both important influence on

culture

Ukrainian Cultural Practices• food preparation• embroidery• weaving• songs• stories• lace-making• pysanky• dance• music• "Razom nas bahato, nas

ne podolaty"

Russian and Soviet Nationalism/Ultra Nationalism and Ukraine

What is Ultranationalism?• authoritarian organizations/governments• anti-immigrant• scapegoating• indoctrination• propaganda

Russian Empire• Romanov Dynasty• Orthodox Church• Russification promoted

Russian Culture throughout the empire

Russian Empire

Communism and Internationalism• the new Soviet government was

united by ideology not ethnicity

Communism as basis for National Identity• Bolsheviks though

communism would spread around the world 

Sovietization• led to Russians

taking important positions

• elimination of any threats to government

Ukraine and Russia• a challenging relationship

Ukrainian SSR• lacked power• lacked influence

Foreign Policy • the actions a nation takes in relation to

other nation-states or international organizations

The Holodomor and Foreign Policy• What policies should Canada

and/or the international community have changed? 

• Could actions have been taken to prevent or lessen the effects of the Holodomor?  

• What principles should we follow in creating our foreign policies? 

• Does humanitarianism trump national sovereignty in the international system? 

• Is there a point at which the international community should intervene in the affairs of another country?  

• Who should make these decisions?

Globalization

Globalization • the process by

which the world’s citizens are becoming increasingly connected and interdependent  

• Bolsheviks tried to increase connectivity & interdependence among people of the Soviet Union

Principles of Liberalism• freedom• equal rights• liberal democracy• liberal democracy• free and fair elections• human rights• capitalism• free trade• freedom of religion

Classical Liberalism and Russia• Russia was slow to

embrace liberal ideas and principles

Russia and Liberalism• Russians have never been exposed to liberal

principles for a long period• Many Russians demanded a move toward liberal

principles after the 1905 uprising

Totalitarian Communism• rejection of liberalism

To what extent should the government be involved in the economy?

Communism• government control of the

means of production

Historical Controversy• Was the Soviet

government intent on destroying Ukrainian nationalism?

• Should the victims of the Holodomor be seen as primarily Ukrainians or as peasants?

• How many people actually died in Ukraine during the Holodomor?

• How many people died in other Soviet Republics during this time due to collectivization?

• What motivated the decisions of the central government / Stalin?

Consensus• a famine occurred in

Ukraine between 1932-33

• the primary cause was forced collectivization

• most of the victims were ethnic Ukrainian

Genocide• the deliberate and

systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, Race (classification of humans), religious, or national group

Raphael Lemkin• developed and

promoted concept of genocide

The HolodomorWas a Genocide Was Not a Genocide

•government’s attack on political, cultural and religious elites•the government’s destruction of the Ukrainian churches•policies aimed specifically at Ukraine that removed foodstuffs from starving peasants•the dispersion of Ukrainians to other parts of the Soviet Union•huge influx of Russians to Ukrainian SSR•government’s stated policy of elimination of the Kulaks as a social class and the categorization of so many Ukrainians as Kulaks

•millions of non-Ukrainian Soviet citizens also died during the famine•disregard for the lives of the people in the pursuit of economic goals•Soviet Union saw such tremendous loss of life in its first 30 years due to the totalitarianism and the Holodomor is best interpreted as part of this•Stalin alone is believed to be responsible for at least 20 million Soviet citizens – some estimates go as high as 60 million

Recognition of the Holodomor• 2006 - Ukrainian parliament

pass law recognizing Holodomor as genocide

• 2008 -European  Parliament recognizes Holodomor as crime against humanity