Advantages and Faults in the Holodomor Theme Explaining by Foreign Researchers

Author

Stasiuk Olesia

a Ph.D. in History, a Director General of the National Museum Holodomor Victims Memorial

Advantages and Faults in the Holodomor Theme Explaining by Foreign Researchers

Abstract

The publication of Red Famine. Stalin’s War on Ukraine by Anne Applebaum affirms the increase of foreign researches attention to the Holodomor theme. However, in spite of numerous positive comments on the book, a lot of inexactitudes and facts manipulations have been detected in it.

In particular, some information contradicts the data of historical and demographic studies. The incomprehension of a complete historical context, the adduction of individual facts for wide conclusions, the events description in an arbitrary order, etc. are the conspicuous phenomena. Also the mutually warring statements occur. Anne Applebaum objects the use of famine in 1921–1923 for the suppression of the peasants resistance to the communist regime, and cites V. Lenin, whose words confirm the crime, at the same time.

Moreover, the authoress uses doubtful sources (for instance, the books about collectivization written by P. Angelina, who is the heroine of the Soviet ideological myth), and does not show critical approach to many archival documents, denying the authenticity of O Honcharenko reminiscencesies, who is the events onlooker. The references to the certain important scientific works on the Holodomor are missing in the book.

The main fault of the book is that Anne Applebaum analyzes Holodomor in considerably narrower chronological limits than it is proved by historians after the documents and eyewitnesses words. The researcher objects the genocidal nature of Holodomor. At first, she calls it a part of the all-Union famine. Secondly, the Holodomor discrepancy to United Nations Convention is affirmed. Its text differs from R. Lemkin Genocide conception. Futhermore, there is the hint on some Ukrainian connections influence on R. Lemkin definition of this concept. Besides, the Red Famine authoress denies the artificial nature of Holodomor and calls it the tragedy, but not the crime.

Speaking about the book advantages, it should be mentioned that the work belongs to the scientific and publicistic genres. Then it will assist to inform a wide range of common readers about Holodomor, but not only highly specialized experts. The authority echo trap should be emphasized. It is especially dangerous for Ukrainian scientists. The admiration of the fact that the foreign researcher is interested in

Holodomor subject prevents the unprejudiced estimation of the work concerning the authenticity of the facts and judgements, presented in it.

Keywords

Holodomor of 1932–1933, Genocide, repressions, manipulations, mass rebellions, dekulakization.

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