[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S11286]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 122--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE CONGRESS 
 RELATIVE TO THE 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UKRAINIAN FAMINE OF 1932-1933

  Mr. LEVIN submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 122

       Whereas this year marks the 65th anniversary of the 
     Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933 that caused the deaths of at 
     least 7,000,000 Ukrainians and that was covered up and 
     officially denied by the government of the former Soviet 
     Union;
       Whereas millions of Ukrainians died, not by natural causes 
     such as pestilence, drought, floods, or a poor harvest, but 
     by policies designed to punish Ukraine for its aversion and 
     opposition to the government of the former Soviet Union's 
     oppression and imperialism, including the forced 
     collectivization of agriculture;
       Whereas when Ukraine was famine-stricken, the government of 
     the former Soviet Union exported 1,700,000 tons of grain to 
     the West while offers from international relief organizations 
     to assist the starving population were rejected on the 
     grounds that there was no famine in Ukraine and no need for 
     the assistance;
       Whereas the borders of Ukraine were tightly controlled and 
     starving Ukrainians were not allowed to cross into Russian 
     territory in search of bread;
       Whereas in his book ``The Harvest of Sorrow'', British 
     historian Robert Conquest explains, ``A quarter of the rural 
     population, men, women, and children, lay dead or dying, the 
     rest in various stages of debilitation with no strength to 
     bury their families or neighbors.'';
       Whereas the Commission on the Ukraine Famine was 
     established on December 13, 1985, to conduct a study with the 
     goal of expanding the world's knowledge and understanding of 
     the famine and to expose the government of the former Soviet 
     Union for its atrocities in the famine;
       Whereas the Commission's report to Congress confirmed that 
     the government of the former Soviet Union consciously 
     employed the brutal policy of forced famine to repress the 
     Ukrainian population and to oppress the Ukrainians' 
     inviolable religious and political rights; and
       Whereas the Commission on the Ukraine Famine presented 4 
     volumes of findings and conclusions, 10 volumes of archival 
     material, and over 200 cassettes of testimony from famine 
     survivors to the newly independent Government of Ukraine in 
     1993, during the official observances of the 60th anniversary 
     of the Ukrainian famine in Kyiv, Ukraine: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring),

     SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the victims of the government of the former Soviet 
     Union-engineered Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933 be solemnly 
     remembered on its 65th anniversary;
       (2) the Congress condemns the systematic disregard for 
     human life, human rights, human liberty, and self-
     determination that characterized the repressive policies of 
     the government of the former Soviet Union during the 
     Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933;
       (3) on the 65th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine of 
     1932-1933, in contrast to the policies of the government of 
     the former Soviet Union, Ukraine is moving toward democracy, 
     a free-market economy, and full respect for human rights, and 
     it is essential that the United States continue to assist 
     Ukraine as it proceeds down this path; and
       (4) any supplemental material that will assist in the 
     dissemination of information about the Ukrainian Famine of 
     1932-1933, and thereby help to prevent similar future 
     tragedies, be compiled and made available worldwide for the 
     study of the devastation of the famine.

     SEC. 2. TRANSMITTAL OF THE RESOLUTION.

       The Secretary of the Senate shall--
       (1) transmit a copy of this resolution to--
       (A) the President;
       (B) the Secretary of State; and
       (C) the co-chairs of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus; 
     and
       (2) request that the Secretary of State transmit a copy of 
     this resolution to the Government of Ukraine.

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, today I submit a resolution 
commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-
1933. During the period 1932-1993, the repressive policies of the 
government of the former Soviet Union, directed by Joseph Stalin, led 
to the deaths of at least seven million Ukrainians. Stalin's war on the 
Ukraine sought to eradicate its unique religious, cultural and 
political characteristics for the purpose of achieving complete Soviet 
domination.
  For the most part, the famine and its victims can be traced to the 
forced collectivization of agricultural production. Collectivization 
was central to Stalin's efforts to break the will of the Ukrainian 
land-owning peasants and a conscious part of his plan to bring about an 
end to Ukrainian nationalism, ultimately leading to total Communist 
control. Stalin's forced collectivization of agriculture changed the 
face of Ukraine. Stalin repeatedly raised the quota productions for 
agriculture, so much so that the vast majority of Ukrainian 
agricultural production was being transferred from the region. These 
increased production quotas for exports depleted the amount of food for 
the people of Ukraine. The quota increases began a vicious cycle of 
less food which led to the exhaustion of farm workers, which in turn 
led to even smaller harvests and ultimately famine. Harvest yields were 
further diminished when the peasants were forced to abandon their 
accustomed ways of farming and use collectivized farming techniques.
  During this period, food became so scarce that people were left to 
scavenge for what little they could find. There are horrible accounts 
of people being sentenced to death for stealing sheaves of corn. The 
fields once owned and worked by the peasants were now supervised by 
armed guards, while an environment of suspicion and fear consumed the 
Ukrainian people. Individuals who did not quickly show the signs of 
starvation were often accused of hoarding food. At the same time that 
the Ukrainian people were risking their lives for the smallest amount 
of food to sustain themselves and their families, the Soviet Union was 
denying that there was a crisis and refusing to allow assistance from 
international relief organizations to be delivered in the region. 
Throughout this turbulent period, Stalin further exacerbated the 
situation by working to turn Ukrainians against one another. The famine 
followed an assault on the Kulaks, or petty bourgeoisie, and a purge of 
the Ukrainian intelligentsia.
  While this tragic period of Ukrainian history is often difficult to 
revisit, we must do so in order to ensure that the world will not to 
endure a tragedy such as this again. When children in the United States 
study the dark periods of human history, it is important that the 
Ukrainian famine of 1932-1933 be included. It is also important to note 
that despite the tragedy the people of Ukraine endured at the hands of 
Stalin's government and many years of Soviet domination, Ukraine has 
re-emerged with its vibrant cultural and religious traditions intact 
and strong.
  Mr. President, I am proud to sponsor this resolution commemorating 
the 65th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine and I urge all Senators to 
show their support.

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