[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 13 (Monday, January 28, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REMEMBERING THE UKRAINIAN FAMINE

  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I wish to remember the trials faced by 
the Ukrainian people and to pay tribute to their fortitude and love of 
freedom. At times in its history, Ukraine has been exploited and 
suffered greatly under repressive occupations. The Stalinist regime of 
the former Soviet Union sought to maintain control of the people and 
resources of the Ukraine through vicious oppression. The Ukrainian 
people have weathered many trials, but they have always fought for 
their freedom. It is my belief that as we embrace Ukraine's future, we 
must always remember the hardships of its past.
  The Ukrainian peasantry rebelled against the collectivization 
policies imposed on them by the Stalinist regime starting in 1925. It 
is documented that very few farmers voluntarily joined collectives 
until Soviet secret police and Bolshevik brigades were sent to crush 
the resistance. As agricultural production fell in 1932 due to drought 
and these Stalinist policies, the regime attempted to maintain its 
export level. To do this the regime brutally confiscated grain and 
foodstuffs from hunger-stricken villages. Trade and supplies of food 
and goods were banned from those villages which were considered to be 
``underperforming,'' while families who resisted were banished to 
central Asia. The totalitarian regime meted out harsh sentences, even 
the death penalty, against those who stole even small amounts of grain. 
We can never forget that over 2,000 innocent people, including children 
as young as 12 years old, were executed under this law.
  In 1932, Stalin imposed barricades throughout the USSR to prevent 
peasants from fleeing those regions stricken by famine. It was a state-
organized program of mass starvation against the nation of Ukraine as a 
whole and the revived Ukrainian nationalism. It had been inflicted on 
them deliberately to punish Ukraine and destroy the basis of its 
nationhood. The famine-genocide of the Holodomor resulted in the tragic 
and unforgettable loss of millions of Ukrainian lives. Nevertheless, 
the Stalinist regime denied reports of mass deaths and forbade travel 
to the area to deter foreign journalists from reporting on these 
terrible crimes. In fact, these horrible crimes remained largely 
unknown to the broader world for decades as a result of the denials and 
coverups of the Soviet authorities and their refusal of offers of 
international aid.
  Through its determination to remember the victims of the famine and 
Soviet oppression, the Ukrainian American community has helped to bring 
these events to light. Their efforts have helped to give a voice to the 
millions of people who suffered, starved, and died as a result of a 
flawed policy and authoritarian regime.
  On the 75th anniversary of the Ukrainian famine-genocide, we must 
continue the important work of the Ukrainian American community by 
remembering the cruel injustices suffered by the Ukrainian people 
during that part of history. By so doing, we are not only honoring the 
millions of victims of this oppression, but we are helping to prevent a 
tragedy like this from happening again in the future.

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