In Ukraine, every year on the fourth Saturday of November, the victims of the Holodomor-genocide of 1932-1933 and mass artificial famines of 1921-1923 and 1946-1947 are commemorated. Currently, the commemoration is held on November 25.
On this day, at 4:00 p.m., there will be a nationwide "Light a candle" action and a moment of silence for the millions who died as a result of the Holodomor and artificial famines.
The National Holodomor Genocide Museum will be open in Kyiv from 12:00 to 18:00. There you can bring cans for trench candles, thermal underwear, warm socks, chemical heaters, new yarn for socks, tea, coffee, dry cookies and childrenʼs drawings. They will be collected by volunteers for the military.
Mass events for Memorial Day are limited due to martial law. Commemoration of the victims of the Holodomor-genocide is now held under the slogan "We remember. We unite. We will win!".
What is the Holodomor?
The Holodomor of 1932-1933 was an artificial mass famine that led to millions of human casualties in the countryside on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR. Then 7 million people died of hunger. In Ukraine and the world, the Holodomor is perceived as an act of genocide of the Ukrainian people, inspired by the government of the USSR. In 1928, the Soviet authorities introduced forced grain harvesting, when all or most of the grain was taken from farmers at significantly reduced prices. At the same time, the "liquidation" of the wealthiest farms and collectivization took place. Due to inefficient collective farm management and the onset of famine in Ukraine, opposition to the totalitarian regime grew. In the seven months of 1932, 56% of all anti-government demonstrations in the USSR took place in the country. Then the Soviet authorities decided to organize an artificial famine in order to reduce the resistance of the population by destroying part of it.
- In 2006, Ukraine recognized the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide of the Ukrainian people.
- In 2016, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appealed to democratic states to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide of the Ukrainian people.
- Before the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, a number of states had already recognized the Holodomor as a genocide of Ukrainians, including Australia, Georgia, Ecuador, Estonia, Canada, Colombia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, the USA, Hungary, Portugal, and the Vatican.
- In 2022-2023, the process of recognizing the Holodomor as a genocide intensified — it was recognized by the Czech Republic, Belgium, Moldova, Ireland, Germany, Bulgaria, Iceland, France, Slovenia, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Croatia, Italy, 34 US states, as well as the European Parliament and PACE.