S.A.K.A

This simple clover-headed memorial is dedicated to the seven million Ukrainians who died during the Holodomor (Death by Starvation) of 1932-33. When farmers of the Soviet Union refused to join the collective farms, Josef Stalin decided to “liquidate them as a class”. During the winter of 1929-30 hundreds of thousands were banished to the Arctic regions, where many perished. In 1932/3 Stalin’s totalitarian regime pursued a ruthless policy of grain procurement from Ukraine and other areas of the Soviet Union. 28 million tons of grain was exported to reach the Soviet’s political and industrial objectives. All grain to the very last was taken from the villages and the people were left to starve to death. On October 23rd 2008 the European Parliament adopted a resolution, which recognised the Holodomor as a crime against humanity. There is a permanent exhibit on the Holodomor at the Historical Museum.

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