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Saturday, November 24, 2007


Ukraine Remembers the Holodomor

Today, Ukraine remembers the victims of the Holodomor, Stalin's genocidal famine that collectivized the breadbasket of Europe into the graveyard of 7 to 10 million Ukrainians in 1932-33.

The "Light a Candle" remembrance ceremony held at the Holodomor Memorial on Mykhailvska Ploshcha (Square) was attended by thousands of Ukrainians. In memory of the victims, they lighted 33 thousand candles.

Having skipped the official part of the ceremony, I made my way to Mykhailvska Ploshcha.


The funicular had a busy day


The EU-aspiring Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs overlooks Mykhailvska Ploshcha


Mykhailvska Ploshcha












Dressed in black are cadets of the Ivan Bohun Military Lyceum








Ukraine remembers! The Holodomor of 1932-33 was the genocide of the Ukrainian people.
At the background is Mykhailivsky Zlatoverkhy Monastyr, or St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral


Light a candle in the window!










A cross of candles





The Monument to Princess Olha










Candles line up Mykhalivska Ploshcha

On my walk back home, I checked the windows in my neighborhood and counted more than twenty candlelights. Last year, I counted less than ten.

Slowly but surely Ukrainians gain awareness of their past. Slowly but surely the windows of their souls open to
Soviet crimes against humanity, crimes that must be remembered and not repeated.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for all the photographs and video. Very moving. Thank you.

Luida

Anonymous said...

And slowly but surely, people become less afraid to speak out about the horror that, according to some rooskie "brethren," "did not happen."

Taras said...

Thank you, guys!

It did happen. And I know a few Russians who feel the same way, too. So far, only a few, unfortunately. The bolder we are in confronting our past, the better future we build.

Anonymous said...

There is no doubt in my mind that Russia (aka: Soviet Government) attempted to commit silent genocide against Ukrainian people through blockade of food. I wonder: how could Soviet government do such disgusting activities and sit silent while Ukrainian children were crying for food? What is wrong with humanity? Can anyone please explain me, because I simply don't get it. How many Ukrainian children died? Do Russians even care?

May their souls rest in peace. Ukrainian people were innocent victims of planned genocide.

Daniel

Taras said...

Thank you for your warm words, Daniel. Your nation knows about genocide from firsthand experience, not from CNN reports. Your nation knows how the UN takes care of numero uno.

The Kremlin waited until they died. That was the idea: to starve the farmers — the cultural and political backbone of the Ukrainian nation — and thus pave the way for further collectivization and Sovietization. As of today, most Russians don’t seem to care, along with millions of Sovietized Ukrainians.

There is no complete list of the victims. Scholars make demographic estimates based on Soviet censuses. Life was the cheapest commodity in the Soviet Union, cheap enough to make related paperwork unnecessary.

Pawlina said...

The bolder we are in confronting our past, the better future we build.

Bingo. Just be vigilant, and aware of those who refuse to learn from the past.