Soviet famine of 1932-1933

The Soviet famine of 1932-1933 affected most major grain-producing areas of the Soviet Union: Ukraine, Northern Caucasus, Volga Region [ Viktor Kondrashin Famine 1932-33 in Volga villages, first published in 1991. [http://www.scepsis.ru/library/id_459.html] ] , South Urals, West Siberia [ Famine on the South Siberia [http://www.philosophy.nsc.ru/journals/humscience/2_98/15-MAL.HTM] ] and Kazakhstan [ Demographic aftermath of the famine in Kazakhstan [http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2003/0101/analit02.php] ] . The manifestation of this famine in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic is referred to as Holodomor. Unlike the previous similar famine, the information about the famine of 1932-1934 was suppressed in the Soviet Union until perestroika.

Estimation of the loss of life

* Encyclopædia Britannica estimates that six to eight million people died in the Soviet Union, about four to five million of whom were Ukrainians. [cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-275913/Ukraine |title=Ukraine - The famine of 1932–33 |accessdate=2008-06-26 |work=Encyclopædia Britannica ]
* Robert Conquest estimated at least 7 million peasants deaths in 1932-1933 (5 million in Ukraine; 1 million in the North Caucasus, and 1 million elsewhere) Robert Conquest (1986) "The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine". Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-505180-7, page 306.] . He estimated total number of peasant dead in 1930-1937 as 14.5 million, only 3.5 million of whom have been arrested and died in the imprisonment. Of the total of 14.5 million:
** Dead as a result of dekulakization - 6.5 million
** Dead in Kazakh catastrophe - 1 million
** Dead in 1932-1933 famine - 7 million
* The Black Book of Communism estimates 6 million deaths in 1932-1933.
* The 2004 book "The Years of Hunger: Soviet Agriculture, 1931-1933" by R.W. Davies and S.G. Wheatcroft, gives an estimate of around 6 million deaths. [Davies and Wheatcroft, p. 401. For a review, see [http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/faculty/harrison/reviews/davies-wheatcroft2004.pdf] ]
* Another study [cite journal| last = Ellman| first = Michael | title = The Role of Leadership Perceptions and of Intent in the Soviet Famine of 1931 – 1934| journal = Europe-Asia Studies | volume = 57 | issue = 6 | pages = 823-841 | publisher = Routledge | date = 2005-09 | url = http://www.paulbogdanor.com/ellman.pdf | format = PDF | accessdate = 2008-07-04 ] using data given by Davies and Wheatcroft estimates "‘about eight and a half million’ victims of famine and repression" "combined" in the period 1930-1933.

ee also

*Dust Bowl
*Holodomor

Notes

References

* [http://sovietinfo.tripod.com/WCR-Scale_Repression.pdf More light on the scale of repression and excess mortality in the Soviet Union in the 1930s] , by S. G. Wheatcroft, "Soviet Studies" April 1990.
* [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a793325392~db=all~jumptype=rss The Soviet Famine of 1932-1933 Reconsidered] , by Hiroaki Kuromiya, "Europe-Asia Studies", Volume 60, Issue 4 June 2008 , pages 663 - 675.
* [http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=3838 The Soviet Famine of 1931-33: Politically Motivated or Ecological Disaster?] , Carla Thorson, UCLA International Institute, May 5 2003.
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/26/AR2008042602039.html Aftermath of a Soviet Famine] , "Washington Post", April 27, 2008.