Forced industrialisation
In 1928 the USSR began the first Five-Year Plan. The goal: build heavy industry (steel, coal, machines, power stations) very fast. In Ukraine this meant new giants such as the Dnipro hydroelectric station (Dniprohes, 1932) and big factories in Kharkiv and the Donbas.
The state had little money, so it paid for foreign machines by selling grain and raw materials. Workers were pushed to meet high targets. The money came from the villages, so farmers paid the price of factory growth.
Collectivisation and resistance
Collectivisation (from 1929) forced farmers to give up their land, animals and tools and join a collective farm (kolkhoz). The state could then take grain from one big unit more easily.
Better-off farmers, called kulaks by the authorities, were attacked as "enemies" and many were deported or lost everything (dekulakisation).
Resistance: farmers wrote protests, rose in local revolts, hid grain, and killed animals rather than hand them over. The state answered with force and fear.
The Holodomor, 1932-33
In 1932 the state set grain quotas that were too high for Ukraine's poor harvest. When villages could not meet them, grain and even other food was taken, villages that failed were put on "blacklists", and in early 1933 travel out of the hungry villages was blocked. Help from outside was refused and the famine was officially denied.
An estimated 3.5 to 5 million people died in Ukraine; scholars give different numbers. The Kuban and Kazakhstan also suffered terrible famines.
Genocide? The word genocide was created by Raphael Lemkin, who linked it to the attack on Ukrainian villages and culture. Ukraine and many other countries officially call the Holodomor a genocide. Some historians debate the legal word, but there is wide agreement that the famine was caused by state policy and was made worse by deliberate choices.
Today the fourth Saturday of November is a day of remembrance.
Great Terror and the "Executed Renaissance"
In 1937-38 the Great Terror arrested and executed hundreds of thousands across the USSR, often after unfair trials. In Ukraine, many party members, army officers and common people were taken.
In the 1920s there was a lively Ukrainian cultural revival (writers, painters, theatre, films). Most of that generation was arrested, sent to camps or shot in the 1930s. That is why it is called the "Executed Renaissance". Writers such as Mykola Kulish and Valerian Pidmohylnyi and the theatre director Les Kurbas are examples.
Russification, religious persecution and everyday life 1921-1939
Russification means pressing people to use the Russian language and culture. In the 1920s the policy of Ukrainisation helped Ukrainian schools and books. From 1933 it was reversed: Ukrainian spelling was changed, books were removed and Russian was favoured.
Religious persecution: the Soviet state promoted atheism. The independent Ukrainian Orthodox church was forced to dissolve in 1930, many priests were jailed, and thousands of churches were closed or turned into stores and clubs.
Daily life: in the 1920s the New Economic Policy allowed small private trade. In the 1930s there were ration cards, crowded shared flats, long shifts, youth groups, radio and cinema, and constant fear of being denounced. Villagers worked for "workday" credits on the kolkhoz and were not given internal passports, so they could not easily move to cities.
Key formulas and definitions
- Industrialisation + collectivisation + grain quotas โ famine (1932-33)
- Holodomor = holod (hunger) + mor (killing / plague)
- Years to remember: 1928 plan ยท 1929 collectivisation ยท 1932-33 Holodomor ยท 1937-38 Great Terror
Worked examples
1. A village harvests 12 units of grain and the quota is 60%. How much stays? Is that enough if villagers need 8?
Taken = 60% of 12 = 7.2. Left = 12 โ 7.2 = 4.8 units. 4.8 < 8, so there is not enough. This is how high quotas lead to hunger.
2. Why did the state sell grain abroad in the early 1930s?
To pay for foreign machines for new factories under the Five-Year Plan. Money was taken from villages to pay for industry.
3. Why is the 1920s writers' generation called the "Executed Renaissance"?
It was a bright revival (renaissance) of Ukrainian literature and art, and most of its leading people were arrested or shot in the 1930s.
Common mistakes
- Saying the famine was only caused by bad weather. The harvest was poor, but the high quotas, seizures and travel bans turned it into a famine that policy made worse.
- Mixing up the dates: Holodomor is 1932-33; the Great Terror is 1937-38.
- Thinking only Ukraine suffered. Other regions (Kazakhstan, Kuban, Volga) also had famines, but in Ukraine it hit the villages hardest and came with an attack on culture.
- Thinking collectivisation was voluntary. People were pressed by force, taxes and fear.