Holodomor recognized 91 years later at Saskatchewan legislature

Regina's Holodomor memorial is a reproduction of the statue “Bitter Memories of Childhood,” by Preto Drozdowsky. The original is located in Kyiv. (Katy Syrota/CTV News)

A special service was held at Saskatchewan’s Legislative Building Tuesday – commemorating the millions who died during the 1932-33 famine in Ukraine.

The word “Holodomor” means “extermination by hunger” in Ukrainian. The service in the provincial capital was held in solidarity with Holodomor Memorial Week.

A candle was lit and will remain lit throughout the week to represent unity across the globe in remembering the famine – which is often referred to as a genocide.

The crisis was driven by the collectivization of farming in the Soviet Union in 1929 by Joseph Stalin. The process forced peasants to relinquish their land and personal property – leading to many rebellions and armed uprisings.

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A set of policies were instituted which saw grain stores confiscated by the state and the sealing of Ukraine’s borders to prevent citizens from leaving their communities in search of food.

According to the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies – 40 per cent of the harvest in Ukraine was handed over to the government in 1932 – leaving little for farming families to survive.

It’s estimated that anywhere from four to seven million Ukrainians perished during the famine.

However, the real number may never be known, due to incomplete records and a sustained effort to cover up the tragedy by the Soviet government of the period.

International Holodomor Day is recognized on the fourth Saturday of November.

According to the provincial government, Saskatchewan was the first jurisdiction in North America to recognize the genocide with the passing of The Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day Act in 2008.

Since the Russian invasion and subsequent war in Ukraine, Saskatchewan has sent five planes to bring Ukrainians to seek refuge in the land of living skies.

The province hosts over 130,000 residents of Ukrainian descent, representing 13 per cent of the population.

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Furthering its connection to the breadbasket of Europe is an exact replica of the statue “Bitter Memories of Childhood” by Preto Drozdowsky in Regina’s Wascana Park.

The original, depicting a young, starving peasant girl clutching a wheat sheaf, stands in the National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide in Kyiv, Ukraine.

-More to come…