Whom Ukrainians blame for Holodomor

In Ukraine among the 94% of those surveyed who had heard or read about Holodomor [The Famine of 1932-1933], 69% believe that it was provoked by the actions of the regime.

The results of the sociological study were made public on 9 November by the President of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology Valery Khmelko at a press conference in Kyiv.

“Less than half of the adult population of Ukraine – 44% considered Holodomor to have been an act of genocide of the Ukrainian people. Therefore, in order to convincingly put to the world community the issue of the recognition of Holodomor as genocide, the population of the country needs to have explained what factors were decisive and  led to the death of a huge number of people in the 1930s”, Valery Khmelko stated.

He mentioned that 12% of those asked had been inclined to think that Holodomor was the result of bad natural conditions.

At the same time, 84% of those respondents who link Holodomor with the actions of the regime are convinced that it was organized on purpose. This is believed by 82% of those living in the western region of Ukraine, 73.8% in the central area, by 65% in the southern region, and 51.4% in the eastern region.

Only 26% considered that the famine had been directed only against Ukraine, while 61% said that it had been against all those living in Ukraine regardless of their nationality.

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology carried out the survey from 8-14 March 2006, with 2012 respondents over the age of 18 from 24 regions of Ukraine and in the Crimea. The margin of error is no higher than 3-4%.