The Trigger
Ukraine was popular for its fertile crop growing soil, coal and iron. The Russian's granary was of great value to the soviet regime. They believed it should belong to them and they didn't care about the welfare of people who farmed it. In 1921-1922 Stalin and his regime attempted to impose this order and then seized the Ukrainian food supplies by force. The result was a natural drought and millions of people dead. The Kulaks, peasants of Russia wealthy enough to own a farm and hire labor, found out their taxes had been raised. They were also forced to provide greater quantities of grain. In response, many rebelled violently, slaughtering animals and destroying machinery. The consequences for their actions were severe. Those who rebelled were immediately shot. The remaining people were sent to abandoned places like Siberia to be starved to death. Those who didn't die fast enough from starvation were shot.
the genocide
The genocide was named 'Holodomor' directly meaning 'death by forced starvation.' It began in 1929 and lasted to 1935, although there was tension among them as early as 1921. Stalin and his regime spared no mercy. Up to 7 million people died of Hunger. These aggressors felt that everything should be under communist control and believed they were doing the right thing. The survivors of the Holodomor were scarred as they saw their loved ones murdered and starved to death. The international community had no response to these killings. In fact, they went about their daily lives completely unaware of the suffering among them. The genocide concluded on March 5, 1953 when Stalin died from a stroke.