The situation of the peasantry during the Holodomor through the press outside the Soviet Union (1932-1933)

Abstract

The purpose. In this research proposal we will analyse the dramatic period that the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic -Ukrainian SSR- went through in the early 1930s, with the so-called Holodomor or Great Famine. Using various official Soviet documents, we will study how the authorities in Moscow applied collectivisation measures in Ukraine and how they affected the development of the daily life of the country’s population. In doing so, we will reflect on the main consequences that this period had for the future of the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet space and especially for the population. Conclusions. In addition, once we have analysed the significance of this historical period, and through the newspaper archives of different international media, we will emphasise how this issue was dealt with outside the borders of the Soviet Union. With this research, we intend to provide evidence through newspapers such as The Evening Telegram, The London Evening Standard, The New York Times and Spanish newspapers that the Holodomor was known abroad, despite the fact that the Soviet authorities campaigned hard to prevent this event from spreading to the rest of the international community. Although, as we will see through the study of various media, the reality of the Holodomor knowledge abroad was different, taking into account the different ideology of the journalists who wrote the chronicles exposing the events that were taking place in the Ukrainian SSR in 1932 and 1933.