H. Res. 1314 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 23, 2008. 

Whereas in 1932 and 1933, an estimated seven to 10 million 

Ukrainian people perished at the will of the totalitarian 

Stalinist government of the former Soviet Union, which 

perpetrated a premeditated famine in Ukraine in an effort to break the nation’s resistance to collectivization 

and communist occupation; 

Whereas the Soviet Government deliberately confiscated grain 

harvests and starved millions of Ukrainian men, women, 

and children by a policy of forced collectivization that 

sought to destroy the nationally conscious movement for 

independence; 

Whereas Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ordered the borders of 

Ukraine sealed to prevent anyone from escaping the manmade starvation and preventing any international food 

aid that would provide relief to the starving; 

Whereas numerous scholars worldwide have worked to uncover the scale of the famine, including Canadian wheat 

expert Andrew Cairns who visited Ukraine in 1932 and 

was told that there was no grain ‘‘because the government had collected so much grain and exported it to England and Italy,’’ while simultaneously denying food aid to 

the people of Ukraine; 
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Whereas nearly a quarter of the rural population of Ukraine 

was eliminated due to forced starvation, while the entire 

nation suffered from the consequences of the prolonged 

lack of food; 

Whereas the Soviet Government manipulated and censored 

foreign journalists, including New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty, who knowingly denied not 

only the scope and magnitude, but also the existence, of 

a deadly man-made famine in his reports from Ukraine; 

Whereas noted correspondents of the time were castigated by 

the Soviet Union for their accuracy and courage in depicting and reporting the famine in Ukraine, including 

Gareth Jones, William Henry Chamberlin, and Malcolm 

Muggeridge, who wrote, ‘‘[The farmers] will tell you that 

many have already died of famine and that many are 

dying every day; that thousands have been shot by the 

government and hundreds of thousands exiled’’; 

Whereas in May 1934, former Congressman Hamilton Fish 

introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives 

(House Resolution 399 of the 73d Congress) which called 

for the condemnation of the Soviet Government for its 

acts of destruction against the Ukrainian people; 

Whereas the United States Commission on the Ukraine Famine, formed on December 13, 1985, conducted a study 

with the goal of expanding the world’s knowledge and understanding of the Ukrainian Famine of 1932–1933, and 

concluded that the victims were ‘‘starved to death in a 

man-made famine’’ and that ‘‘Joseph Stalin and those 

around him committed genocide against Ukrainians in 

1932–1933’’; 
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Whereas on May 15, 2003, in a special session, the Ukrainian Parliament acknowledged that the Ukrainian Famine 

(Holodomor) was engineered by Joseph Stalin and the 

Soviet Government deliberately against the Ukrainian nation and called upon international recognition of the 

Holodomor; 

Whereas with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, archival 

documents became available that confirmed the deliberate 

and pre-meditated deadly nature of the famine, and that 

exposed the atrocities committed by the Soviet Government against the Ukrainian people; and 

Whereas on October 13, 2006, the President of the United 

States signed into law Public Law 109–340 that authorized the Government of Ukraine ‘‘to establish a memorial 

on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the 

victims of the Ukrainian famine-genocide of 1932-1933,’’ 

in recognition of the upcoming 75th anniversary of the 

tragedy in 2008: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) solemnly remembers the 75th anniversary of the 

Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) of 1932–1933 and extends its deepest sympathies to the victims, survivors, 

and families of this tragedy; 

(2) condemns the systematic violations of human 

rights, including the freedom of self-determination and 

freedom of speech, of the Ukrainian people by the Soviet 

Government; 

(3) encourages dissemination of information regarding the Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) in order to ex-
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pand the world’s knowledge of this man-made tragedy; 

and 

(4) supports the continuing efforts of Ukraine to 

work toward ensuring democratic principles, a free-market economy, and full respect for human rights, in order 

to enable Ukraine to achieve its potential as an important strategic partner of the United States in that region 

of the world. 

Attest: 

Clerk.