IV 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 356

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the manmade famine that occurred in Ukraine in 1932–1933. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 5, 2003

Mr. HYDE (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Mr. LANTOS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

International Relations 

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the man-made famine that occurred in Ukraine in 

1932–1933.

Whereas 2003 marks the 70th anniversary of the height of 

the famine in Ukraine that was deliberately initiated and 

enforced by the Soviet regime through the seizure of 

grain and the blockade of food shipments into the affected areas, as well as by forcibly preventing the starving population from leaving the region, for the purposes 

of eliminating resistance to the forced collectivization of 

agriculture and destroying Ukraine’s national identity; 

Whereas this man-made famine resulted in the deaths of at 

least 5,000,000 men, women, and children in Ukraine 

and an estimated 1–2 million people in other regions; 
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Whereas the famine took place in the most productive agricultural area of the former Soviet Union while foodstocks 

throughout the country remained sufficient to prevent the 

famine and while the Soviet regime continued to export 

large quantities of grain; 

Whereas many Western observers with first-hand knowledge 

of the famine, including The New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty, who was awarded a Pulitzer 

Prize in 1932 for his reporting from the Soviet Union, 

knowingly and deliberately falsified their reports to cover 

up and refute evidence of the famine in order to suppress 

criticism of the Soviet regime; 

Whereas Western observers and scholars who reported accurately on the existence of the famine were subjected to 

disparagement and criticism in the West for their reporting of the famine; 

Whereas the Soviet regime and many scholars in the West 

continued to deny the existence of the famine until the 

collapse of the Soviet regime in 1991 resulted in many 

of its archives being made accessible, thereby making 

possible the documentation of the premeditated nature of 

the famine and its harsh enforcement; 

Whereas the final report of the United States Government’s 

Commission on the Ukraine Famine, established on December 13, 1985, 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’’; and 

Whereas, although the Ukraine famine was one of the greatest losses of human life in the 20th century, it remains 
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insufficiently known in the United States and in the 

world: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that—

3 (1) the millions of victims of the man-made 

4 famine that occurred in Ukraine in 1932–1933 

5 should be solemnly remembered and honored in the 

6 70th year marking the height of the famine; 

7 (2) this man-made famine was designed and 

8 implemented by the Soviet regime as a deliberate act 

9 of terror and mass murder against the Ukrainian 

10 people; 

11 (3) the decision of the Government of Ukraine 

12 and the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) 

13 to give official recognition to the famine and its vic14 tims, as well as their efforts to secure greater inter15 national awareness and understanding of the famine, 

16 should be supported; and 

17 (4) the official recognition of the famine by the 

18 Government of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada 

19 represents a significant step in the reestablishment 

20 of Ukraine’s national identity, the elimination of the 

21 legacy of the Soviet dictatorship, and the advance22 ment of efforts to establish a democratic and free 
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1 Ukraine that is fully integrated into the Western 

2 community of nations.

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