Disinfo: Holodomor famine was largely caused by the West

Summary

The main cause of the Holodomor was large-scale crop failure. To a large extent, the famine was also promoted by Western countries, which demanded that the USSR pay with grain in foreign trade operations with them.

Disproof

This is an example of gross historical revisionism and a recurring pro Kremlin disinformation narrative about Holodomor, claiming that there was no deliberately caused famine in Ukraine.

The Holodomor was an man-made famine deliberately caused by Stalin with the aim of remove a perceived Ukrainian threat to the Soviet regime. The Soviet state took away livestock, crops and seeds from the peasants under the guise that they "plundered" state property. The Soviet law on the seizure of food from peasants was adopted in 1932 and is known as the "Five Spikelet Law". Anyone who gathered several ears of wheat on the collective farm field was a culprit of "theft of state property". The punishment for theft of kolkhoz or cooperative property was the death sentence. This law was personally attributed to Joseph Stalin. The famine of 1932-1933 claimed the lives of 7 to 10 million citizens of the Soviet Union; the disaster affected in large parts but not only Ukraine but also parts of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Russia.

The Holodomor is well documented and confirmed by a huge array of declassified documents, including official documents of the Soviet authorities and the Communist Party. In 2006, the Verkhovna Rada officially recognised the Holodomor of 1932-33 as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. According to the latest data, 15 UN member states and the Vatican state recognise the Holodomor as an act of genocide in Ukraine. The European Parliament and PACE have recognised the Holodomor as a crime of the Soviet regime against their own people and a crime against humanity.

See similar cases including Russophobic historical concepts, including so-called Holodomor-genocide, have brought Ukraine to a civil war , Holodomor is a myth invented of American propaganda , Holodomor-Genocide invented by Ukraine , Famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933 was not a genocide of the population.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 321
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 11/12/2022
  • Article language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia, USSR
  • Keywords: Holodomor, Historical revisionism, USSR
see more

Disinfo: Germany and France will have to pay compensation to Donbas for eight years of genocide

Germany and France should pay compensation to the inhabitants of Donbas. The Europeans must know to whom they owe their problems: lack of heat, electricity, huge inflation, and closed companies. Germany and France will have to pay compensation to the people of Donbas for eight years of genocide and destruction. The current situation in Ukraine is a result of the false policy of the leaders of these countries.

Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative blaming the West (USA, NATO, EU and Ukraine) for the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

In this case, the purpose of these narratives, part of a wider disinformation campaign, is to deflect any Russian responsibility for the Russian invasion of Ukraine by blaming Germany and France.

Disinfo: West aims to squeeze Russia out of Transcaucasia

Western countries are persistently trying to wedge themselves into the formats of Russia's interaction with Armenia and Azerbaijan. And no matter how hard they try in Brussels and Washington to imagine otherwise, the desire to squeeze Russia out of Transcaucasia, rather than really and sincerely help in establishing peace and stability in the region is behind this.

Disproof

Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia as the ultimate target of international events, accusing the ever-aggressive West of having an anti-Russian agenda in the Caucasus. The article advances the claim that the Caucasus is exclusively within Russia's zone of geopolitical interests and attempts to discredit EU action in the area, and specifically the EU Monitoring Capacity. The claim attempts to pre-empt Russia's weakening position in the region.

The EU Monitoring Capacity in Armenia was not directed against Russia, or any third country. The EU Monitoring Capacity to Armenia focused on two core tasks:

Disinfo: Minsk agreements were attempt to gain time for Ukraine

The Minsk agreements were an attempt to gain time for Ukraine. Ukraine did not implement the Minsk agreements. France and Germany lied about their willingness to end the conflict in Donbas, they just wanted to fill Ukraine with weapons and prepare it for combat.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, actively trying to legitimise Russia’s military actions. This narrative claims that the West and Ukraine are responsible for the war, because Kyiv did not implement the Minsk agreements.

Before the invasion, Russia was a party to the Minsk agreements, and these are the most recent formal documents in which Russia has affirmed Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Russia has however not delivered on its side of the implementation of the Minsk agreements. The Russian side and its proxies have failed to implement a ceasefire, withdraw all heavy weapons, implement all-for-all political prisoner exchange, or ensure delivery of humanitarian assistance based on an international mechanism. On the contrary, Russia has been strengthening the illegal armed formations in eastern Ukraine. Russia also did not allow for unfettered access to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission monitors, including to the Ukraine-Russia border, where the (very limited) monitoring mission was discontinued due to a Russian veto in summer 2021.