The occupation authorities have dismantled the memorial to the victims of the Great Famine that was erected 18 years ago in central Mariupol, RIA Novosti reports.
“According to historical sources, famine used to affect the southern regions of Russia and then the Soviet Union every few decades. Ukraine and Donbass were not among the regions most affected by the 1932-33 famine, but Kazakhstan, the Volga region, and the North Caucasus were,” said Artem Bobrovsky, head of the department at Donetsk National University with a PhD in history, who was present at the demolition.
“It's not a monument that we are demolishing, but a symbol of political misinformation... As we were teaching the history of Ukraine, the idea of “genocide” and “Holodomor” was forced upon us... No textbook or teacher described what really happened. Unfortunately, all this was hidden not only from school kids but also from their parents,” Yevgenia Krotova, a representative of the central headquarters of the Young Republic NGO, told the news agency.
According to various sources, from 2.2 to 3.9 million Ukrainians died of starvation in 1932-1933. In 2006, the Holodomor was recognized by Ukrainian law as the genocide of the Ukrainian people.