STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
JOINT RESOLUTION ACKNOWLEDGING THE HOLODOMOR
AS AN ACT OF GENOCIDE AGAINST THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE
WHEREAS, the Ukrainian famine-genocide of 1932-1933, known as the Holodomor, was
a human-made famine that caused the deaths of at least 5,000,000 innocent men, women and
children in Ukraine, resulting in the annihilation of an estimated 25% of the rural population
of the country, an area that at the time was one of the most productive agricultural areas of the
Soviet Union; and
WHEREAS, the human-made famine also resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,000,000
to 2,000,000 people in regions outside Ukraine, mostly in the largely ethnically Ukrainian
North Caucasus territory; and
WHEREAS, these people were starved to death by forced agricultural collectivization and
grain seizures by the Soviet Union; and
WHEREAS, Western observers and scholars who accurately reported on the existence of
the famine as it was occurring were subjected to disparagement and criticism; and
WHEREAS, the Soviet Union and many scholars in the West denied the existence of the
famine until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 made access to Soviet Union archives,
and thereby the documentation of the premeditated nature of the famine and its harsh
enforcement, possible; and
WHEREAS, the final report, delivered to Congress on April 12, 1998, of the United States
Commission on the Ukraine Famine concluded that the victims "starved to death in a man-
made famine" and that Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin "and those around him committed genocide
against the Ukrainians in 1932-1933"; and
WHEREAS, although the famine resulted in one of the largest losses of human life in the
20th century, its occurrence remains insufficiently known in the United States and throughout
the world; and
WHEREAS, official recognition of the famine by the government of Ukraine, including
by the country's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, represents a significant step in
the reestablishment of Ukraine's national identity and the advancement of efforts to establish a
democratic and free Ukraine that is fully integrated into the Western community of nations;
and
WHEREAS, whether it was political oppression or religious persecution that caused
Ukrainian immigrants to pursue better lives for themselves and their families, their desire to
live in peace and enjoy liberty was so strong that generations of Ukrainian immigrants came to
the United States in an effort to rebuild their lives; and
WHEREAS, since 2006, Ukraine has marked an annual commemoration for the victims
of the famine; and
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 WHEREAS, a memorial to the millions who perished in the Holodomor was erected in
Washington, D.C. in 2015, and the dedication ceremony took place in November of that year;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Thirty-second Legislature
now assembled in the First Regular Session, on behalf of the people we represent, take this
opportunity to commemorate the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933, known as the
Holodomor, to solemnly remember and honor its millions of victims and to recognize the
Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people.
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