Holodomor genocide question

In 1932–1933, a man-made famine, known as the Holodomor, killed 3.3–5 million people in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (as part of the Soviet Union), included in a total of 5.5–8.7 million killed by the broader Soviet famine of 1930–1933. At least 3.3 million ethnic Ukrainians died as a result of the famine in the USSR. Scholars debate whether there was an intent to starve millions of Ukrainians to death or not.

Whereas historian Simon Payaslian's overview of 20th century genocides in Oxford Bibliographies states that the scholarly consensus classifies the Holodomor as a genocide, historians David R. Marples and Ronald Grigor Suny earlier argued that most scholars had rejected this classification. The topic remains a significant issue in modern politics with historians disputing whether Soviet policies would fall under the legal definition of genocide. In her 2008 article, historian Liudmyla Grynevych shows how among Russian historians the general opinion is that the Holodomor does not constitute a genocide, among Ukrainian historians the general opinion is that it does constitute a genocide, and among western historians there are "varying views". Scholars who reject the argument that state policy in regard to the famine was genocide do not absolve Joseph Stalin or any other parts of the Soviet regime as a whole from guilt for the famine deaths, and may still view such policies as being ultimately criminal in nature.

Since 2006, political campaigns have sought recognition of the Holodomor as a genocide, and, as of 2023, 34 countries and the European Union have recognised the Holodomor as a genocide.