Thread by @OSeredyuk

Today, russian war criminals removed the monument to the victims of Holodomor in Mariupol.
Let's do a 🧵on the logic and the background of such decisions and, most importantly, why this is done.
1/

Let's break it down through claims:
1) Hunger was a thing and it was in many regions.
Explainer: indeed, hunger happened at least 3 times. The early 1920s, 1932-33, and after WW2 years. Natural droughts or other conditions impeded the land from producing food.

This largely applies to the Ukrainian territories under russian control - practically all of modern Ukraine minus the west of it. 1921 was really no different from 1932, only smaller in scale. Pic - regions based on grain output in 1921. Food = a tool for foreign+internal goals

Obv the USSR needed food for industrial goals and feeding other regions through "Prodrazvyorstka" (food apportionment, i.e. its forceful requisitioning). But more so than not, it was important for squashing any resistance that logically appeared. web.archive.org/web/2012042116…

As with the russian army these days, the planning barely wanted to link up with reality. The plan was always for more than was reasonable. More so, because the harvest was not good and the goal was ridiculous, the bolsheviks decided to give more food to the ravaged Povolzhye.

You can imagine what that meant. It's difficult to estimate how many people died exactly. As many as 8mln. people were starving. The news did not break to the West really because Lenin kept it under the hood. Still, some photos and reports came through.
ukrlife.org/main/evshan/fa…

2) The logic is that Ukraine was not as "affected". It was the other regions and no mal intentions were there.
During the 1920s, 32-33, and 46-47 the Soviet government followed political goals upon exploiting adverse natural conditions. Goals be goals.

In 1946-47, the war ravaged the lands. The food was either delivered to richer regions (Moscow + Leningrad) or abroad for export (much like in 1932-33). One could debate whether killing so many locals was the goal. Even if *hypothetically* it wasn't...

the callousness and complete disregard for human life through knowingly ramping up requisitioning goals is alone intent enough. And because Ukraine has always been of the core food regions, it is all the more appalling. But, ethnic intent was there, too. web.archive.org/web/2012030223…

Appeasing the leader by pulling off the required numbers is perhaps the most cynical and disgusting feature of the Soviet regime because it meant a complete disregard for the human aspect.

Crushing the resistance to forced collectivization, changing the culture of colonized peoples, and focusing on "progress" while dooming millions of people to death is the playbook we are seeing repeat now, too. You can read @TimothyDSnyder and @anneapplebaum books for more

3) russian propaganda says Ukraine invented this to possibly differentiate itself from russia, make a myth, and lead Ukrainians astray to hate russia. Ofc, to them this isn't real. I wonder how exactly millions of intentionally murdered Ukrainians are somehow not real.

"Trauma is bad, don't think about it. We can do better."
russia is good at gaslighting. It's funny how all breakaway colonized peoples have something to share and somehow all of that is fake to russia. @maksymeristavi has made an amazing collection on #russiancolonialism

Why is this relevant? Well, much like before, russia uses Ukrainians to achieve its goals. It doesn't matter how, but Ukrainians are expendable. You best believe more forced mobilization on the occupied lands will make Ukrainians die as cannon fodder.

https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1582702519930658817?s=20&t=iat50v_yV9Yq3O0sQ0GWcw

All this to exalt the impeccable russian administration, no guilt, and the feelgood colonialist worldview. This self-delusion is precisely the reason russia never understood whom they colonized and what locals feel about russia. Hence constant terror. Much like with 3 Holodomors.

russia will keep at it. Instead of learning more about history and owning up to the horrors of ancestors and modern-day monsters, they keep asking "what's wrong?" and pretend like nothing happened and everyone hates russia for no reason

https://twitter.com/tavkhellidze/status/1572963951780171776?s=20&t=iat50v_yV9Yq3O0sQ0GWcw

end of 🧵

Oh and just to give all of you more context, my grandma told me that indeed, it was hard to live through 1946-47. But also before and after. She was a kid and the village witnessed cannibalism. She grew up in the Cherkasy region (central Ukraine). I cannot imagine the horrors.

Up until her passing, the stories that all of us Ukrainians have, and the sheer amount of despising we have for russia is incredible. russia did this and russia alone is responsible. The post-1991 brought hope things could be different. Surprise, no.

Somehow, so many Ukrainians from different regions come to discuss unique stories with the same russia colonialist hues. I wonder, are these also made up? Maybe the USA did that. Implanted all this fake personal and collective memory? Or just maybe, russia must answer for it all.

And imagine what, they are back for more. This was traceable in 1990s. And it's back.
McIntosh, Daniel (1994) "Russian Intervention and the Commonwealth of Independent States," Journal of Political Science: Vol. 22 : No. 1 , Article 6.
Available at: digitalcommons.coastal.edu/jops/vol22/iss…

https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/status/1582712796667863043?s=20&t=ZW0T3NP7JeK0gu1PllcVtQ