Anne Applebaum is generous in giving credit to dozens of Ukrainians — scholars, historians, researchers and others — whose work she drew on to write “Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine.”
Even as she acknowledges that she uncovered no blockbuster revelations, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author nonetheless skillfully created a compelling, cogent and credible account of 20th century Ukrainian history and its lessons for today.
American historian Timothy Snyder is right in calling this a “remarkable book” destined to be the “standard treatment” of Soviet mass murderer Josef Stalin’s drive to conquer the Ukrainian nation by starving its people into submission, persecuting its elite and destroying its institutions.
Demographers now put the death toll of the Holodomor genocide from 1932–1933 at 3.9 million Ukrainians. It’s hard to read the book without getting emotional or feeling empathy for what Ukrainians have endured.
Applebaum, in an interview with the Kyiv Post during her visit this week to Ukraine, expresses admiration for Ukraine and sadness for its lost opportunities. She said the book is an attempt to popularize the history of the Holodomor for a non-Ukrainian audience.
It does that and much more: The book traces a pattern of Russian imperialistic obsession, contempt and fear regarding Ukraine from the 19th century to the present. The Kremlin’s attempts to subjugate Ukraine through successive generations will enlighten readers about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motivations in his ongoing war against the nation.
Even more importantly today, the Washington Post columnist warns Ukraine not to squander another historic opportunity today. The best way to pay homage to the Holodomor victims, to whom she dedicates the book, is for Ukraine to build a better nation today — one that can defeat foreign invaders and domestic corruption.
A century ago, Ukraine tried and failed to create a lasting nation. It has had another chance since 1991. This time, this nation must not fail.
