Starvation of millions under Stalin National Council recognizes Holodomor as genocide

The starvation of several million people around 90 years ago for which the Soviet regime under Josef Stalin was responsible is an act of genocide. These are the words of a declaration that the National Council approved by a clear majority on Tuesday.

The declaration was requested and formulated by the majority of the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC-N). The Council adopted it by 123 votes to 58, with seven abstentions, against the wishes of the SVP. It will now be distributed via the diplomatic network of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

According to the declaration, the National Council recognizes the victims of the Holodomor as an act of genocide. According to the text, four million Ukrainians, around two million Kazakhs and hundreds of thousands of Russians died during the famine in Ukraine in 1932 and 1933.

"Large-scale and targeted"

"The National Council recognizes as an act of genocide demonstrably systematic acts that lead to large-scale and targeted starvation and are committed with the intention of destroying a national, ethnic, racial or religious group as such in whole or in part," the text continues.

Several million people fell victim to the great famine - a consequence of the collectivization of agriculture ordered by Soviet ruler Stalin. Stalin had masses of grain, livestock and food confiscated in Ukraine, depriving people of food.

The majority of the APK-N wanted the declaration to send a symbolic signal that the Holodomor was being remembered, as spokesperson Christine Badertscher (Greens/BE) said. The SVP rejected the declaration with a minority motion.

Abandonment of international courts

The recognition of the Holodomor as genocide was put on the political agenda after the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022, said spokeswoman Monika Rüegger (SVP/OW). The fact that not only Ukrainians were affected by the famine was ignored.

The assessment of the term genocide is the responsibility of international courts with a corresponding mandate, said Rüegger. "Switzerland does not decide on genocide and should not allow itself to be instrumentalized."

So far, parliaments in several countries have recognized the Holodomor as genocide, including Germany, France, Poland, the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as well as the EU Parliament.

The National Council and the Council of States can issue a declaration on important events or problems. These can relate to both domestic and foreign policy. The declaration was initiated by former Bernese National Councillor Natalie Imboden (Greens) with a postulate that has since been withdrawn.

SDA