Holodomor Famine Commemoration and the Challenges of Developing a Shared National Identity in Post-Soviet Ukraine (1991-2023)

Abstract

In this research project, I examine Ukraine’s struggle to develop a shared national identity after the fall of the Soviet Union. This project addresses Holodomor, an artificial famine from 1932-1933 that devastated Soviet Ukrainian society, as a case study of historical commemoration. I also consider current geopolitical and national struggles facing Ukraine in its efforts to develop a shared cultural identity. These struggles demonstrate a divide between Ukrainian and Russo-centric national and historical perspectives, which I argue impacts how the Ukrainian government commemorates Holodomor.