Technology of Soviet Myth Creation about Famine as a Result of Crop Failure in Ukraine of the 1932–1933s

Abstract

Objectives According to the Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, over 3,9 million people died during the famine of the 1932–1933s However, it’s impossible to define the exact number of the dead due to liquidation of the 1937 census data by the soviet authorities who deliberately aimed at violating complete record of the deaths and stated in the documentation other death reasons instead of the ones caused by the famine. To disguise this criminal offence the soviet government directed all its efforts to creation of a myth pointing to that year crop failure as the reason of famine. The aim of the following article is to reveal practical techniques of alternative reality creation in the soviet society based on the example of the 1932–1933s famine’s mythologization in Ukraine. Material and methods Analyses and generalization of scientific archive sources and international documents, overview of soviet mass media related to the topic have been performed. Results - Conclusions The soviet myth creation technology applied to the famine happening in Ukraine of 1932–1933 as a result of crop failure shows a wide spectrum of alternative reality creation means (mythologization), which was exploited by the whole history of the soviet government: liquidation of documents and evidence, intimidation and physical extermination of witnesses, blockage of access to sources of reliable information, formation of alternative “truth” and its expansion in mass media.

Keywords

• famine
• mythologization
• soviet mass media
• collectivization
• repressions
• peasant protests
• parallel reality