Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

A Demographic Framework for the 1932–1934 Famine in the Soviet Union

Bibliographic Data

ID6196593
AuthorsOleh Wolowyna (0000-0002-3146-8509, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume23
Issue4
Pages501-526
Publication date2021-10-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Genocide Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1462-3528 • E-ISSN: 1469-9494
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14623528.2020.1834741
OpenAlexW3094217640
LanguageEN
Citations received4

Research on the 1932–1934 famine in the Soviet Union (or Famine) has reached the point where some analytical and theoretical synthesis is needed. We present a framework that provides a structure for organizing demographic research of the Famine within a broader demographic-historical context. Elements of the framework are: (a) definitions of critical concepts (Famine, Holodomor, Famine losses); (b) population reconstruction methodology as a basis for estimating Famine losses; (c) a formal structure that facilitates comparative research of the Famine among different subpopulations; (d) elements of an integrated demographic-historical research strategy; (e) recommendations for quantification in historical research. The presentation of the framework is preceded by: (a) examples of the versatility of the population reconstruction methodology; (b) analysis of what is probably a unique characteristic of the Famine, i.e. the surge in rural mortality during the first half of 1933 in regions of Ukraine and Russia, resulting in about seventy to eighty per cent of all Famine losses concentrated in that period; (c) formulation of an analytical model of this surge as an example of an application of the framework. We show significant differences in the rural mortality surges between Ukraine and Russia, e.g.: (a) in two oblasts of Ukraine the number of losses in June 1933 is fourteen to fifteen times higher than in January of that year, compared to a maximum factor of eight in only one region of Russia; (b) the average number of daily losses at the peak of the Famine in Ukraine, June 1933, is 28,000, while the respective number in Russia is 12,000 in July 1933. Standardizing by population size, we have 12.4 daily losses per 1,000 population in Ukraine and 1.4 in Russia. Several examples illustrate the advantages of a collaborative demographic-historical research strategy

Archaeology · Famine · Geography · Political science · Politics · Population · Sociology · Soviet union · Birth, Development, and Health · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Insurance, Mortality, Demography, Risk Management · Law

  • Global human population has surpassed Earth’s sustainable carrying capacity

    Open Access•Corey J A Bradshaw, Melinda A Judge et al.•Environmental Research Letters•2026

  • Последствия голода 1921-1923 годов в Казахстане

    Open Access•Duman Aitmagambetov, Ернар Устагалиев et al.•BULLETIN of the L N Gumilyov…•2024

  • Remediating Holodomor photography

    Open Access•Charley Boerman, Clara Vlessing•Memory Studies•2026

  • How and why famines form

    Open Access•Paul Howe•Disasters•2025

Citations per year2
Citation span2024 - 2026 (3)
Highly citedNo

Tools

Open DOI
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae