Forensic and Archaeological Approaches to the Holodomor

Centre of Archaeology

This project aims to carry out the first ever forensic archaeological investigation of the Holodomor. It will locate, characterise and analyse the sites and objects connected to these crimes.

The Holodomor – a mass starvation event initiated by the Soviet regime – resulted in millions of deaths amongst the population of Soviet Ukraine between 1932 and 1933. Originating with Stalin’s decision to collectivize agriculture and culminating in the withholding of food from blacklisted towns and villages, these crimes also led to the transformation of the Ukrainian landscape due to the creation of killing sites and mass graves, and the accompanying confiscation of property that occurred. Although certainly a “forgotten genocide”, the Holodomor has recently been recognised as a deliberate attempt to eradicate Ukrainian people by 23 countries and the European Parliament. Efforts to collect testimony and map the crimes that took place have also increased. However, there remains a paucity of information about the material traces that these crimes left behind.

The proposed PhD project aims to carry out the first ever forensic archaeological investigation of the Holodomor. Drawing upon documents, photographs, maps, early forensic reports and aerial reconnaissance data, this research will locate, characterise and analyse the sites and objects connected to these crimes. In doing so, it will attempt to examine the potential for landscapes and material culture to shed new light on the experiences of the victims and the actions of the perpetrators during this period. The research will also evaluate the challenges that exist with searching for such evidence in light of the amount of time that has passed since the genocide was carried out, the politics of memory that surround the events and the Full-Scale Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Deriving from, and responding to, these unique circumstances, an innovative, interdisciplinary methodology will be devised which aims to inspire new directions in Holodomor studies.