This podcast is dedicated to the fact that the European Parliament passed the resolution which was regarding the Holodomor, and that in actual fact in this manner it recognizes the Holodomor as a Genocide. It is a recognition which is impressive – it may have been foreseeable under the new circumstances – but we have to understand that this is occurring after 90 years, as this Genocide took place in 1932-1933 – this year therefore, we are within this anniversary context – and we can say that the decision of the European Parliament is very important for that reason: firstly we have five hundred and seven Members of Parliament who voted “for”. If we now consider that only twelve voted “against” and seventeen abstained, we understand how important this decision is. The other important thing is that the text of the public address is completely clear, since it states that the European Parliament recognizes the Holodomor, i.e., the artificial famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine, which was caused by the deliberate actions of the Soviet regime, as a Genocide against the people of Ukraine.

It is very important because many efforts were made at this level, specifically by the Soviet Union but by Russia as well to delay this recognition and for the generalization of the recognition not to occur.
Additionally, the text foresees even more facts as it states, and simultaneously strongly condemns such actions of the totalitarian, Soviet regime, which led to the death of millions of Ukrainians and undermined significantly the foundations of the Ukrainian society. It is important that the European Parliament insists upon this issue in regards to the aftereffects of the Genocide and not merely for the Genocide as a historical text. It additionally states that the European Parliament calls upon all countries, especially the Russian Federation, as well as other countries which emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union, to open their records regarding the 1932-1933 famine in Ukraine, also calls upon member states of the European Union and third countries to promote awareness about these events as well as other crimes committed by the Soviet regime, incorporating the historical knowledge regarding them into educational and research programs in order to prevent the recurrence of similar tragedies in the future.

At this point we see that there is also the next stage, therefore, not merely the issue of the recognition but additionally the dissemination of the crimes, the aftereffects, it is pro the memory and the dignity of the victims, and the European Parliament observes clearly and separately the issue of Ukraine, because there are many who tried to integrate it into something more general, as there was a geopolitical direction specifically against the Ukrainians, in addition to a racist approach at that period by the Soviet regime against the Ukrainian people. Consequently, we can say that today we are very happy about this decision, the fact that this resolution was passed in this spectacular way touches us even more and we assume it as a justification for all the people who have been fighting for so many years, even decades, in regards to the issue of the Ukrainian Genocide recognition.

I additionally think that the fact that it is the European Union through the European Parliament that makes this decision will help many countries within the European Union to follow up this example because they will be able to build upon this foundation. It is not a recognition concerning a crime against Humanity, it is specifically a Genocide, so it clears up the context, it clears up the field and we can say that finally this invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022 succeeded in speeding up the process of the recognition and that the countries of the European Union to finally recognize this crime against Humanity, the Genocide of the Soviet regime against the Ukrainians. Let’s not forget that we had over 7,000,000 massacred by this barbaric regime, which was based upon the idea that “we better genocide the Ukrainians in order to show that Russia’s communism is a success, to show that we succeeded.” And so we understand how barbaric this process is, since it is ready, in order to support an ideology of barbarism, to sacrifice so many people, and to commit this genocide in order to convince whom? If we think that we are before the Cold War, the so-called Ante Cold War period, we understand that even then there were movements so that this Cold War would officially appear, and those who believe that it is the Soviet Union which spoiled the ideals of communism, ought to realize that the Soviet Union is in existence since 1922, that this occurred only 10 years after its official birth, which did not take place in 1917, it was a revolution, and we ought to understand that this ideology, when implemented, it cannot avoid committing genocide, because it wants to convince all people that it is a good and correct ideology, and each time it has done it, it has destroyed a part of Humanity, because it always opts for a barbaric solution.

This consequently means that this ideology has elements of barbarism embedded within its foundations and for that reason, every time it practically appears, it implements these crimes and these genocides. Therefore, the example of the genocide of the Ukrainians, which we have to understand occurred in a manner which involved this artificial famine, that is, they basically forced the people to starve to death, because, in order to retain these wheat depositories, so that they could say that the Soviet system succeeds, that communism was something that was a success in order that they could spread it elsewhere also. We understand therefore, how important it is that after 90 years we are putting things into perspective, at least at the European level, and for everyone to understand that this act of barbarism does not belong to oblivion, we have not forgotten anything and quite the contrary we recognize even more massively, symbolically, politically, Europeanly, the genocide that took place in 1932-1933. It is this joy of ours that we wanted to spread throughout in the most obvious way possible, through this podcast, so that it would be recorded that it constitutes a feat of Humanity.