About the book
Winner of the 2018 Lionel Gelber Prize
From the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gulag and Iron Curtain, winner of the Cundill Prize and a finalist for the National Book Award, a revelatory history of Stalin's greatest crime.
In 1929, Stalin launched his policy of agricultural collectivization—in effect a second Russian revolution—which forced millions of peasants off their land and onto collective farms. The result was a catastrophic famine, the most lethal in European history. At least five million people perished between 1931 and 1933 in the U.S.S.R. In Red Famine, Anne Applebaum reveals for the first time that three million of them died not because they were accidental victims of a bad policy, but because the state deliberately set out to kill them. Applebaum proves what has long been suspected: that Stalin set out to exterminate a vast swath of the Ukrainian population and replace them with more cooperative, Russian-speaking peasants. A peaceful Ukraine would provide the Soviets with a safe buffer between itself and Europe, and would be a bread basket region to feed Soviet cities and factory workers.
When the province rebelled against collectivization, Stalin sealed the borders and began systematic food seizures. Starving, people ate anything: grass, tree bark, dogs, corpses. In some cases they killed one another for food. Devastating and definitive, Red Famine captures the horror of ordinary people struggling to survive extraordinary evil.
Editions of Red Famine
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9780385538855
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9780771009303
- Paperback
- ISBN 9780804170888
- Paperback
- ISBN 9780771009327
- EBook
- ISBN 9780771009310
- EBook
- ISBN 9780385538862
- AudioStreaming
- ISBN 9780525498186
- AudioStreaming
- ISBN 9780525498193
Read an Excerpt
Winner of the 2018 Lionel Gelber Prize
From the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gulag and Iron Curtain, winner of the Cundill Prize and a finalist for the National Book Award, a revelatory history of Stalin's greatest crime.
In 1929, Stalin launched his policy of agricultural collectivization—in effect a second Russian revolution—which forced millions of peasants off their land and onto collective farms. The result was a catastrophic famine, the most lethal in European history. At least five million people perished between 1931 and 1933 in the U.S.S.R. In Red Famine, Anne Applebaum reveals for the first time that three million of them died not because they were accidental victims of a bad policy, but because the state deliberately set out to kill them. Applebaum proves what has long been suspected: that Stalin set out to exterminate a vast swath of the Ukrainian population and replace them with more cooperative, Russian-speaking peasants. A peaceful Ukraine would provide the Soviets with a safe buffer between itself and Europe, and would be a bread basket region to feed Soviet cities and factory workers.
When the province rebelled against collectivization, Stalin sealed the borders and began systematic food seizures. Starving, people ate anything: grass, tree bark, dogs, corpses. In some cases they killed one another for food. Devastating and definitive, Red Famine captures the horror of ordinary people struggling to survive extraordinary evil.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Red Famine about?
Winner of the 2018 Lionel Gelber Prize
From the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gulag and Iron Curtain, winner of the Cundill Prize and a finalist for the National Book Award, a revelatory history of Stalin's greatest crime.
In 1929, Stalin launched his policy of agricultural collectivization—in effect a second Russian revolution—which forced millions of peasants off their land and onto collective farms. The result was a catastrophic famine, the most lethal in European history. At least five million people perished between 1931 and 1933 in the U.S.S.R. In Red Famine, Anne Applebaum reveals for the first time that three million of them died not because they were accidental victims of a bad policy, but because the state deliberately set out to kill them. Applebaum proves what has long been suspected: that Stalin set out to exterminate a vast swath of the Ukrainian population and replace them with more cooperative, Russian-speaking peasants. A peaceful Ukraine would provide the Soviets with a safe buffer between itself and Europe, and would be a bread basket region to feed Soviet cities and factory workers.
When the province rebelled against collectivization, Stalin sealed the borders and began systematic food seizures. Starving, people ate anything: grass, tree bark, dogs, corpses. In some cases they killed one another for food. Devastating and definitive, Red Famine captures the horror of ordinary people struggling to survive extraordinary evil.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Red Famine?
History and Archaeology > History > European history
Where can I read a sample of Red Famine?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780385538855
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Red Famine?
Anne Applebaum
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Red Famine is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780385538855) and hardcover(ISBN 9780771009303) and paperback(ISBN 9780804170888) and paperback(ISBN 9780771009327) and ebook(ISBN 9780771009310) and ebook(ISBN 9780385538862) and audiostreaming(ISBN 9780525498186) and audiostreaming(ISBN 9780525498193)
Where can I buy Red Famine online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Red Famine from below
Where can I buy Red Famine?