Scientific seminar “Cannibalism during the Holodomor: spatial temporal and socio-demographic discourse”

On Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at 11:00, the Holodomor Museum invites you to a scientific seminar, “Cannibalism During the Holodomor: Spatial Temporal and Socio-Demographic Discourse (based on criminal case materials from the archive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine)”. During the seminar, the Museum’s research fellow Roman Tesliuk will present the results of the systematisation and analysis of materials from over 1,000 criminal cases; you will hear answers to the questions: when and in which regions was cannibalism most widespread, who were the cannibals and what was their subsequent fate?

In 2023, thanks to the cooperation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide, all criminal cases from the archive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine related to cannibalism during the Holodomor were digitized. These cases are a documentary basis for comprehensive representative scientific research into the phenomenon of cannibalism because of the Holodomor.

The Holodomor had a devastating effect on Ukrainian society, evident in various social, demographic, psychological, and socio-cultural disruptions. One of the most complicated topics for scientific research is the phenomena of cannibalism and corpse-eating caused by the Holodomor. Psychologist Liubov Naidionova concluded that due to the prolonged starvation and deprivation of the opportunity to eat, people experienced significant changes in their mental state and severe physical and psychological suffering, reinforced by social pressure and political terror. The phenomena of cannibalism and corpse-eating should be considered as evidence of implementing the criminal intent of the totalitarian communist regime to destroy Ukrainians.

We invite you to take part and actively discuss.

Those who are not in Kyiv can join online.

Please register to participate.