ila_rose's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.5
Anne Applebaum’s nonfiction writing is absolutely fascinating. So enticing and interesting always!
sofijakryz's review against another edition
5.0
So I complained about the overload of dates and names in the first chapter or two, saying this may be complicated for a non-specialist? Forget it. Once you brave on and focus on the bigger picture, at some point you forget it and just follow the narrative.
And the narrative was not kind. Applebaum explains in great detail how the USSR operated and why it was hell on Earth through example of Ukraine. She starts with context explaining the regional complexities and tensions since 19th century focusing on the major geopolitical tension: is Ukraine its own entity or not? This is something where most major conflicts, disagreements, tensions etc. in the region spring from. Even the current Russia’s war against Ukraine. Because some (cough cough) think it isn’t. And when it isn’t, you can treat the poor country however you wish. Especially when it has resources you’re too lazy or too stupid to cultivate.
Poor Ukraine.
Applebaum explains how these tensions fit in with the local heterogeneity in late 1910s and early 1920s. One land, multiple visions. The Russian Revolution. Bolsheviks win. What happens then?
Applebaum explains how from hopeful moods, even in the presence of Bolshevism in Ukraine in 1920s and from stable chaos the country gradually shifts to a total, unimagineable horror in 1930s. And everything in between. You want to implement an absurd policy? Force it. People do not comply? Force it even harder, by physical means. People resist? Punish them disproportionately and make everone watch. Wash their brain with propaganda. Make them paranoid. Make them report others to the authorities. Make them fear, make them distrust everyone. Even their own neighbours, friends, families.
Someone complains? Resists? Pester them. When you had your fun, destroy them. Cruelly. Just because. Too much? Give them a break. Then punish them more and make them regret their own resistance.
Applebaum describes Stalin’s pet collectivisation, forced on Ukrainian peasants with its absurdities. Mass rip-off and enslavement of people. Requisitions, forced displacements. The processes of how the state takes away everything from you and makes you do what it wants. And how it oscillates between more or less severe in the process.
And then, when a country-level agricultural system fails because of your stupid policies and no will of cooperation from the oppressed, blame them and make them regret. Everything. And use the opportunity to kill any leftovers of national movements.
One of the cruellest bits to me was how the government set up mass requisitioning of food when country was already starving because of shit policies. Applebaum describes it powerfully, highly visually and depicts the mass effect incredibly well. What nearly made me cry was how come those who did it - take away all the food from starving peasants to make them starve more - did it? And on such mass level? Applebaum tries to explain it but I still struggle to grasp it.
The aftermath is expected but difficult to stomach. Even when you know. Applebaum describes famine very graphically. Knowing it was caused intentionally makes your heart bleed. Especially when you read about propaganda saying it was made up. Bodies on the streets, fields, cruel, painful, torturous deaths, animals - cats, dogs - eaten to survive, whole villages starved to death, people burried alive or people eaten by other people... Made up.
If this book does not explain what The Soviet Union was, I don’t know what does. Literature on Chernobyl, maybe. But I almost don’t know which is more horrible - pure viciousness and spite to obtain your aims or hubris and criminal negligence. Either translate horribly on people. And yet: to cause famine to teach someone a lesson...
Explains why that system collapsed. And how Ukraine stands up today.
Good book, worth to read, no matter how painful. Applebaum portrays cultural background well and explains how that may have influenced the whole so that things went where they went. Take horrors aside and it does explain changing society of Ukraine in the first half of the 20th century. Its dynamics, sensitivities. Relationship with the era. Yes, this book does trigger strong emotions. Be careful when reading this if you are sensitive. But it is also informative too. Importantly, it shows how utter evil can play us just because it can. And what it costs.
And the narrative was not kind. Applebaum explains in great detail how the USSR operated and why it was hell on Earth through example of Ukraine. She starts with context explaining the regional complexities and tensions since 19th century focusing on the major geopolitical tension: is Ukraine its own entity or not? This is something where most major conflicts, disagreements, tensions etc. in the region spring from. Even the current Russia’s war against Ukraine. Because some (cough cough) think it isn’t. And when it isn’t, you can treat the poor country however you wish. Especially when it has resources you’re too lazy or too stupid to cultivate.
Poor Ukraine.
Applebaum explains how these tensions fit in with the local heterogeneity in late 1910s and early 1920s. One land, multiple visions. The Russian Revolution. Bolsheviks win. What happens then?
Applebaum explains how from hopeful moods, even in the presence of Bolshevism in Ukraine in 1920s and from stable chaos the country gradually shifts to a total, unimagineable horror in 1930s. And everything in between. You want to implement an absurd policy? Force it. People do not comply? Force it even harder, by physical means. People resist? Punish them disproportionately and make everone watch. Wash their brain with propaganda. Make them paranoid. Make them report others to the authorities. Make them fear, make them distrust everyone. Even their own neighbours, friends, families.
Someone complains? Resists? Pester them. When you had your fun, destroy them. Cruelly. Just because. Too much? Give them a break. Then punish them more and make them regret their own resistance.
Applebaum describes Stalin’s pet collectivisation, forced on Ukrainian peasants with its absurdities. Mass rip-off and enslavement of people. Requisitions, forced displacements. The processes of how the state takes away everything from you and makes you do what it wants. And how it oscillates between more or less severe in the process.
And then, when a country-level agricultural system fails because of your stupid policies and no will of cooperation from the oppressed, blame them and make them regret. Everything. And use the opportunity to kill any leftovers of national movements.
One of the cruellest bits to me was how the government set up mass requisitioning of food when country was already starving because of shit policies. Applebaum describes it powerfully, highly visually and depicts the mass effect incredibly well. What nearly made me cry was how come those who did it - take away all the food from starving peasants to make them starve more - did it? And on such mass level? Applebaum tries to explain it but I still struggle to grasp it.
The aftermath is expected but difficult to stomach. Even when you know. Applebaum describes famine very graphically. Knowing it was caused intentionally makes your heart bleed. Especially when you read about propaganda saying it was made up. Bodies on the streets, fields, cruel, painful, torturous deaths, animals - cats, dogs - eaten to survive, whole villages starved to death, people burried alive or people eaten by other people... Made up.
If this book does not explain what The Soviet Union was, I don’t know what does. Literature on Chernobyl, maybe. But I almost don’t know which is more horrible - pure viciousness and spite to obtain your aims or hubris and criminal negligence. Either translate horribly on people. And yet: to cause famine to teach someone a lesson...
Explains why that system collapsed. And how Ukraine stands up today.
Good book, worth to read, no matter how painful. Applebaum portrays cultural background well and explains how that may have influenced the whole so that things went where they went. Take horrors aside and it does explain changing society of Ukraine in the first half of the 20th century. Its dynamics, sensitivities. Relationship with the era. Yes, this book does trigger strong emotions. Be careful when reading this if you are sensitive. But it is also informative too. Importantly, it shows how utter evil can play us just because it can. And what it costs.
aj1's review against another edition
5.0
An incredible piece of history that is poorly understood in the West. Beyond a detailed accounting of the Holodomor itself, Applebaum provides both the historical context for the tragedy and layers in the impacts the famine had on Ukrainian history through World War II and the Holocaust, the Cold War up through the Maidan and today. Vital history well told. A great read.
chanman's review against another edition
3.0
Earlier this year I read The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine by Katherine Marsh. This was a fiction story told from three perspectives about the famine in Ukraine. Fascinated by the tales described in the book, I wanted to know more, so I decided to listen to Red Famine. I had always known that Stalin was often considered more horrible than Hitler, but I never knew to what exact extent. This book opened my eyes to the horrors of Stalin and his five-year plan, as well as the terrible consequences that would last for generations and would affect Ukraine’s relationship with Russia up to today.
The best aspect of this book is Applebaum’s writing. She is able to deliver to you the horrors that people experienced in such a way that you feel as though you are right there with them, and you understand, through her numerous examples, how people suffered. What surprised me was how she was able to juggle the different stories and examples without getting the reader lost as to what was going on overall. We have people who starved to death, as well as those who were driven to madness, and those who were driven to murder their friends and family for some grain from Soviet officials. All of this is told in such a way that the author gives maximum impact to each small tale, delivering an overall book that will last with you if for no other reason than it describes how things can so quickly spiral out of control, and how a whole country can descend into chaos. This made the book difficult to read in the best way. This book is to be slowly read, as you consider not only the horrifying events themselves but also what lead up to these events.
And Applebaum does include a copious amount of background info. Almost half the book is made up of a description of Ukraine and how it had fought for independence in a failed Revolution, as well as the Russian Revolution in general. This part of the book could have been written better. What annoys me is I cannot explain why. Maybe it was because the connective tissue linking all of these events together is mostly left up to the reader, but for me, this was the part that dragged the most.
Still, I wouldn’t let that scare you, as this book is overall very well done. It offers a personal look into the famine of Ukraine as well as expands on the issues linking this event to the current conflict surrounding Russia and Ukraine. I give this book a three out of five.
The best aspect of this book is Applebaum’s writing. She is able to deliver to you the horrors that people experienced in such a way that you feel as though you are right there with them, and you understand, through her numerous examples, how people suffered. What surprised me was how she was able to juggle the different stories and examples without getting the reader lost as to what was going on overall. We have people who starved to death, as well as those who were driven to madness, and those who were driven to murder their friends and family for some grain from Soviet officials. All of this is told in such a way that the author gives maximum impact to each small tale, delivering an overall book that will last with you if for no other reason than it describes how things can so quickly spiral out of control, and how a whole country can descend into chaos. This made the book difficult to read in the best way. This book is to be slowly read, as you consider not only the horrifying events themselves but also what lead up to these events.
And Applebaum does include a copious amount of background info. Almost half the book is made up of a description of Ukraine and how it had fought for independence in a failed Revolution, as well as the Russian Revolution in general. This part of the book could have been written better. What annoys me is I cannot explain why. Maybe it was because the connective tissue linking all of these events together is mostly left up to the reader, but for me, this was the part that dragged the most.
Still, I wouldn’t let that scare you, as this book is overall very well done. It offers a personal look into the famine of Ukraine as well as expands on the issues linking this event to the current conflict surrounding Russia and Ukraine. I give this book a three out of five.
mktatham's review against another edition
5.0
I am giving it five stars because it’s an amazing book on another horrible moment in mankind’s history. It’s just unthinkable this happened but then I remembered this is happening again and again. In other countries than Ukraine. If the history you are reading does not make you uncomfortable, it’s not history.
halida's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
smlaurie's review against another edition
4.0
Book Riot Read Harder 2022 Challenge #22: Read a history about a period you know little about.
julziez's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
mkesten's review against another edition
5.0
Where others have summarized this marvellous book detailing the genocide perpetrated on Ukraine by Stalin and his henchmen, I will take a sidebar into things as they stand today.
The Soviet Union is no more. Its apologists are no more, we think.
But an equally diabolical regime in China has decided that millions of Muslims within its borders require “reeducation” and this same regime has:
1) Among the most sophisticated systems of electronic surveillance imaginable;
2) Access to personal information unimaginable even a few years ago such that it is poised to leapfrog other industrialized nations in a race to develop machine learning and artificial intelligence.
3) Scientists who are apparently applying gene editing to humans without agreement on the moral limits to applying this technology.
We live on a hungry planet. The race for resources will accelerate as the poorest among us become richer, as our population goes apace, and as we have no consensus to reverse the devastation of pollution or to deal with the hundred or so million climate refugees likely to result.
China may soon have the power to put us out of business. And China is not transparent, or the least bit concerned with the future of its neighbours or, for that matters, with us.
What is to stop China from redirecting the resources of the planet toward its aggrandizement and away from the welfare of the five or so other billion people on the planet.
Its belt and road program is one step in that direction. It may not even need the cadres that Stalin used to terrorize the Soviet Union’s neighbours.
Information and the incompetence of its regime stopped the Soviet clown show in its tracks. But once the machines have been programmed, who will stop them?
The Soviet Union is no more. Its apologists are no more, we think.
But an equally diabolical regime in China has decided that millions of Muslims within its borders require “reeducation” and this same regime has:
1) Among the most sophisticated systems of electronic surveillance imaginable;
2) Access to personal information unimaginable even a few years ago such that it is poised to leapfrog other industrialized nations in a race to develop machine learning and artificial intelligence.
3) Scientists who are apparently applying gene editing to humans without agreement on the moral limits to applying this technology.
We live on a hungry planet. The race for resources will accelerate as the poorest among us become richer, as our population goes apace, and as we have no consensus to reverse the devastation of pollution or to deal with the hundred or so million climate refugees likely to result.
China may soon have the power to put us out of business. And China is not transparent, or the least bit concerned with the future of its neighbours or, for that matters, with us.
What is to stop China from redirecting the resources of the planet toward its aggrandizement and away from the welfare of the five or so other billion people on the planet.
Its belt and road program is one step in that direction. It may not even need the cadres that Stalin used to terrorize the Soviet Union’s neighbours.
Information and the incompetence of its regime stopped the Soviet clown show in its tracks. But once the machines have been programmed, who will stop them?
daniellesalwaysreading's review against another edition
Very interesting and important subject. However, the author assumes her audience knows way more about Stalin and Russia than I do. It was very hard to follow. I need some rudimentary Russian history before I am able to really understand what actually happened.