How Kazakhstan names its famine

In 1992 a government commission under the auspices of Kazakhstan’s president Nursultan Nazarbayev ruled that the Kazakh famine should be considered a genocide

In May 2012, in a speech at the dedication of a memorial to the famine’s victims in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital, Nazarbayev signaled that public discussion of the famine might resume, but in a more limited fashion

But we should be wise in interpreting history and not allow the politicization of this theme

Of these five scholars, only Payne (in “Soviet Steppe”) has argued that the Kazakh famine should be considered a genocide, while the others have argued, using various definitions and rationales, that the Kazakh famine should not be considered a genocide.

I have argued that the Kazakh famine does not fit the legal definition of genocide as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, but it may fit broader definitions of genocide

All of these scholars agree that Moscow sought to use famine as a means of bringing Kazakhs under Soviet rule.

The reasons for this shift need further study, but they may include official fears that further investigation into the famine would sour Kazakhstan’s close relationship with Russia.

The commission labeled the 1930s famine an “ethnocide,” a deliberate crime aimed at eradicating an ethnic group.

In 2021, President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev said that “these dark pages of our history remain insufficiently studied.”

“We should approach this complex issue with restraint and responsibility. Research should be conducted scientifically, without slogans or sensationalism,” he said.

Kazakh leaders have consistently described their country's famine as the tragic result of misguided Soviet policies rather than an intentional crime against the Kazakh nation.

But, sensitive to Moscow, the newly independent country decided to postpone a formal political assessment.

The Kazakh government still avoids ascribing political motives to the famine.

Astana has quietly replaced a famine memorial plaque, dropping the word “Holodomor” for the neutral “famine.”

The city administration told RFE/RL in a written response to questions on the matter that the word was changed “to ensure bilingual consistency.”

Officials cite “bilingual consistency,” but critics see the move as an attempt to downplay Soviet responsibility.

The original inscription referred to the tragedy as a Holodomor, a term that implies a man-made famine and genocide.

Among them is lawmaker Berik Dyusembinov, who in 2020 publicly urged the government to follow Ukraine's example and recognize the famine as an act of genocide.

Over the years, many Kazakh historians, politicians, and activists have called on their government to recognize the famine as a genocide orchestrated by Soviet leader Josef Stalin’s regime.