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Jun 28, 2025
Communism and Hunger
The Ukrainian, Chinese, Kazakh, and Soviet Famines in Comparative Perspective
Summary
Communism and Hunger: The Ukrainian, Chinese, Kazakh, and Soviet Famines in Comparative Perspective (CIUS Press, 2016) presents a comparative analysis of the famines in the Soviet Union and China, focusing on the 1931-1933 Soviet famine and the 1950 Chinese famine. It examines how socioeconomic policies under communism led to these man-made disasters, emphasizing the centralization and rapid industrialization strategies that ignored agricultural stability. While some similarities between the regimes are highlighted, the book also explores significant differences in political responsiveness and outcomes of the famines, pointing out that the Soviet Union utilized famine as a political tool, whereas the Chinese regime struggled to manage the crisis.
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Ari Barbalat
Ari Barbalat holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of California in Los Angeles. He lives in Toronto with his family.
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