The National Assembly of Bulgaria recognized the famine of 1932-1933, caused by the policies of the Soviet government led by Joseph Stalin, as a genocide.
The decision on the joint resolution proposed by the Democratic Bulgaria bloc and the GERB party was adopted by 134 votes in favor and 25 against.
The resolution states that “any denial, justification or denigration of this genocide profane the memory of millions of dead”. The document also declares the last Saturday in November Holodomor Remembrance Day.
The resolution was opposed by lawmakers from the far-right Renaissance Party and the Bulgarian Socialist Party, who often take pro-Russian positions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed Bulgaria’s gratitude for recognizing the Holodomor as genocide, tweeting that the decision “perpetuates the memory of the millions of Holodomor victims and restores historical justice.”
Ukraine will always remember Bulgaria’s gesture of solidarity, he added.
The Holodomor arose in the context of attempts by Stalin’s internal affairs agencies to force Ukrainian peasants to join the collective farms by commandeering their stocks of grain and other foodstuffs.
It is estimated that up to nine million people died during this campaign as a result of executions, deportations and starvation.
