Ukraine

Poroshenko Takes Part In Holodomor Memorial Ceremony

PHOTO GALLERY: Alexander Wienerberger was recruited into the army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. In 1915, he was taken prisoner in Russia and ended up staying in the U.S.S.R. until 1934. Later, he worked as a chemical engineer specializing in explosives, and he established chemical factories in the Soviet Union. In 1933, he was assigned as technical director of a synthetic factory in Kharkiv and became witness to the man-made famine orchestrated by the Soviet government, the Holodomor. His photographs -- made with a Leica camera -- are some of about 100 images verified to be authentic portrayals of those harrowing events. The captions are based on the photographer's own notes.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has taken part in ceremonies to commemorate the millions who died of famine under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Poroshenko attended a ceremony in the capital, Kyiv, at the museum dedicated to the famine, or Holodomor.

A minute of silence was also held across Ukraine.

November 28 has been marked in Ukraine as the day to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor since 2006.

The famine took place in 1932 and 1933 as Soviet leader Stalin's police forced peasants in Ukraine to join collective farms by requisitioning their grain and other foodstuffs.

It is estimated that up to 9 million people died as a result of executions, deportation, and starvation during the Stalin-era campaign.

With reporting by Ekho Moskvy