HOLODOMORS AND THE DECLENSION OF YEARS

Every year, on the fourth Saturday of November, Ukraine commemorates the victims of the Holodomor of 1932–1933 and the mass artificial famines of 1921–1923 and 1946–1947. In 2025, the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holodomors falls on November 22.

On this day, Ukrainians light candles, attend memorial events, and honor the millions of innocent people whose lives were taken by these man-made tragedies. The remembrance serves not only as a tribute to the victims but also as a reminder of the historical trauma caused by Soviet policies.

Ukraine experienced three major artificial famines in the 20th century: 1921–1923, 1932–1933 (Holodomor), and 1946–1947. Each famine was caused or intensified by Soviet actions such as grain requisitions, food confiscations, and political repression.

The Holodomor of 1932–1933 is recognized as the most devastating, resulting in millions of deaths.

The earlier famine of 1921–1923 was worsened by forced grain seizures during drought, while the post-war famine of 1946–1947 was intensified by continued grain exports despite widespread hunger.

These tragedies left a deep mark on Ukrainian national memory.

Ukrainian grammar focus: declining complex dates

Now, let’s look at how to correctly decline years in Ukrainian, which is important when writing or talking about historical events.

A full Ukrainian date often includes:

1. day (in ordinal form)
2. month (in genitive case)
3. year (with the word “рік/року/роки/років/році”)

Years change their form depending on the grammatical case. Even though years look like numbers, they behave like adjectives and follow Ukrainian case rules.

Key forms of the word “year”

Nominative – який рік? (Which year?)

The nominative case is used when the year is the subject of the sentence or simply names a year without any preposition.

Examples:

1. 1933 рік був роком великої трагедії. - 1933 was a year of great tragedy.
2. 1946 рік став початком повоєнного голоду. - 1946 became the beginning of the post-war famine.
3. 1921 рік був дуже важким для українського села. - 1921 was a very difficult year for Ukrainian villages.

Note: After a preposition like “у/в”, do not use the nominative. Use locative instead:

✅Correct: у 1933 році

❌Incorrect: у 1933 рік

Genitive – якого року? (Of which year?)

The genitive case is used when we describe events of a specific year, talk about something that belongs to or refers to a year, or answer “of which year?”.

Examples:

1. Трагедія 1933 року забрала мільйони життів. - The tragedy of 1933 took millions of lives.
2. Події 1921 року показують масштаби першого масового голоду. - The events of 1921 show the scale of the first mass famine.
3. Голод 1946 року був спричинений політикою радянської влади. - The famine of 1946 was caused by Soviet policy.
4. Дослідники вивчають документи 1932 року. - Researchers study documents from the year 1932.

Note: The genitive case also appears after certain prepositions like до, після, від, під час. However, the genitive is not used after у/в, which require the locative case, and it is not used after за or на, because these constructions take the accusative case instead.

✅ Correct Usage:

✓ трагедія 1933 року - the tragedy of 1933

✓ документи 1921 року - documents of 1921

✓ до 1933 року - until 1933

✓ після 1947 року - after 1947

✓ під час 1932 року - during the year 1932

❌When We Don't Use Genitive:

✗ у 1933 року (should be: у 1933 році) (locative, not genitive)

✗ за 1933 року (should be: за 1933 рік) (accusative)

✗ на 1932 року (should be: на 1932 рік)  (accusative)

Dative – якому року? (To which year?)

The dative case is used to indicate to/for a year or when a year is the indirect object of an action.

Examples:

1. 1946 року судилося стати роком відновлення. - 1946 was destined to become a year of recovery.
2. Ми присвячуємо урок тим рокам, коли стався Голодомор. - We dedicate the lesson to the years when the Holodomor occurred.
3. Наступному 1933 року передували важкі події. - The events preceding the year 1933 were very difficult.
4. 1921 року бракувало врожаю. - 1921 lacked a good harvest.

Accusative – який рік? (Which year as an object?)

The accusative case is used when a year is the object or target of an action, often with verbs of movement, planning, or duration, or after “на” to indicate the target year. For inanimate nouns like рік, the accusative looks the same as the nominative.

Examples:

1. Фільм запланували на 1932 рік. - The film is set for 1932.
2. Реформи перенесли на 1947 рік. - The reforms were postponed to 1947.
3. Перенесіть зустріч на наступний рік — на 1933 рік. - Move the meeting to next year — to 1933.
4. За 1933 рік було видано багато звітів. - During the year 1933, many reports were issued.

Instrumental – яким роком? (With/By which year?)

The instrumental case indicates “with/by/through the year” or describes means, accompaniment, or context.

Examples:

1. Це визначалося 1933 роком. - This was determined by the year 1933.
2. Ми аналізуємо дані, зібрані тими роками. - We analyze data collected during those years.
3. Це сталося двадцятьма роками раніше. - This happened twenty years earlier.

Locative – у якому році? (In which year?)

The locative case is used after prepositions like “у/в” when saying “in a certain year”.

Examples:

1. Це сталося у 1933 році. - This happened in 1933.
2. У 1947 році багато українців страждали від голоду. - In 1947, many Ukrainians suffered from hunger.
3. Ми говоримо про події, що відбулися у 1921 році. - We are talking about events that took place in 1921.
4. У 1932–1933 роках радянська влада проводила політику жорстких хлібозаготівель. - In 1932–1933, the Soviet government carried out harsh grain requisition policies.

Conclusion

The famines of 1921–1923, 1932–1933, and 1946–1947 represent some of the darkest pages in Ukrainian history. Studying these events helps foreigners understand not only Ukraine’s past, but also the resilience and identity of its people.

Learning how to correctly decline years in Ukrainian allows language learners to write and speak about history accurately and confidently.