11.11.2013
Dynamics of attitude to the Holodomor: November 2013
- According to a survey conducted by Rating Group in October 2013, a clear majority of Ukrainians, 66%, agreed with the statement that the Holodomor of 1932–1933 was a genocide of the Ukrainian people, while 22% disagreed and 12% were undecided. This represented the highest level of agreement recorded over the previous four years: in 2010, 61% held this view, in 2011 it stood at 58%, in 2012 at 59%, and in 2013 it increased to 66%. Over the same period, the share of those opposing recognition of the Holodomor as genocide declined from 25% to 22%. Support for the genocide thesis exceeded 80% in the West, Center, and North of the country, more than half in the East, and about 40% in the South and in Donbas. The indicator increased in all regions except the South.
- The belief that the Holodomor was a genocide was shared by around 90% of voters of Oleh Tiahnybok, Yuliia Tymoshenko, and Arsenii Yatseniuk, about 80% of voters of Vitalii Klychko and Petro Poroshenko, roughly half of Viktor Yanukovych’s voters, and over 40% of Petro Symonenko’s voters. Importantly, in the electorate of no presidential candidate did opponents of this view outnumber supporters. Agreement with the genocide thesis was found across all age groups, education levels, and among both men and women, although the share of those undecided was highest among younger respondents. Rural residents were more likely than urban residents to agree with the statement, at 79% versus 60%. Nearly 90% of respondents who considered Ukrainian their native language agreed that the Holodomor was a genocide, compared to about 60% among those who considered both Ukrainian and Russian their native languages and only around 40% among those who considered Russian their sole native language.
Methodology
- Survey population: population of Ukraine aged 18 and over
- Sample size: 2,000 respondents
- Method: face-to-face interviews
- Margin of error (95% confidence):
– near 50%: ≤ 2.2%
– near 30%: ≤ 2%
– near 10%: ≤ 1.3%
– near 5%: ≤ 1% - Fieldwork period: September 26 – October 6, 2013
