A court in the Russian city of St. Petersburg sentenced anti-war activist Olga Smirnova to six years in prison on August 30 on a charge of spreading fake news about the armed forces.
    • Zuzak [fae/faer, she/her]English
      37•10 months ago

      Famines are not genocides lol. Though I suppose you could make the case that the embargo on the USSR caused a lot of excess deaths. Famines were extremely common before the USSR took power because it was a pre-industrial society, the USSR ended that. Also, the USSR is a completely different government from the Russian Federation.

      • @orizuru
        2•10 months ago

        Famines are not genocides lol. Though I suppose you could make the case that the embargo on the USSR caused a lot of excess deaths. Famines were extremely common before the USSR took power because it was a pre-industrial society, the USSR ended that. Also, the USSR is a completely different government from the Russian Federation.

        How do you feel about the Irish Famine?

        • Zuzak [fae/faer, she/her]English
          33•10 months ago

          The Irish Famine was a genocide, because it was intentional. I should’ve clarified I mean that famines can be genocides, but are not inherently genocidal.

          I’ll note that your own source says in the introduction:

          While scholars are in consensus that the cause of the famine was man-made, whether the Holodomor constitutes a genocide remains in dispute

          Likewise, the article on the Kazakh famine:

          Some historians describe the famine as legally recognizable as a genocide perpetrated by the Soviet state, under the definition outlined by the United Nations; however, some argue otherwise.

          And

          The de-Cossackization is sometimes described as a genocide of the Cossacks, although this view is disputed, with some historians asserting that this label is an exaggeration.

          The last one I didn’t see any mention of genocide though it might be buried deeper in the article, it’s pretty long.

          • @orizuru
            2•10 months ago

            The Irish Famine was a genocide, because it was intentional. I should’ve clarified I mean that famines can be genocides, but are not inherently genocidal.

            I’ll note that your own source says in the very first line:

            While scholars are in consensus that the cause of the famine was man-made, whether the Holodomor constitutes a genocide remains in dispute

            Here’s a quote from the Irish Famine (same source: wikipedia)

            Virtually all historians reject the claim that the British government’s response to the famine constituted a genocide, their position is partially based on the fact that with regard to famine related deaths, there was a lack of intent to commit genocide.

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)#Genocide_question

            So you have two options:

            1. You either accept both as a genocide

            2. Or you basically pick-and-choose based on whichever country was responsible for the genocide.

            My guess is that you’ll take the second option.

              • @orizuru
                3•10 months ago

                Or I could… not base my views on history entirely off of Wikipedia articles?

                So… first you believe Wikipedia, now you don’t, based on whichever articles suit your views?

                • Zuzak [fae/faer, she/her]English
                  36•10 months ago

                  I don’t think you understand how this works. You cited Wikipedia asking me to accept it as a source. That means that you accept it as a source, and I may or may not accept it as a source. Given that Wikipedia says that your claims of genocide are disputed, you have to accept that. I don’t have to accept Wikipedia as authoritative, because I never claimed it was, I’m just saying that if you accept it, then you have to accept that all your claims are disputed. That’s just how citing sources works.