Stalin’s measures affected the entire region, but he targeted Ukraine with further brutal decrees in an attempt to subjugate the Ukrainian nationalism and culture he saw as a threat to Soviet ideology. Guards closed Ukraine’s borders and a new internal passport system effectively prohibited travel between villages and cities, locking Ukraine into one giant death camp. The state began ”blacklisting” communities that didn’t meet their grain quotas, leading to punishments such as the banning of trading or receiving any food or manufactured goods—including kerosene, salt, and matches—and new
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