SUMMARY:

In his article about the Great Famine of 1931–1933 in Kazakhstan, Niccolò Pianciola argues that that main reason for the disaster that claimed the lives of every third Kazakh was the incompetence and dogmatism of Stalin’s rapid modernization. More precisely, the forced integration of Kazakhs in mass society (in its version of total state control) wittingly ignored any specifics of nomad lifestyle and economy, perceiving the accepted model of modernization as a practical plan rather than an “ideal type.” This explains the relatively higher rate of mortality among Kazakhs than among Ukrainians during the Holodomor.