SUMMARY:

This essay analyzes contrasting accounts of the Soviet Union in 1932 by Langston Hughes, a Black American poet, and Alva Christensen and Mary de Give, two wealthy white American women. Hughes, invited to the USSR, reported positively on Soviet Central Asia, while Christensen and de Give, independently traveling through Ukraine and Central Asia, documented widespread famine and oppression. The essay explores how factors like race, class, gender, travel experiences, and political affiliations shaped their drastically different perspectives. The essay also highlights the largely forgotten eyewitness accounts of Christensen and de Give, arguing that their gender and social status contributed to the suppression of their critical reporting on the Holodomor. Finally, the piece considers the implications of these contrasting narratives for understanding historical events and the role of diverse voices in shaping historical knowledge.