Deliberate famines during the reigns of Lenin and early Stalin caused the deaths of 5 million people.
Posted by The Pete Quiñones Show, Checked
- Sources
- 2 contradict3 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 55%
The Pete Quiñones ShowOct 1, 2026
The sources support a figure of about 5 million famine deaths, but that number is attributed to different periods and estimates. Snyder's government-imposed famine toll and the 1921-22 Volga famine estimate both reach about 5 million, while Stalin-era estimates run from roughly 3 million to over 6 million, and the 'deliberate' character of the famines is historically contested.
A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.
What was said
… They just had different tools at their disposal. Stalin ruled after the Civil War was over, and, for the most part, the peasantry having been slaughtered in huge numbers. Now, the deliberate famines, um, throughout the reign of Lenin and early Stalin, you're talking about, you know, 5 million people, which was, you know, they were living on Western aid anyway, Western food aid, so it really didn't matter whether they had food or not. They only really cared about the cities. …
The Pete Quiñones Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Snopes cites more than 3 million deaths from forced starvation under Stalin, and Wikipedia estimates about 3.5 million deaths in Ukraine, so the 5 million figure does not match all estimates for the early Stalin period.[1][3]
Supports. PolitiFact reports that a government-imposed Soviet famine killed at least 5 million people, citing Timothy Snyder.[2]
Supports. Encyclopedia.com estimates the 1918-1921 famine, which spanned the Lenin era, caused about 5 million deaths, and Hoover notes the long-standing consensus figure for the 1921-22 famine was 5 million.[4][5]
Context. Estimates for the 1932-33 famine run higher, with Encyclopedia.com citing more than 6 million, and Hoover says the range for the 1921-22 famine is 5 to 10 million. Combined Lenin and early Stalin famine deaths would therefore exceed 5 million, depending on which periods and estimates are used.[4][5]
Context. Historians debate whether the famines were deliberate policy or the result of disorganization and poorly planned policies, so the 'deliberate' element is contested rather than settled.[3][5][6]
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 4 not rated
- 1'A Little Gun History' | Snopes.comsnopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2No direct link between 'gun control' and killings by authoritarian ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953) - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts, context
- 4Famine in the Soviet Unionencyclopedia.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 5The Politics Of Soviet Famines Under Lenin And Stalinhoover.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 6Holodomor | Facts, Definition, & Death Tollbritannica.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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