Russian Leader Blasts Ukraine Famine Commemoration

Medvedev said the famine was `the consequence of drought and forced collectivisation...`

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused Ukraine's pro-Western leader on Friday of distorting history for political gain by commemorating a famine engineered by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

The dispute over next week's anniversary of the 1932-33 famine is part of a long series of rows between the ex-Soviet neighbours over Kiev's shift towards the West which includes seeking membership of NATO and the European Union.

Historians say about 7.5 million people died in the famine, intended to break the spirit of Ukraine's independent farmers.

Ukrainian authorities, led by President Viktor Yushchenko, have sought to have the famine declared internationally a "genocide". Russia denounces such an interpretation, saying the events at that time hit many ethnic groups in the Soviet Union.

"We clearly see that this theme, along with persistent attempts to secure an invitation to NATO's 'prep classes' has in recent years all but become the main element of Ukrainian foreign policy," Medvedev told the Ukrainian leader in a letter.

"Such steps can hardly be explained by a bid to restore historical justice or to honour the victims' memory. They are more likely aimed at dividing our peoples as much as possible."

Medvedev said the famine was "the consequence of drought and forced collectivisation...To suggest that the main aim was to destroy Ukrainians is to fly in the face of the facts and paint a general tragedy in nationalist tones." Russia has repeatedly been at odds with the pro-Western leaders swept to power by the 2004 "Orange Revolution" mass protests against election fraud.

Moscow is highly critical of moves by Ukraine and pro-Western Georgia to join NATO and said on Friday it would pull out of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty if the two ex-Soviet states were placed on the path to membership.

The Kremlin was deeply angered by Yushchenko's support for Georgia in the brief war pitting it against Russia in August. The foreign ministry in Moscow this week denounced a decision by Ukraine to halt the screening of a Russian film on the conflict.

Border demarcation disputes further divide the neighbours as does Ukraine's intention to end in 2017 the presence of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea peninsula.

Several days of commemorations next week include a conference to be attended by regional leaders, the unveiling of a monument and a solemn procession to honour victims.

The famine, one of three to strike Ukraine last century, is particularly sensitive as it touched many regions in a country usually divided into a nationalist west and Russian-speaking east. Soviet authorities denied for years that it had occurred.

It was created by authorities setting impossibly high harvest quotas and requisitioning crops and livestock. Farmers were left to die in their own homes.

At its height, 25,000 people perished every day. Soldiers dumped bodies into pits and cannibalism became rife.