attle, pigs, and horses; destroyed the farm implements; and either burned their crops or let them rot in the fields before being forced into collectivization. Because of this, poor harvests, grain seizures, and the elimination of the better farmers, the kulaks, there was a man made famine (Lewis 65) . The famine was so bad that some people resorted to cannibalism. Mykola Pishy reported this about her neighbor, "Ivan was a good specialist - a joiner, a tailor, a shoe-maker - a good fellow who could turn his hand at anything. But the famine was awful and he got to the end of his tether. He was so hungry that he killed his child, and ate the meat . . ." (Lewis 66-67). In Targan, the city where Alisa Maslo lived, 362 people died from the famine.They went from house to house and they took away everything to the last grain . . . and this included ours. And they really left the family to certain famine death. And so my grandma died and then one of my brothers. . . . My mother was lying in bed swollen with hunger . . . my older brother had died. And I told my mother that 'we're the only two left', that my brother was also dead. Up came the cart and the man took my brother and dragged him to the cart, and then my own live mother. I started crying and the man said, 'Go to the orphanage where at least you'll get some soup. She'll die anyway, why should I come here a second time?' And so I became an orphan (Lewis 65-66).Between five and ten million people died from starvation because of the famine (Dmytryshyn 169). Along with the improvements in industry and the attempted improvements in agriculture, Stalin started to make improvements in society. Soviet workers received some important social benefits, such as old-age pensions, free medical services, free education, and free day-care centers for children. There was also the possibility of personal advancement. To improve your position, you needed specialized skills or technical education. Ma...
