The Gathering Storm: The Mainstream Canadian Press Coverage of the Soviet Union in the Lead-up to Ukraine's Great Famine-Holodomor.

Although far removed from the Soviet Union geographically and by no means a major international power, Canada closely followed events in "Red Russia" from its very inception. This is clear from even a cursory examination of Canadian press coverage of the U.S.S.R., which was both extensive and quite detailed, especially when it came to reporting on Soviet agriculture in the first decade and a half of Communist rule. This paper discusses accounts about the Soviet Union published in the mainstream Canadian press between 1924 and the end of 1930, when Joseph Stalin came to power and inaugurated the first Five-Year Plan with the objective of radically and fundamentally reshaping the economic, political, social, and cultural fabric of the former Russian empire. It pays particular attention to events in Ukraine that contribute to a fuller understanding of the 1932-33 Great Famine (the Holodomor). It further analyzes the news stories from Ukraine in the context of broader historical developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]