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Ukraine marks anniversary of 1932-33 great famine (AP)

KIEV, Ukraine – Ukraine is commemorating the start of the 1930s famine that was engineered by Soviet authorities and killed millions of people.

President Viktor Yushchenko is trying to win international recognition of the 1932-33 tragedy as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian nation.

Ukraine with its fertile soil suffered the most from the famine orchestrated by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin to force peasants to join collective farms. Historians say 3.5 million people were killed here.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev declined an invitation to attend Saturday's solemn ceremonies.

Russian historians say other ethnic groups, including Russians and Kazakhs, also suffered in the famine and so it cannot be considered an act of genocide.

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