The Donetsk region is a Ukrainian region characterised by a complex and dynamic history, a distinctive culture, and a tragic fate. The article examines testimonies concerning the state of musical traditions during and after the Holodomor periods. It discusses how the extreme conditions affected traditional rituals and musical leisure practices during the years of hardship and famine, and examines selected folk songs that reflect people’s attitudes towards the Soviet way of life. The study concludes that, despite the prolonged ethnocide and Russification, Ukrainian song and traditions remained dominant in the Donetsk region until relatively recently; however, due to a series of recent tragic events, this intangible cultural heritage has suffered irreversible destruction.
The article analyses the Holodomor and the instruments the authorities employed during the famine, through the prism of testimonies and memoirs about the famine by witnesses and survivors. The author focuses on how the authorities organised rural communities and their way of life before and during the man-made famine, and the perception by the survivors of this social engineering and the activities of the perpetrators of the Holodomor at the level of ordinary people. Archival and oral history data are used, and the source criticism method is applied. The author shows its limitations, and suggests options for further research on the perpetrators.