On November 2, Viktor Yushchenko submitted a bill to classify Holodomor - a 1932-33 famine - an ethnic genocide inflicted by the Soviet authorities' against the Ukrainian people, and to prohibit its public denial.
"Bearing in mind the need to restore historical justice and to reinvigorate the Ukrainian people morally, I urge all of Ukraine's lawmakers to support the Holodomor bill," Yushchenko said.
According to surveys, more than 60% of Ukraine's residents believe that although Holodomor was a state-sponsored campaign, it targeted all of the Soviet Union's population, not only ethnic Ukrainians. Only a quarter believe it was ethnically motivated.
Russia has condemned the bill, criticizing the Western-leaning Ukrainian leader for his "unilateral interpretation" of the famine.