Ukraine remembers a famine under Stalin, and points to parallels with Putin

Residents hold a remembrance ceremony during the 90th anniversary of a great famine known as the Holodomor, at a museum in Drohobych, Ukraine, on Saturday. (Carol Guzy for NPR)

KYIV, Ukraine — As bells rang out at a centuries-old monastery, Ukrainians stepped out into a cold, misty night to light candles in memory of the devastating famine of 1932-33.

This annual commemoration was especially poignant this year, marking 90 years since the famine gripped Ukraine. Many here say Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was trying to destroy Ukraine then, and the current Kremlin leader, Russian President Vladimir Putin, is trying to do the same thing now.